Three Things to Know About Grant Funding

“You’re talking about money coming in from grants, okay. Where is that reflected in the budget?” asked Brian Bagley at the March 26, 2026, Board of Finance meeting. He was referencing a brief discussion of the recent $1.3 million grant Stafford received to help with cleanup at the Witt School. Board of Finance Chair Steve Geryk and Interim CFO Lynn Nenni explained that grant-funded projects are not in the budget. 

There was some back and forth, and eventually Geryk suggested Bagley go to the First Selectman’s Office to have the process explained fully. (You can watch the full conversation in the video.) But if Bagley, who ran for First Selectman in 2025, doesn’t fully grasp how grants work, it’s likely there are plenty of citizens who also don’t understand the process. 

So, here are three important points to understand, especially for the Witt School project:

Without grant funding, this project would not be done 

Budgets are created to understand how much money the Town needs to collect through the property tax system. Stafford did not include the millions of dollars it will take to remediate Witt School in the budget because it simply wouldn’t be done if the Town did not apply for, and win, grants. It's also important to note that most grants are "temporary money" and any ongoing programs or staff positions, funded by them are at risk anytime the grants go away.

Grants are on their own schedule 

While there are some types of grant, especially in education, that are given on a reliable, yearly basis, that’s not always the case. (That’s why you may see some grants accounted for the school district budget.) In this case, Stafford was awarded the most recent $1.3 million on March 10, 2026 through the Community Investment Fund program. Each project requires an application and may or may not be awarded. Last Spring when the Town was working on the budget, it had no way of knowing whether or not it would be awarded that grant. So, it could not have been accounted for in the current fiscal year budget. Which leads us to the next point.

Grants are tracked separately

Grants come with significant reporting requirements. Whatever agency awards the grant wants to know how it is spent and when. This process is sometimes so arduous that grants can include funding to pay someone just to do the reporting. Each grant is different; funds may be released all at once, as invoices come in, or in chunks as work progresses. So, while you may not see this money accounted for in the budget, it is certainly being accounted for to the awarding body.