Montgomery County Council President Nancy Navarro introduces bill to create County Office of Grants Management

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Bill 36-19 would help increase efficiency and transparency

in County’s grants process and in managing

grants received by the County

 

ROCKVILLE, Md., Nov. 26, 2019—Montgomery County Council President Nancy Navarro today introduced Bill 36-19, Contracts and Procurement - Office of Grants Management - Established, which would establish an Office of Grants Management as a principal office of the County’s Executive Branch. The goal of this legislation is to increase efficiency in the County’s grants process and in managing the grants received by the County.

“This bill is the culmination of a great deal of work by both the previous Council and this Council, to create an efficient and transparent grants process,” said Council President Nancy Navarro, who chairs the Council’s Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee. “This bill would create a new office to handle grants requests and create a one-stop shop for all our partner organizations. We have been listening to feedback from our community partners, and it is our responsibility as legislators to take corrective action to create a more user-friendly and equitable grants application process.”

The Office of Grants Management would have the following responsibilities:

• provide a central point of contact regarding grants that the County receives or awards;
• disseminate to Executive branch departments and principal offices information regarding federal and State grant opportunities;
• maintain a central database of grants that the County receives or awards;
• provide training and technical assistance regarding grants management to Executive Branch departments and principal offices;
• develop countywide policies and procedures regarding grants management, in coordination with the Office of Procurement;
• develop practices to ensure that grants management in the County is consistent with racial equity and social justice goals, in coordination with the Office of Procurement;
• perform public outreach regarding grants offered by the County; and
• perform any other grants function assigned by the Chief Administrative Officer.

A public hearing on this bill is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 14, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. Residents can sign up to testify at a public hearing here: tinyurl.com/CouncilPublicHearing.

The Council staff report for Bill 36-19 can be viewed here: tinyurl.com/Bill3619Intro.

Council President Navarro’s remarks at the bill’s introduction can be viewed here: youtu.be/fqTo2bi0wuM.

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Release ID: 19-373
Media Contact: Nicholas Triolo 240-777-7832, Juan Jovel 240-777-7931