Carbon County now has a grant coordinator who can provide assistance to departments in need of help tracking grants.

On Thursday, the board of commissioners and salary board made two motions with regards to the position.

The salary board unanimously approved a change in the rate for the position from $23.01 per hour to $26.04 per hour, effective June 10.

The board of commissioners then approved the personnel report, which changed the status of Valerie A. Saveri of Jim Thorpe from her current position as fiscal/legal assistant to grant coordinator.

The commissioners spoke highly of Saveri’s skills, noting that she holds a master’s degree in business administration from Wilkes University, as well as a “rather impressive resume.”

Commissioners’ Chairman Michael Sofranko said that Saveri has proven her skills during her time working in the county, helping to secure approximately $500,000 more for a grant at the county prison, as well as handling other grant related issues.

“I think she’s going to do a very good job,” he said.

The board stressed the Saveri’s new role will not be to write grants, but oversee the grants that have been secured, including deadlines, reports that need to be submitted and more. Saveri will report to county administrator Eloise Ahner.

Saveri said after the meeting that she is “very grateful for the opportunity.”

“I look forward to working with all of the county offices,” she said.

Since starting with the county, Saveri has worked in several county offices, learning about the operations and how things could be overseen.

She plans to meet with all departments and figure out the grants already in play and what the departments’ goals are looking forward.

“That way we can take a better look at their funding needs and objectives before funding opportunities cross their plate and so we have some boilerplate language kind of ready to submit so we’re able to leverage opportunities very quickly and avoid doing the same work over and over,” Saveri said.

Commissioner Rocky Ahner said that this position will help the county budget long-term by providing a clearer picture on what money is from grants that don’t need to come through the general fund.

Saveri officially begins her new role on Monday.

In a related matter, the commissioners all agreed that this is the first step, stating that as Saveri gets settled and figures out what is needed, the county can then work toward creating a grant writing team to further help departments.

Carbon County has been discussing the need for someone knowledgeable in grants for several years.