Supervisors conditionally approve support for grant; require subrecipient agreement if county receives funds

The San Benito County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve a support item for a grant application with a clear caveat: if the grant is awarded to the county rather than routed directly to the Community Foundation, the county must have a subrecipient agreement in place before any funds are processed. The motion passed on a 4-0 roll call after county staff and supervisors sought clarification of who would administer the award.

The board’s questions centered on whether the Community Foundation would serve as fiscal sponsor and how county liability and reporting responsibilities would be allocated. Richard, a county staff member who answered the board’s legal- and administration‑process questions, said the fiscal sponsor for execution would be the Community Foundation and that “the administration of the grant will be through community foundation,” adding that if the county is the named recipient, “we will have to develop a subrecipient agreement with them.”

Supervisors flagged a drafting problem in the template support letter, which described the foundation as applying “on behalf of San Benito County.” County staff recommended clarifying whether the board intended to accept ownership of the grant, since that phrasing would trigger the need for a formal subrecipient arrangement and county auditor review.

One supervisor moved to approve the item with the condition that, if the grant proceeds under the county’s name, the subrecipient agreement be completed between administration and the Community Foundation prior to county handling of the funds; the motion was seconded and carried on a roll call vote: Supervisor Zanger (yes), Supervisor Cosmecki (yes), Supervisor Satello (yes) and Supervisor Curro (yes).

The board did not adopt language that would transfer responsibility to the county without an executed agreement. County staff said the county’s auditor would need to be involved and that the foundation would direct the county coordinator’s activities if the foundation remains the fiscal sponsor. The board directed staff to clarify the support letter language and to ensure any required subrecipient agreement is prepared before the county receives funds.

The board moved on to its interim budget presentation after the vote.

The item’s next procedural step is clarification of the support letter and, if necessary, drafting and review of a subrecipient agreement before the county accepts responsibility for grant administration.