To: County of Sonoma Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Department of Health Services
Staff Name and Phone Number: Nolan Sullivan, 707-565-4774
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Delegated Authority to Accept and Execute State, Federal, and Partner Agreements, Including Nonstandard Terms
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Adopt a Resolution delegating authority to the Director of the Department of Health Services, or designee to:
A) Accept funding allocations and execute revenue agreements and associated amendments with governmental entities, including federal, state, regional, or local governmental agencies, received during Fiscal Year 2026-2027, including agreements with initial terms that exceed three-years and/or that include automatic renewal provisions, and including agreements containing legally permissible nonstandard terms such as mutual indemnification or County indemnification of a partner agency, when the DHS Director, in consultation with County Counsel and the County Risk Manager, determines that any associated risks are acceptable to the County. All agreements are subject to review and approval as to form by County Counsel and the guardrails set forth below.
B) Execute no-cost agreements - including data sharing agreements, participation agreements, Medi-Cal managed care plan agreements, memorandums of understanding, related documents, and associated amendments - with governmental entities, including federal, state, regional, or local governmental agencies, received during Fiscal Year 2026-2027, including agreements that contain automatic renewal provisions or legally permissible nonstandard terms such as mutual indemnification or County indemnification of a partner agency, subject to review and approval as to form by County Counsel and the same risk-review process described above.
C) Execute sub-agreements, and associated amendments, with community providers identified in any application for funding submitted by the Department of Health Services, where such providers were included in the application as participants in delivering the funded services and where the funding award is conditioned on the delivery of such services as described in the application. All such agreements shall be subject to review and approval as to form by County Counsel.
end
Executive Summary:
Each year, the Sonoma County Department of Health Services (hereinafter, “DHS” or “the Department”) requests delegated authority from the Board to allow the Director of DHS, or designee, to execute agreements necessary to support timely implementation of Department programs and services.
State and federal funding, and other agencies associated with those sources, play a vital role in advancing the Department’s mission and supporting a broad range of services, including behavioral health, homelessness services, public health, environmental health, emergency preparedness, and community health programs. The Department’s adopted budget includes approximately $300,610,710 in funds to be received from state, federal and other agencies. Of this total amount, approximately $244,908,138 in funding received from State and Federal agencies and $15,825,288 in funding from other agencies are contingent upon the execution of revenue agreements or other legal instruments to access and expend these funds. A summary of anticipated funding allocations and agreements for FY 2026-27 is provided in Attachment 2.
This item requests that the Board adopt a resolution delegating authority to the DHS Director, or designee, to accept funding allocations and execute related revenue agreements and associated amendments with state and federal, and other agencies subject to review and approval as to form by County Counsel and the additional guardrails set forth below, including agreements that may include nonstandard terms, including mutual indemnification or provisions requiring the County to indemnify the partner agency, provided such terms are legally permissible and the DHS Director, in consultation with County Counsel and the County Risk Manager, determines that any associated risks are acceptable to the County.
This delegation supports timely execution of agreements, reduces administrative delays, and ensures continuity of critical services, particularly where state, federal, or other agencies impose short turnaround timeframes that, if unmet, could delay or jeopardize funding and services.
Discussion:
Delegating signature authority for revenue agreements and no-cost agreements to the Director of the Department of Health Services (DHS), or designee, is both practical and an efficient use of County resources. Each year, the Department accepts revenue allocations from the state, federal, and other agencies and must execute revenue agreements and associated amendments to access and expend these funds. In many cases, funding agencies require agreement execution within short timeframes, often 30 days or less, which makes timely processing and completion critical to avoid delays in funding and service delivery.
Separately, DHS routinely enters into data sharing agreements, participation agreements, memorandums of understanding, and other collaborative agreements, and associated amendments, with state, federal, and other agencies. These agreements may vary in term length, including terms exceeding three years or may contain automatic renewal provisions. These types of agreements support ongoing interagency coordination and collaboration necessary for Department operations. Delegating authority for the execution of these agreements allows the Department to maintain effective partnerships and respond to operational needs in a timely and efficient manner.
For purposes of this item, “governmental entities” shall mean any national, federal, state, regional, or local government agency, including but not limited to a joint powers authority, a special district, a utility district, a public health or public education district or institution, DHCS-contracted Managed Care Plans, a public entity, a designee of a federal or state agency, or a quasi-governmental agency, including third-party administrators engaged by such entities to administer or oversee the funded program.
To ensure appropriate oversight, this delegation includes several safeguards. Agreements may include nonstandard terms only when County Counsel confirms the terms are legally permissible and the DHS Director, in consultation with County Counsel and the County Risk Manager, determines that any associated risks are acceptable to the County. Reducing the number of individual Board items required for routine agreement execution increases administrative efficiency across departments involved in the Board process, including DHS, the County Executive’s Office, the Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector, County Counsel, and the Clerk of the Board. Additional benefits include improved compliance with state and federal timelines, more timely receipt of revenues, continuity of services, and more accurate financial reporting and reconciliation.
The funding allocations summarized in Attachment 2 include a combination of federal and state funding sources, including both fixed and variable annual allocations. Additionally, Attachment 2 contains agreements categorized as “other”, all of which are neither federal nor state funding sources, and include managed care plan agreements, and various other local partner funding agreements and memorandums of understanding. These funds support salaries, benefits, services, supplies, and contractual expenditures necessary for program operations.
While DHS makes every effort to accurately project revenue during the budget process, final funding agreement amounts may vary due to factors such as changes in state or federal funding levels, revised allocation methodologies, programmatic adjustments, adoption of the State budget, new or unanticipated funding opportunities, and the rollover of unspent funds from prior years. Any award changes that diverge from the revenue expectations reflected in the budget will be incorporated through the County’s consolidated quarterly budget adjustment process.
This request is limited to the acceptance of funding allocations and execution of revenue agreements, as well as the execution of data sharing agreements, participation agreements, memorandums of understanding, no-cost agreements, and other collaborative agreements with partner agencies, including any associated amendments. These agreements may vary in term length, including terms exceeding three years or may contain automatic renewal provisions. A separate Board item has been submitted requesting delegated authority for the DHS Director to execute specific expenditure contracts for Fiscal Year 2026-2027. No agreement executed under this authority shall create unfunded County obligations, require new staffing or programmatic commitments not approved in the adopted budget, or bind the County to future year obligations beyond the stated agreement term.
As this delegation is requested on an annual basis, the authority granted through this item applies only to agreements received and executed during Fiscal Year 2026-2027.
All agreements executed under this authority will be subject to review and approval as to form by County Counsel. Any agreement containing terms that materially conflict with existing Board policy or direction will be brought back to the Board for consideration.
Strategic Plan:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Organizational Excellence
Goal: Goal 4: Seek out grant funding to enhance programs and improve infrastructure
Objective: Objective 1: Secure a total of $60 million in grant funding by 2026 for strategic priorities, including technology tools, climate resiliency, and other capital projects.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
July 8, 2025, the Board adopted a resolution delegating authority to the Director of Health Services, or designee, to accept funding allocations for the County of Sonoma and execute revenue agreements, amendments, and related documents received in fiscal year 2025-2026 as necessary to receive revenue from State and Federal agencies.
July 23, 2024, the Board adopted a resolution delegating authority to the Director of Health Services, or designee, to accept funding allocations for the County of Sonoma and execute revenue agreements, amendments, and related documents received in Fiscal Year 2024-2025 as necessary to receive revenue from California state and federal agencies directly or their third-party administrators for various terms with some being for multiple years, subject to review and approval as to form by Counsel.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 26-27 Adopted |
FY 27-28 Projected |
FY 28-29 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$244,908,138 |
|
|
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$244,908,138 |
|
|
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
$229,082,850 |
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
$15,825,288 |
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
General Fund Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$244,908,138 |
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The Department’s fiscal year 2026-2027 recommended budget includes $300,610,710 in revenue received directly from State, Federal, and other agencies. Of this amount, approximately $229,082,850 from State and Federal agencies and $15,825,288 from other agencies require executed agreements or other legal instruments before funds can be received in FY 2026-2027. Any changes to State and Federal funding expectations that were reflected in the budget will be presented to the Board through the consolidated budget process.
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None
Attachments:
Attachment 1 - Resolution
Attachment 2 - Estimated State, Federal and Other Agencies Grant Revenues
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None