Travis County spending for July 29

Here’s the Monitor’s weekly detailed rundown of Travis County’s spending and unbudgeted revenue, for the week of July 29, 2014

Tuesday, the County Commissioners approved $1,018,612.24 in expenditures:

• $710,444.24 for reimbursement to United Health Care for claims paid for participants in the Travis County Employee Health Care Fund for the period of July 11 to July 17, 2014.
• $194,227 for an Interlocal Agreement between Travis County Health and human Services and Veteran Services and Austin Travis County Integral Care for System of Care services. The contract was modified to add $106,000 added to the General Fund, $88,202 to the Parenting in Recovery Grant total and $25 to Milburn Trust Funds. This increases the contract total to $898,780. Various agencies provide services for children and their families experiencing mental and behavioral challenges: The Children’s Partnership, Community Partners for Children and the Youth and Family Assessment Center.
• $106,450 for a contract with Resources Unlimited for a hoist, boom and pendant for StarFlight EC145 helicopter.
• $4,275 to modify a contract with Stantec for the BMX Track design at North East Metro Park in Precinct Two. The project includes a starting hill, track turns, track obstacles, drainage, irrigation and electrical. This increases the contract amount from $57,532 to $61,807. The total amount is over the contractual threshold amount for increases and needed court approval. Within the last year, the total previous contract amount of $57,532 was spent on the project.
• $3,216 per year to Bug Master for a modified contract for pest control services for the Transportation and Natural Resources Department. The modified contract adds Tom Hughes Park and North East Metro Park’s BMX Restrooms to a list of other areas receiving pest control services under the TNR department: Northeast Metro Park, Travis County Cemetery, Hippie Hollow and Bob Wentz at Windy Point.

The County also approved various applications and grant contracts:

• Revised annual application to the Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority for the Sheriff’s Combined Auto Theft Task Force Program in the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. This is an existing county program. The revised grant amount would be $647,796, with a county cost share of $132,330, a county contribution of $137,771 and an in-kind contribution (non-monetary, but trade of services) of $124,493 for a program total of $1,042,390.
• Ratification of an amendment to carry-over $137,816 in unspent funds from a previous grant year to be spent in FY 2014 on a contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families for the Parenting in Recovery II Grant for $618,816 to go to the Health and Human Services and Veterans Service Department. This would increase the original county match of $259,000 to $333,209, for a program total of $952,025.
• A new grant contract for $717,516 with the state’s Indigent Defense Commission to implement a new Managed Assigned Counsel program in the Criminal Courts. This is a step-down grant requiring a 20 percent cash match from the county of $175,862 in the first year, totaling $893,378. If this grant is approved in future years, this grant will require matches of 40 percent in year two and 60 percent in year three and 80 percent in year four.
• Annual application to receive $20,000 from the Texas Veterans Commission to continue substance abuse treatment services offered by the Travis County Veterans Court Program in the Criminal Courts. This is an existing county program and no county match was required.
• Permission to continue the Drug Diversion Court program in the pretrial services department until a contract can be fully executed and use $10,558 of its General Fund budget to continue that. After the FY 2015 contract is executed the department will reimburse the General Fund by reclassifying the expenditures to the grant budget. Requires no county match.

Overall, the county would receive $2,004,128 in dedicated grant funds and would have to put forward $903,665 in county cost shares, matching funds or in-kind contributions, for grants affecting the Fiscal Year 2014 budget.