Federal grant funding changes have barely affected Montgomery County so far, but council members say they expect hard times ahead.
“It is only now mildly drizzling. We know that a tsunami is coming, and we all have to be mindful of that,” said Council Member Evan Glass during Tuesday morning’s council meeting.
Rafael Murphy, director of the county’s Office of Grants Management, said changes to federal grant applications and funding occur daily. Area nonprofits are more affected than the county, he said.
“We are seeing new challenges and new disruptions on literally a daily basis from the federal government,” Murphy said. “Much is still up in the air.”
Nine percent of the county’s revenue comes from federal grants, including $226.7 million for Health and Human Services, $67.8 million for public safety and $59.7 million for transportation.
Currently, the county has been paid according to the contracts it was awarded, Murphy said, adding, “So far. That’s the key word.”
He said a recent survey showed that 74% of respondents at area nonprofits saw a decline in individual giving and nearly 66% reported declines in corporate and foundation giving.
Applying for grants has become trickier as some of the federal websites that guided grant writers in the past “just disappeared,” Murphy said.
Heather Bruskin, county director of the Office of Food Systems Resilience, told council members that cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as SNAP, and other food assistance programs have hurt. She predicted food insecurity will grow as more federal workers lose their jobs, the government shut down stretches on and food costs rise.
Some 230,000 people in the Washington, D.C. area have had their SNAP benefits cut, noted Council Member Andrew Friedson.
In Montgomery County, $12 million is spent each month by residents using SNAP. Reductions not only hurt individual families but also store owners who count on that income, Bruskin said.
“This is going to get worse, a lot worse, before it gets better,” Friedson said, calling the cuts “sobering.”
Councilmember Gabe Albornoz noted, “We’ve been through crises before,” adding, “We’ll get through this.”
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