WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Hartford officials are concerned that a recently passed ordinance intended to protect undocumented immigrants in town might impact federal funding for several projects, including the construction of a senior center roof.

The town’s attorney, Robert Manby, has drafted a letter, signed by Town Manager Brannon Godfrey, to several federal grant agencies, asking whether the “Welcoming Hartford” ordinance will make the town ineligible for future grant funding. Selectboard members will discuss whether to approve the letter on Tuesday.

The ordinance, which the Selectboard approved in March and voters strongly supported at Town Meeting, prohibits Hartford police and other town officials from sharing a person’s citizenship information with U.S. immigration authorities. But it also conflicts with a federal law that says towns must share immigration information with federal authorities.

In 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order saying that any towns not complying with the law are ineligible for federal grants.

That order has some Hartford officials concerned that the decision to approve the ordinance might affect their federal grant applications for future and ongoing projects.

“Proceeding with a given project or acquisition would expose the Town of Hartford to potentially crippling financial problems if final funding approval were interrupted or denied,” the proposed letter reads.

Godfrey, who raised concerns about the ordinance’s legality in early January, elaborated on some of the projects at issue in an email Monday, saying that Hartford is not currently in compliance for a $27,800 USDA grant to help replace the Bugbee Senior Center roof.

He also pointed to FEMA funding that would cover damage from a 2019 storm, and community development block-grant funding for the Twin Pines affordable housing project, saying the town will need a legal review for both.

“I am concerned about the ability to certify compliance on all federal grant-funded projects,” Godfrey wrote.

Hartford receives about $1 million a year in federal grant funding, according to the town’s website.

The project funding comes from federal agencies including the Department of Housing and Urban Development; the Federal Highway Administration, the Department of Justice and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Godfrey said Monday, adding that the letter will be sent to all of those agencies for review.

But Kira Kelley, an attorney who worked with activists to get Hartford’s ordinance passed — as well as similar immigration measures in other Upper Valley towns — said Monday that the letter is “unnecessary.”

She said federal grant applications ask whether a town is in compliance with all “applicable” federal laws, and for most grant applications, Hartford is.

“The condition that they’re putting on the funding has to be related to the purpose of the funding,” Kelley said. “Unless the grant that Hartford is applying for is related to police funding, (the federal law) is not an applicable law.”

She also argued that there are plenty of federal laws that the town does not follow to the letter, largely because it’s difficult for municipalities to comply with every single federal law.

“There’s politics behind this,” Kelley said, adding that the letter “undermines the effort” of the voters who passed the welcoming ordinance last month on a 1,842-1,177 vote.

In Hanover, Selectboard members and town officials discussed the issue earlier this month when deciding whether to include a line in their ordinance saying police are not required to violate federal law.

They were expected to take up the matter on Monday night.

In Norwich, Police Chief Jennifer Frank argued that town’s Fair and Impartial Policing Policy, which is similar to the Hartford ordinance, forces her officers to violate the law.

The Norwich Selectboard approved the policy.

Anna Merriman can be reached at a merriman@ vnews.com or 603-727-3216.