Council presses HHS on unspent funds; department plans to hire grants staff and tighten processes

Multiple council members raised concerns that previously approved FY25 funds were not spent by grantees and asked whether services nonetheless occurred. One committee member said they wanted to know "did something not happen at all or did something happen, it just got paid for differently?" DHHS staff responded that partners were delivering services even when those specific funds were not drawn and that delays were due to late notice within the fiscal year and staffing capacity issues.

James Bridges (identified in the discussion as HHS director) and other DHHS speakers said the department is realigning capacities, will hire a grants manager and two support staff, and is working with finance on clearer communication and backtracking the process to understand where funds were held up. Councilmember Friedson urged an enterprise-level review and a written plan to make sure similar problems do not occur across county government; the committee asked for that plan to be brought back for further discussion.