Bell County hires first grants administrator

Killeen Daily Herald
BY SHANE MONACO | TELEGRAM STAFF
December 12, 2023

Bell County could soon see an influx of new state and federal money following the hiring of a new grants administrator.

Officials announced Monday the hiring of Kylie Brooks as the county’s first grants administrator, a position created earlier this year. Brooks, officials said, will help the county seek out and administer grant funds to help with county projects.

Currently, Bell County receives millions of dollars in grant funds that go to help with various projects, such as the new loop jail expansion.

“We view this position as working to support each and every office and department in the county,” County Judge David Blackburn said.

Blackburn said he did plan on having Brooks meet with all department heads in the county in order to get them acquainted, hopefully leading to the county finding various grant opportunities.

Brooks said she recently moved to the county for her husband’s job and wanted to find a role that would allow her to use skills previously honed in Tarrant County.

Before moving to the county, Brooks worked for Tarrant County Public Health, helping them administer a grant that connected residents to resources. Now, she hopes to use those same skills for Bell County.

“Once I saw how useful grant funds could be in making life better for citizens, I wanted to keep doing that long term,” Brooks said. “When this opportunity came about, I thought, ‘This is exactly what I need.’”

Despite Monday being her first day in the role, Brooks told the Commissioners Court that she does see a lot of potential with the office.

“The sky is the limit with this position,” Brooks said. “There are a lot of grant funds out there. It’s just a matter of determining which ones are going to be most pertinent to us.”