COMMISSIONERS DIRECT NEW APPROACH TO NONPROFIT FUNDING FOR FY27 BUDGET

MONROE COUNTY, FL – The Monroe County Board of County Commissioners on Wednesday approved a significant shift in how the county will fund nonprofit and social service programs moving forward for the Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) budget.

The county will transition away from the current Human Services Advisory Board (HSAB) funding model, where a committee reviewed applications and recommended funding levels for non-profits countywide, and will instead prioritize core government services by directing funding through the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County (FDOH-MC) for medical programs and Monroe County Community Services (MCCS) for core service programs and special needs.

The decision follows a comprehensive review of discretionary and nonprofit funding, aligned with the State of Florida’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) guidance, which encourages local governments to spend taxpayer dollars on essential core government services, eliminating duplication of services and competition with the private sector.

As part of the approved direction, the county will begin the process of discontinuing the HSAB program to allow for:

• FDOH-MC to analyze and contract for medical services to fill the gaps in the programs they provide through contracts.
• MCCS to assist nonprofits through its nutrition, utility, and transportation programs. The commission will define a special-needs category and specify the types of programs it will fund under MCCS.

Funding amounts will be determined during the budget process.

“This approach allows us to focus on what local government is fundamentally responsible for, while reducing overlap and funding for non-county functions,” said Monroe County Administrator Christine Hurley. “By working directly with the Department of Health and strengthening our Community Services programs, we can fund the most important core services.”

Historically, HSAB funding supported a wide range of nonprofit organizations providing medical, social, and quality-of-life services; however, DOGE has required all local governments to analyze spending on non-core functions, evaluate overlapping services with existing government programs, and to eliminate spending on programs that compete with the private sector.

County staff began aligning the county budget with the DOGE priorities in FY26 and continues to use those principles in developing the FY27 budget. The State of Florida passed a bill this year requiring local governments to identify legally obligated programs or mandatory services as part of the budget process. The FY28 budget will also require local governments to conduct a 10 percent budget reduction analysis each year and post a transparent budget online. Past budgets and the FY27 budget timeline are available at www.monroecounty-fl.gov/budget

---