Greater Hume Councillors to consider funding a grants administration officer out of allocated grant money

A contract of at least one year, paid for out of grant money, would involve identifying and applying for grants and organising them in a register.

General manager Steven Pinnuck wrote in his proposal to councillors that additional to drought and fire recovery grants, "with a sluggish Australian economy and now the impact of the coronavirus, it is anticipated that further funding programs will be released".

Mr Pinnuck said grants applications usually became additional workload for existing staff, and that council didn't have the capacity to fund the new role.

"The expectation is that if a grants administration officer is appointed, then the position will be self-funding through the inclusion of a project management/administration expenditure charge of between five and 10 per cent on future grant applications," he wrote.

"It is anticipated that additional external funding in the range of $1.5 million to $2 million will be required to generate sufficient income to fund the position.

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"There has been considerable discussion around the capacity of smaller councils to apply for funding ... most programs enable grant applicants to include project management/administration costs as eligible expenditure."

Councillors will vote on the proposal at their monthly meeting tonight.

What projects to put forward for $100,000 under the NSW government's Bushfire Community Resilience and Economic Recovery Funds will also be decided.

Funding for activities like a music event in Jingellic in October, and $10,000 for a 'thank you' for firefighters has been proposed with applications needing to be in by March 31.

The Lankeys Creek Hall, where tonight's meeting will take place, could also receive money along with Landcare and on-farm projects.