Garden City on Monday approved an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Wayne County that allows the cityFamily Resource Center to bill county youth assistance funds directly rather than subcontracting through GrowthWorks.

Sean Hahn, director of the Family Resource Center, said the change "simplifies a little bit of the stuff on our end" by consolidating enrollment, billing and reporting into a single system. Hahn said the arrangement also substantially increases revenue capacity: the city averaged just over $60,000 per year under the subcontract arrangement but under the IGA the city can bill up to $250,000 per year for the next two years, with the county able to extend the contract one year at a time up to three times.

Council members asked about workload and program scope. Hahn said day-to-day case management could be streamlined by having a single enrollment and tracking system, but the Family Resource Center coordinator will manage more records and the program will serve more youth as referrals increase, including direct court referrals from the third circuit court and referrals from nearby communities.

Council member Witt moved to approve the contract with Wayne County; Council member Hughes supported the motion and the council approved the IGA 7-0. Staff said services under the contract will remain free for participants and noted the county has the funding capacity to support the cityeffort under the new contract terms.