Council places MVMA contract on reconciliation list after debate over reporting, scope and community role

The Montgomery County HHS committee debated whether to restore an $89,941 cost‑reimbursement contract for the Maryland Vietnamese Mutual Association (MVMA) after executive staff recommended moving the funding into the Healthy Communities Fund (a competitive grant pool) and treating the contract amount as part of larger grant competition.

Mark Hodge, chief operating officer for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the county had long conversations with MVMA and had amended the contract last year to align scope with actual services. Hodge said contract monitors had observed persistent invoicing issues — "They were not submitting their invoices for payment. We finally did get November invoices in January" — and that the county had concluded moving the $89,000 into a grant fund would allow equitable, competitive access to support for MVMA and other organizations.

Councilmember Mink pushed back, saying MVMA "is doing a significant amount" of tutoring, senior wellness, translation and case management and that her review of MVMA reports showed the organization frequently met or exceeded its contract requirements (she cited 146 unduplicated clients YTD and weekly senior wellness programs). Mink asked the committee to restore the contract, or at least give MVMA a longer runway to transition to competitive grants, noting the organization holds relationships and cultural competence that are hard to replicate.

Hodge and other staff described two funding streams: an $89,000 cost‑reimbursement contract (invoiced with backup) and a separate $147,000 grant award that is paid upfront and subject to annual application and reporting; current program rules cap competitive grants at $150,000, which would limit MVMA from receiving both funds concurrently. Hodge said the grants program had application review by subject experts and limits were intended to spread funds across many partners.

Chair Albanoff said he respected the executive’s contract monitoring work but acknowledged the committee’s role in scrutinizing contracts when community context matters. After discussion, the committee placed the MVMA contract on the reconciliation list to allow additional conversations ahead of the full‑council vote.

Next steps: the item will be discussed further in reconciliation and at full council; staff will check with the county attorney on procedural questions related to restoring or reclassifying the funding.