Accountability needed for capital equipment grant purchases

When spending one-time funds, Taylor County must avoid incurring ongoing costs.

At the August 15 Taylor County Finance Committee members learned that the county’s emergency management director Dan Gellert bought a vehicle for use by his department.

The discovery came as part of an otherwise routine review of invoices and was caught when the county’s finance director asked committee members if there needed to be prior authorization by his oversight committee for a capital purchase such as a vehicle.

When committee members questioned the purchase, Gellert explained that he had received grant funding with the intent that the grant cover the vehicle purchase expense as well as water rescue gear and equipment.

It is common and even expected for county department heads to seek out and apply for grants whenever possible. Taylor County budgets are perpetually tight. The county has had decades of directives to keep operational budgets at 0% increase, meaning that managers must look to other sources than the tax levy for extras for their departments.

Some departments, such as human services, the health department and the commission on aging, receive significant portions of their annual budgets through ongoing state and federal grant money tied to specific program areas. Likewise, operational grant funds help pay salaries in the forestry and the land conservation departments, to give two examples, while other grants have helped build and restore dams and provide the necessary funding to complete road projects.

As the saying goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch. This is especially true when it comes to grants. There are always strings attached. A public agency, private group or individual will have restrictions on how the money can be spent and will often require proof that it is used for the purpose intended. Other times, the grant funds will help with a purchase, but any future maintenance or replacement is up to the person receiving the grant. Getting a grant to pay for capital improvements is like having a child, it is a great thing that brings with it hefty costs over time.

In this case, the county will have the ongoing cost of routine vehicle maintenance, insurance, and the eventual replacement. The ongoing burden of these types of vehicle costs have prompted some county board members to question if the county actually needs all the vehicles in its current fleet, let alone adding more to it.

Just as with approving grant funded positions or capital projects such as dams and airport runways, there needs to be a discussion at both the department oversight and finance committee level prior to accepting grant funds for the purchase of major capital equipment such as vehicles. While this would appear to be common sense, it needs to be put into the county code so that finance committee members are not blindsided by purchases made on department heads acting on assumed authority.

There is no such thing as free money. While grants are great, governments must always be aware of strings attached and balance the benefits versus the long-term financial costs.