Austin 'to monitor' for impact of Trump orders, $1.2B in federal grants 'jeopardized': Memo
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The city of Austin’s Intergovernmental Relations Office (IGRO) issued a memo Tuesday that said the office was aware of federal actions related to freezing grant payments, but that no loss of funding has occurred yet.
“Over the last four years, with Congressional and legislative support, the City of Austin received approximately $1.2 billion through direct and discretionary grants,” the memo reads.
One such grant is for improvements to the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). Austin Intergovernmental Relations Officer Carrie Rogers said in the memo that around $300 million in grant funding “is now potentially jeopardized.”
The memo also claims that $220 million in grants for transportation projects, such as I-35 cap and stitch project and Barton Springs Bridge replacement, could be affected. Austin Public Health also takes in $39 million in federal funding for “critical family health programs… public health emergency preparedness and disease surveillance programs,” according to the memo.
In January, Austin received a nearly $7 million federal grant for its housing goals, KXAN previously reported.
“These funds — potentially impacted by the OMB directive — include grants to non-profit vendors and approximately 264 [full-time employees] directly serving Austin residents on behalf of these federal programs,” the memo reads.
Federal funding is still flowing, according to the IGRO — or at least the city should continue to operate with that understanding.
“Unless a department receives a direct notification from its federal funding agency to cease work and/or reimbursements, departments should continue to draw down reimbursements, maintain grant-required activities, and work towards finalizing grant agreements where applicable,” the memo reads. “IGRO will continue working with City management to monitor federal activity, as well as future executive orders that may be issued, and will provide additional information as it becomes available.”
