Harrison County extension asks for modest budget increase as federal BLT grant ends

Miss McDonald, representing the Harrison County extension office, asked the court for an increase in travel reimbursement and a change in one staff pay item, saying the office’s workload has grown and the request totals roughly $8,000.

"We have a federal program called better living for Texans or shall I say we had cuz September the 30th that program is going to go away," Miss McDonald told the court, explaining the BLT program’s end will reduce funding for the county’s youth garden activities.

Miss McDonald said the BLT grant had supported the Learn, Grow, Eat youth garden program at Sam Houston and in Carne and that, without the federal funds, the extension office will need to use more of the county budget to sustain the program. She outlined typical costs the line pays for, including soil, seeds, utensils, plates and napkins, and registration fees for 4‑H state events.

A court member summarized the request from the extension packet as "about an $8,000 increase" for travel and the office staffing change and said the court did not foresee a problem with the request but would examine specific line‑item spending before finalizing allocations.

The court did not take a final vote on the budget request at today’s meeting and agreed to revisit the numbers at the next regular court meeting on the 29th.