Board approves grants ranking, audit contract and FY27 budget; directs staff on private‑land project rules

At the April meeting the management board took several formal fiscal and policy actions.

The board moved and unanimously approved the consent agenda, then accepted the fiscal-year 2025 independent audit after auditor Christine O’Ran (Carr Riggs & Ingram) delivered highlights and explained one minor audit adjustment and remediation of two prior findings. The board also voted unanimously to award a five-year independent-audit contract to Carr Riggs & Ingram following a competitive RFP process in which three firms responded.

On grants, staff presented ranked results from the small-grants competition (21 proposals). Following committee recommendations, the board voted unanimously to fund projects ranked 1–8 — including youth education, community oyster and citizen-science initiatives — with funding for project #8 to come from reserves. The board also approved the full ranking (1–21) for record and transparency.

The board adopted the FY27 final budget (a few small technical adjustments, notably a reallocation of about $10,000 into facilities and equipment), and unanimously endorsed Option 3 for RFP priorities: keep existing categories but tighten science and innovation criteria and require stronger partnership requirements for projects on private land (for example, requiring a nonprofit or government applicant to partner on private‑property projects and considering conservation-easement or management-plan requirements as appropriate). Staff will return in August with refined RFP language and conservation-easement options for project eligibility.

All fiscal motions passed by unanimous vote during the meeting; no motions failed or were tabled.