County approves grant oversight position

Fri., Sept. 7, 2007

By John Craig johnc@spokesman.com

Acknowledging there’s no such thing as free money, Spokane County commissioners voted this week to hire a grant czar.

Tentatively, the new manager will be paid $50,630 to $68,318 annually to make sure there are no costly mistakes in handling millions of dollars worth of state and federal grants the county receives every year.

“All it would take is having to pay back a part of one grant,” county Auditor Vicky Dalton said. “The federal government, overall, is ratcheting up its review and oversight.”

Commissioners unanimously accepted Dalton’s recommendation to hire a grant manager to oversee individual departments as they seek and administer grants. The new employee would report directly to Chief Executive Officer Marshall Farnell.

“I think it makes great sense for an organization of this size,” commission Chairman Mark Richard said.

Tuesday’s vote directed staff members to work out details of the new position, which will require formal approval later.

The county handled nearly $71.5 million in grants last year. Some of the money was passed on to other local governments, but much went to county departments that often don’t have the manpower or expertise to meet state and federal monitoring requirements, Dalton said.

For example, she said, a 2005 state audit faulted the county for allowing a consultant to monitor a Superior Court grant for substance abuse and mental health programs without keeping an adequate eye on the consultant.

Also, Dalton said, a couple of other departments got in trouble for failing to make sure no federal Homeland Security money was passed on to organizations that had been suspended or banned from receiving grants.

The county didn’t have to repay any of the questioned grant money, but that’s always a possibility, Dalton said.

Even when there is no financial penalty, a challenge can cause long delays in routine audits, she said.

Grants all come with strings, which the federal government calls “circulars,” and some of them can overwhelm county employees who lack special training, Dalton said. So part of the new grant manager’s duties will be to provide that training.

Another duty will be to tell county commissioners when a grant has so many strings it shouldn’t be accepted.

Other independently elected county officials are free to apply for grants, but grant programs require county commissioners to sign off on the awards.

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