Existing Circuits. On or before May 1 of each calendar year, the Program shall notify the circuit sponsor of each existing circuit that the Department is accepting applications for the upcoming fiscal year. The notification may contain a deadline for submission of applications as well as the proposed amount of the grant. Proposed Circuits. The Department may consider letters of intent requesting assistance under the Program on behalf of a proposed circuit. The letter of intent shall be submitted by the prospective members of a circuit and shall contain the following information: Names of prospective municipalities that are willing to be circuit members; Tentative administrative arrangements; and Prospective circuit sponsor. Before approving or rejecting a proposed circuit, the Department, in its discretion, may provide the prospective members with technical assistance to develop an acceptable circuit and an acceptable circuit sponsor. If the circuit described in the letter of intent is approved by the Department, the circuit sponsor may submit an application for a grant on behalf of the circuit. The Director is authorized to certify the establishment of new circuits. Applications for a grant shall be submitted by the circuit sponsor. The application shall be signed by the chief executive officer of the circuit sponsor. Each member of the circuit shall provide a resolution or other acceptable form of approval by the governing body of the municipality evidencing the commitment of the member to pay its share of the circuit costs. The Department may refuse to consider applications with incomplete information. The Department may make grant awards to benefit particular circuits and decline to make awards to benefit otherwise eligible circuits based on the assessment by the Department of the overall merit of the application of a circuit and its relative merit to competing applications. The Department may fund a circuit based on the: Number of applications received; Merit of each application; Demonstration of special managerial needs and limited financial resources; and Amount of funding available. The Department may require applicants to pay an application fee to cover some or all of the cost of processing an application. Applications shall be made on standard forms provided by the Department. The Program staff shall evaluate each application based on the following criteria: Manageable number of municipalities in a circuit; Reasonable distance between the members of a circuit; The amount of the prospective work load of a circuit; The ability of the circuit sponsor to provide administrative and other services to the circuit; The ability of a circuit to make the local contribution required under Regulation .06E(1) of this chapter; and Such other criteria the Department considers appropriate. The Program shall recommend to the Director the circuits to be funded and the level of funding. The Director shall recommend grant awards to the Secretary for approval. The Secretary shall approve all grant awards. A grant agreement shall be executed for each circuit that receives a grant. The grant agreement shall be signed by the circuit sponsor and the Secretary, or the Secretary's designee, on behalf of the Department.