As the federal government considers an overhaul of its grant oversight processes, the town of Mancos submitted a letter opposing the revisions.
Town Administrator Heather Alvarez expressed concerns about the administrative burden in documenting grant compliance, federal authority to terminate funding and approval of grants by political appointees
“We are concerned that the proposed changes will have significant negative impacts on the federal funding our community relies on to help fund shared local and federal priorities, including public safety, transportation, infrastructure, and affordable housing,” Alvarez wrote in a July 13 email to Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget and an appointee of President Donald Trump.
The OMB is proposing changes to federal grant administration, including requiring grants to be approved by Trump’s political appointees. In its summary of the proposed changes, the OMB said its goal is to “improve transparency, accountability, and oversight for Federal awards across the Federal Government,” ensure taxpayer dollars are properly spent, prohibit “unlawful discrimination” and reduce the administrative burden for recipients.
Before the public comment deadline of July 13, the agency received 500,000 comments from citizens, scientists, local government officials and more, according to the Federal Register. The proposed requirements are planned to be implemented on Oct. 1.
Federal grants fund scientific research projects and education, health, housing and environmental initiatives, among other essential services.
While Mancos School District and Mancos Conservation District receive significant federal funding, the town itself rarely applies for federal grants due to time constraints, reporting requirements and limited administrative staff, according to Alvarez’s email. The town was last awarded $125,000 from the federal government in 2024 to hire law enforcement, which Alvarez said required staff to navigate three different systems.
“Federal grants are already costly and administratively demanding to apply for and manage. Local governments already comply with extensive financial management, procurement, reporting, and audit requirements under federal and state laws,” Alvarez wrote.
According to an analysis from the National Conference of State Legislatures, under the proposed rules, states would shoulder more monitoring responsibilities in ensuring local governments’ compliance with additional nondiscrimination rules in their use of federal grants.
The proposed regulations also eliminate fixed-amount awards and implement a cost-reimbursable model for grants which would require recipients to institute more stringent expense tracking and documentation measures, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“OMB's proposed expansion of documentation, monitoring, and compliance requirements would further burden our staff while slowing the time it takes to announce awards, approve reimbursements, and resolve grant modifications. This means roads may take longer to get built, public safety dollars could flow more slowly, and affordable housing construction may get stalled,” Alvarez said.
According to the language of the proposed changes, recipients would not be allowed to address diversity, equity and inclusion in their projects or engage in “issue advocacy.”
“We encourage OMB to preserve the nonpartisan nature of federal grants,” Alvarez wrote in the email. “Federal grants should remain the domain of career experts – not political appointees – and be focused on positive outcomes and consistent with congressional intent and statutory requirements.”
The changes also give the federal government broader termination authority over active grants.
“Expanded termination authority and the ability to add terms and conditions throughout the period of performance would create uncertainty, discourage local investment, and undermine the effectiveness of these programs,” Alvarez wrote.
The letter concluded asking that the OMB extend the comment period and reconsider the October implementation goal.
avanderveen@the-journal.com
