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Auditor urges stronger grant tracking as town manager outlines $5.5M for new town hall and other grants
Summary
Auditors recommended the town consider adding grant-tracking capacity as the town has secured roughly $5.5 million for the new town hall and other awards; officials said grant volume is high and tracking is a burden on small staff.
Auditor Dan Kinney told the committee that grant administration is increasingly complex and recommended the town consider additional capacity or controls to manage compliance and reporting. "You might wanna consider your, you know, getting some additional help," Kinney said, noting grants are often "devil's in the detail." He framed the management-letter comment as advisory rather than a finding of a material weakness.
The town manager provided figures showing substantial grant funding obtained in recent years. "Since 2022, we've gotten $4,000,000 for the town hall in state grants... We've got a $1,500,000 agreement with Sussex County, so that gets to the 5.5 that you're referring to," the town manager said, and added the town has also secured federal and other awards including a $1,000,000 pump-station grant and a $443,000 IT/security award currently under review. Officials said the combination of many awards has strained a small grants team and recommended adding support to the grant coordinator role.
