Position would seek out more grant awards

By Bob Belcher

The Navarro County Commissioners Court voted Monday to look into the possibility of hiring a grant writer and administrator to help the county pursue a variety of governmental grants available to local governments.

On a 4-1 vote, the court authorized County Judge H.M. Davenport Jr. and County Auditor Kathy Hollomon to research the idea of employing a person to find, apply for, and administer grant programs, something that Davenport said was important to the future of the county.

“We have the opportunity to get more government money coming our way,” Davenport said. “We don’t have enough people here to do it right now. We’re as lean as we can get.”

Davenport said there are numerous grants available that could benefit the county, but they needed someone “who knows what they are doing” to handle the applications and administer the programs.

The court had discussed the possibility of a similar position in May, however took no action on it. The budget process this year left the county with a $600,000 deficit, and didn’t include any new positions or employee raises, something Precinct 2 commissioner Faith Holt said would be an issue if the county decided to add the position.

“There are going to be some questions come up, especially from employees, since we weren’t able to give a raise, and we’re supposed to be under a hiring freeze,” Holt said. She suggested that any grant application should include the costs of a grant writer/administrator in the grant request as a way of funding that position.

Davenport agreed the cost of the position could be included in a grant request, but added the benefit of getting additional grants would be a plus for the county and its employees in the long run.

“It goes beyond just people in the courthouse who are concerned about having a hiring freeze and hiring someone,” said Hollomon. “It’s not in the budget. My understanding is the only way to get it in the budget after passing it is declaring an emergency, and I don’t know what qualifies as an emergency to hire a grant writer.”

Hollomon said the financial reporting aspects of grant monies adds more work to her staff, noting some projects require monthly and quarterly reports be submitted to document the grants. Adding more grants, and more reports, would add additional burdens to her office.

“If we get into this ‘big time,’ it could require another person in my office,” Hollomon told commissioners.

Capt. Bret Latta of the Navarro County Sheriff’s Department agreed with Hollomon’s assessment of the workload requirements of administering a grant.

“I know the hours that Kathy and I spent on the phone just on one $15,000 grant we got is a lot of effort,” Latta said. “We asked ourselves many times was it really worth it.” Latta acknowledged there were plenty of grants available, but with those grants come large amounts of paperwork documenting and reporting the funds received.

“You get into the federal stuff, it’s a whole different ballgame,” he said.

Latta suggested the county and city work together on employing a grant writer. The two entities now share an economic development coordinator in Lee McCleary.

“I’m not in favor of it at this time,” said Herrington. He said he felt the county had someone in the courthouse who could do the job.

Dick Martin, an announced candidate for the Precinct 2 seat Holt is retiring from in 2011, suggested the county consult with Navarro College for suggestions and ideas on grant writing.

Davenport and Hollomon will report their findings at the next commissioners court meeting on Nov. 23.

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