Council asks executive for holistic plan after piecemeal federal grant cuts

Council members used the supplemental appropriation hearing to press for a broader county strategy to handle piecemeal federal grant reductions. Nicole Rodriguez Hernandez told the committee that Council Member Bruce Stewart previously requested a holistic grant approach but that the executive had not yet provided one; several members said they want that strategy ahead of FY27 budget deliberations.

"As former council president and current GO chair, Council member Bruce Stewart had requested the county executive's holistic grant approach to addressing these reductions, rather than just individual midyear appropriation requests," Rodriguez Hernandez said. Grace Pedersen of OMB explained the factors OMB considers when evaluating supplementals, including the certainty and timing of the reduction, whether the service is legally mandated, and whether service interruptions would disproportionately harm underserved communities: "We look at things like whether the amount of the reduction is known or is the projection based on other factors or uncertainties." The committee asked OMB and HHS to memorialize that approach in a memo for the council and the public.

Committee members emphasized the difficulty of relying on undesignated general fund reserves for repeated shortfalls and asked staff to provide more information on where internal reallocations were made to temporarily sustain services. The committee’s request for a written, cross-departmental strategy was framed as necessary for budget planning and prioritization heading into FY27.