Agenda Item   

AGENDA STAFF REPORT

 

                                                                                                                        ASR Control  26-000123

 

MEETING DATE:

04/14/26

legal entity taking action:

Board of Supervisors

board of supervisors district(s):

All Districts

SUBMITTING Agency/Department:

County Executive Office   (Approved)

Department contact person(s):

Peter DeMarco (714) 834-5777 

 

 

Charles Dulac (714) 834-3141

 

 

Subject:  Approval of County Grants Policy Manual

 

     ceo CONCUR

County Counsel Review

Clerk of the Board

          Concur

No Legal Objection

Discussion

 

 

3 Votes Board Majority

 

 

 

    Budgeted: N/A

Current Year Cost:  N/A

Annual Cost: N/A

 

 

 

    Staffing Impact:

No

# of Positions:           

Sole Source:   N/A

    Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A

   Funding Source:    N/A

County Audit in last 3 years: No

   Levine Act Review Completed: N/A

 

    Prior Board Action:         9/24/2024 #S37K, 12/10/2019 #29, 1/24/2017 #37

 

RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):

 

Approve the 2026 County Grants Policy Manual, effective May 1, 2026, and authorize the County Executive Officer or designee to make minor, non-material changes as needed.

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY:

 

Approval of the 2026 County Grants Policy Manual, effective May 1, 2026, will update the document to clarify language and to ensure that the policy reflects the current grant application and approval process.

 

 

 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

 

Updates to the County Grants Policy have been previously approved by the Board of Supervisors (Board) on September 24, 2024, December 10, 2019, and January 24, 2017.

 

County policies affecting most or all County agencies/departments are developed and approved under the authority of the Board of Supervisors or CEO. Once approved, the County Executive Office maintains the County Policy Library, an electronic repository accessible to the County workforce which provides clear direction and assigns a Policy Owner to ensure compliance. Any recommended changes, additions, or deletions must be approved by the Board before taking effect.

 

The County Executive Office of Government Affairs and Communications owns the County Grants Policy Manual, which requires that a regular and comprehensive report listing all grants involving County departments be placed on the Board meeting agenda for approval. The County Executive Office of Legislative Affairs (CEO-LA) is responsible for coordination and compliance of the procedures and protocol that is to be followed by the Board, departments, and CEO-LA during the submittal and approval of all grant applications and awards. 

 

In September 2024, the County transitioned its grant application and award approval process from email to OC Grants, an online platform to streamline coordination across County departments and improve successful awarding of funds. In FY 2025-26, the County applied for 230 grants, of which 178 were awarded. This represents a 77% success rate, exceeding the target goal of 75%.

CEO-LA is requesting approval of the 2026 County Grants Policy Manual which proposes minor technical changes that clarify language to reduce confusion and ensure alignment with the current grant application and approval process.  No changes to existing Board approval authority are proposed the Board still must approve all grant applications prior to submission to the grantor, all grant awards for amounts greater than $50,000, any grant awards that require resolutions or agreements signed by your Board, as well as all “retroactive” and/or “ratify” grant items, regardless of their amount.

 

The full text of the proposed County of Orange Grants Policy document is included as Attachment A. The redlined copy of the proposed County of Orange Grants Policy document is included as Attachment B. Proposed changes include the following:

 

Policy Owner Update: The policy owner has been updated to read “CEO-Government Affairs & Communications”, previously “CEO-Government & Community Relations.”

 

Version Number updated from 4.0 to 5.0

 

All References to Email Submission of Required Approval Materials Replaced by Submission of Approval Materials to OC Grants: In September 2024, the County transitioned its grant application and award approval process from email to OC Grants (OpenGov), an online portal used by County Departments to request approval from the Board and County Executive Officer (CEO) for grant applications, awards, resolutions, and agreements.  The new policies define the OC Grants platform and specify that this platform is the only option for submitting grant approval materials, including grant information, resolutions, agreements, and retroactive or ratified memos.

 

Grants Report Eligibility: All grant applications and awards requiring multiple agreements, multiple Board resolutions, or that are determined to be a unique circumstance by CEO-LA shall be submitted as a standalone ASR.

 

Grants Submitted as Standalone ASRs Must Also be Uploaded to OC Grants: Departments that submit grant applications and awards as standalone ASRs must also upload the required grant information to OC Grants.

 

Defines “Grant Record” as the grant application and award information submitted on OC Grants.  This includes important details about the grant request and award, recommended actions and the use of the funds.

 

Clarifies the Definition of “eForm” as an electronic form summarizing grant applications and/or awards included in the Grants Report.  The eForm contains information provided in the Grant record submitted by the Department via OC Grants.

 

Defines “Grants Resources SharePoint” as an internal site used by CEO-LA to share grant deadlines, templates and other information with the County’s Grant Coordinators.

 

Defines “OC Grants” as the online platform used by Departments to submit grant applications and awards for Board and CEO approval.

 

Clarifies Use of “Retroactive” and “Ratify” for Grant Applications and Awards: CEO-LA has added language to clarify when and how County departments may use these terms, as stated in sections III. A. and IV. A. of the Grants Policy Manual.  Ratify grants are applications submitted to the Grantor before obtaining Board approval, or an award submitted to the Board more than 30 calendar days after the award notification due to circumstances that are beyond the Department’s control.  Retroactive grants are applications submitted to the Grantor before obtaining Board approval, or an award submitted to the Board more than 30 calendar days after the award notification due to circumstances within the Department’s control.

 

Board Approval of Resolutions and Agreements: For grants that require that the Board adopt a resolution or approve and sign an agreement, review and approval of resolutions and/or agreements by the Department’s assigned deputy county counsel must be completed before CEO-LA reviews the grant application or award and by the specified deadline.  The Grant Record’s Recommended Actions must include language requesting the Board to adopt the resolution or approve and sign the agreement.  Departments must use the template provided by Clerk of the Board when requesting adoption of a resolution.  The resolution or agreement must be uploaded to OC Grants.

 

Recommended Actions: Any Recommended Actions included in the grant record must

 

Grant Contract Amendments: Notes that Grant Contract Amendments requiring a Board resolution or Board signature require Board approval.  Review and approval of Board resolutions or agreements by the Department’s assigned deputy county counsel must be completed before CEO-LA review and the grant submission deadline.  The resolution or agreement must be uploaded to OC Grants.  Grant contract amendments under the $50,000 award threshold shall be approved by the CEO or designee, following grant award procedures listed in Section VI. B.

 

Grant Tracking: CEO-LA will submit quarterly grant success reports to CEO-Budget.

 

More Information Provided in Grant Authorization Form and Grant Matrix Requirements: One new section has been added to the Grant Authorization Form and Matrix Requirements in order to provide your Board with additional background information:

 

          Will this support a new or existing program? – Departments must note if the award and application will support an ongoing County program or if the funds will be used to establish a new program.

 

 

 

 

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

 

N/A

 

 

 

STAFFING IMPACT:

 

N/A

 

 

 

ATTACHMENT(S):

 

Attachment A – Revised Grants Policy Manual
Attachment B – Revised Grants Policy Manual Redlined