Primary Department: County Administration
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Diana Ramirez, County Administrator
Secondary Department: Management and Budget
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: Daniel Ramos, Executive Director
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Financial Authorization
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
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Request by the Office of County Administration and Office of Management and Budget for discussion and possible action on funding recommendations for certain grant-funded programs affected by the federal funding freeze; recommendations may include the possible reappropriation of previously budgeted County funds for these programs.
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Background and Discussion:
In FY24, Harris County held $1.2B in grant-funded support (Federal, State, Local, and Other); the majority of that support comes from reimbursement-based grants that require the County to incur the expense and submit for reimbursement. The County bears the burden of that expense until the reimbursement is deposited into County funds, which is a financial risk if the funding is in question.
Related to federal grants, Harris County averages about $70M of receivables on a monthly basis, of which $56M is CDBG funding. The $70M total represents amounts that have been billed to the grantors but not yet received by the County. If this amount rises significantly above the average, it has the potential to create a General Fund cash flow issue.
OMB recommends that no more than $100M in outstanding receivables accrue on a monthly basis, or $30M above the current monthly average. OMB will update Commissioners Court members on a monthly basis regarding the monthly outstanding receivables.
OCA, IGA, OMB and others are working with the departments and Court offices (including the Strategic Planning Committee) on a concurrent effort to identify the status and risks associated with all federal grants to help Commissioners Court make an informed decision on programs to continue or wind down should federal grant funding be permanently lost.
In addition, OCA and OMB recommend that they be directed to work with the Strategic Planning Committee and impacted departments to develop a process for making recommendations to Commissioners Court about any at-risk federally funded programs that align with the Strategic Plan.
Finally, OCA, Auditor’s Office, and CAO are working to determine if any process changes related to grant-funded invoice approvals should be made to safeguard County General Fund resources.
Expected Impact:
Setting a limit on the County’s exposure to the loss of federal grant funds will protect the County’s fund balance.
Alternative Options:
Commissioners Court could set a different limit on its exposure.
County Strategic Plan Goal: N/A
County Strategic Plan Objective: N/A
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): Choose an item.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): Choose an item.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): Choose an item.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): Choose an item.
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): Choose an item.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan: This action supports the Guiding Principle of Investing Responsibly.
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Precinct(s): Countywide
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
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Labor |
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Recurring Expenses |
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Funding Sources |
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Existing Budget |
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Total Existing Budget |
$ |
$ |
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Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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$ |
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Total Additional Budget Request |
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Total Funding Sources |
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Grants - Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
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Local Match Source - Existing Budget: Choose an item. |
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Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
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Additional Positions Request |
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Total Personnel |
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Anticipated Court Date: 2/27/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Diana Ramirez, County Administrator, Office of County Administration; Daniel Ramos, Executive Director, Office of Management and Budget
Attachments (if applicable):