(The Center Square) – The Pierce County Council approved a $25 million contingency fund to plug in potential gaps in funding for this year in case federal dollars are halted.
The county’s amended 2024-25 budget establishes a $25 million contingency fund to offset the potential loss of federal funding as a result of a number of President Donald Trump-issued executive orders threatening to withhold funding if jurisdictions do not comply with federal immigration efforts and removing DEI practices.
The contingency fund prioritizes services deemed essential. Examples include paying contractors for work they’ve done or winding down a program rather than suddenly ending it.
“While I’m hopeful this contingency fund will not be needed, I’m relieved we now have some flexibility to mitigate and prevent the disruption of critically needed support for some of our most vulnerable residents,” Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello said in a statement following the ordinance’s passage on Tuesday.
A five-day reporting requirement was also included in the supplemental for full transparency.
“The council is fully aware of the size and scope of this budget supplemental, and we want to ensure there is full transparency in how public dollars are being administered, and for what purpose,” Pierce County Council Chair Jani Hitchen said in a statement. “The reality is, however, that the federal government has upended the funding structures our human services and other related programs rely on, and unprecedented action is warranted.”
Pierce County Councilmember Dave Morell said he is “not excited” about such a large appropriation being taken from the general fund to fill in funding gaps. He added that the reporting requirements amended into the ordinance address his concerns about public transparency.
Along with the contingency fund, the supplemental also reappropriates $800,000 from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department to support food insecurity initiatives through the rest of 2025.
This was listed as a priority of the Pierce County Board of Health, which informed the council that it would not be able to expend federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars before the end of the year.
One of the county’s food insecurity programs on the chopping block is the Pierce County Home Delivered Meals Program, which receives food directly from the federal government and is distributes food in boxes once a month to seniors over the age of 60. According to Hitchen, there are 280 seniors enrolled in that program.
The ordinance now heads back to Mello for his signature.
