Balanced, but includes cut to health department
The Piatt County board Wednesday approved a tentative budget that is balanced for 2020-21, but was criticized by local health officials for including a $50,000 funding cut to the local health department during a pandemic. The budget document will now be placed on public display and considered for final approval by the board on Nov. 12.
DeWitt/Piatt Bi-County Health Department Director Dave Remmert acknowledged his department has $1 million in reserves, but said it was built up over the years to handle lags in state reimbursement in response to a 2011 state revenue crisis that led to staff cuts and the elimination of some health services.
“We cut staff, we cut hours at the health department in order to grow our cash balance because we are so heavily funded by grant programs and Medicaid billing,” noted Remmert. “That is why we grew that cash balance, not for you to take it. It was to help us pay our bills while we waited for the state to pay us back for those reimbursements.”
“And at this time? During the worst public health crisis in any of our lifetimes, you want to cut it? I don't get it, I really don't get it,” he added.
The idea of reducing health department funding to help balance the budget came out of a finance committee meeting last week. It originally would have trimmed the health department levy by $50,000 and raised the general fund levy by an equal amount. When it was pointed out by Remmert that DeWitt and Piatt County health department levies are required to be the same through a cooperative agreement, budget consultants recommended keeping the full health department levy, but transferring $50,000 of it during the fiscal year to the corporate general fund, which has a negative balance.
County Board Chairman Ray Spencer said the decision was not an easy one.
“I'm one of Dave Remmert's biggest fans. I sit on the (health department) board. Dave's doing a great job, excellent work. The entire staff is doing an excellent job. I'm not discounting that at all,” said Spencer.
But he also commented he felt the health department balance of $1,022,922 (as of Sept. 18) “will keep you going for a long time.”
Kirby Medical Center CEO Steve Tenhouse stood up for the bi-county health agency, noting that “we aren't out of the woods yet” with the coronavirus pandemic, which set a daily record of 6,161 new cases in Illinois on Oct. 24.
“Our jobs, our school, our economy are based on us being able to go to school, being able to work, and the economy will flourish. Without the support the health department needs to increase contact tracing – and not have to think about decreasing it – the faster it happens, the more you are able to stem the spread of the virus,” added Tenhouse.
Luke Feeney of the Kirby Foundation board added that funding for public health is especially important now. He told the board that $50,000 in donations is enabling Kirby to provide rapid testing to school students and staff who exhibit a COVID-19 symptom. Before rapid testing, one symptom could have exempted them from school for 10 days before. With a negative test they can now be back in a day.
But funding for that effort will likely run out within six weeks, prompting another fundraiser to continue offering rapid tests.
“I'm excited about keeping kids in school and parents at work,” said Feeney.
Board members expressed appreciation to Bellwether, the firm hired as a budget consultant this year after a contentious process in 2019 that led to a budget that was $386,000 in the red.
“It's been very difficult, but this has happened over the last 10 years, and we've done the best that we can, and I appreciate Bellwether working with us on this,” said county board member Renee Fruendt.
“Having Bellwether on board has shown me a lot of things about levies and everything. I think their expertise has been well accounted for in the county,” added board member Shannon Carroll.
“You certainly did the heavy lifting,” added Spencer.
The board voted 5-0 to put the budget on display for the public viewing period. The tentative tax levy extension and appropriation documents were also approved 4-1, with Robert Murrell voting “no”.
Bellwhether officials said new levy strategies will help take advantage of funds that are not already at their capped amount, including a new, $250,000 tort fund that can be used to pay the county liability insurance claims. Some levies were trimmed to keep this year's levy extension increase at 4.9 percent.
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October 28, 2020 at 11:47PM
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County board approves tentative budget | News | journal-republican.com - Piatt County Journal-Republican
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