Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Grant Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Staff say abrupt SAMA grant terminations briefly halted pay for 'Impactful for Families' workers
Summary
A county staff member told the Kandiyohi County Board that two SAMA grants supporting the 'Impactful for Families' program were abruptly terminated by late-night emails, temporarily stopping staff pay and causing emotional distress; the speaker said the grants were effectively restored within about 48 hours, though dollar amounts in the transcript are unclear.
A staff member told the Kandiyohi County Board that the county's "Impactful for Families" program was hit this month by abrupt terminations of two SAMA grants, a move that temporarily halted payroll for staff and caused "a lot of stress" among employees.
"We had quite a week... we got two emails one at 7 at night one at 11 at night after that terminating two of our SAMA grants," the staff member said, adding the termination was immediate and there was "no option to appeal." The speaker said the sudden notices forced county staff to scramble to address payroll and budgeting because employees' salaries stopped the day of the notice.
The transcript shows later messages and follow-up forms were exchanged with the agency, and the staff member said the program was later restored: "the good news is we're we're whole again." The speaker described staff reactions, saying, "there's people in tears, you know." The transcript contains unclear numbers when describing grant totals (phrases such as "$1.2 $2 million" and other garbled figures appear); the exact dollar amounts and which specific SAMA grants were affected are not specified in the meeting record.
Board members asked logistical questions about appointments and openings on advisory boards and acknowledged the operational strain described by staff. No formal board action or vote on the grants was recorded in the transcript; the report was presented as an administrative update.
The staff member said the agency originally provided 120 days for closeout paperwork, and later communications addressed how to close out funded activities, but the meeting transcript does not record detailed follow-up steps or budget adjustments. The county indicated it will circulate additional information to commissioners and follow up in future meetings.
