Call For Furloughs Puts Public Health Budget Back In Spotlight

Funding for the Mills County Public Health Office continues to be a source of discussion and contention between supporters of the public health agency, the Mills County Board of Supervisors and Mills County Auditor Ami Petersen.

Last April, supporters of the public health agency voiced their objections to the county’s preliminary budget that called for a total county allocation of $155,000 for MCPH in FY25, down from $612,542 budgeted for FY24.  After hearing concerns about services that would be lost if the county funding was cut to $155,000, two members of the board, Lonnie Mayberry and Richard Crouch, said they were agreeable to up the county funding for MCPH to $500,000.

Mills County Public Health Director Brenna Crouse said the county board hasn’t fulfilled its promise.

“I just think it’s important for the community to know that even though the county said they would up the county funds contribution to $500,000, they didn’t actually amend our budget as they said that they would,” she said. “They did up their county funds contribution, but they didn’t amend the overall total budget.”

MCPH’s budget is funded by a combination of tax dollars and grants.

Crouse said unlike other county offices, MCPH has been placed on a monthly revenue-based budget by the board of supervisors. Monies generated one month are supposed to pay the bills the following month, but because many MCPH programs and services are funded by grants, revenue doesn’t flow into the office on a consistent basis, Crouse said.

“The way they have this set up is requiring consistent income. It’s just very hard to operate,” she said. “Grant monies typically come in 30-60 days after being billed. Some of our grants are billed quarterly. We do three months of work and aren’t getting that reimbursement until month 4, 5 and sometimes month 6.

“Historically, every month is different but at the end of the fiscal year, it’s all there.”

At Tuesday’s meeting of the Mills County Board Of Supervisors, an audience member questioned why MCPH was being treated differently than other county offices, in terms of budgeting. Petersen said the county has the legal right to allocate MCPH funding on a monthly basis.

A letter Petersen sent to the Mills County Board Of Health on Nov. 7, has fueled further discussion about the MCPH budget. In the letter, Petersen recommended furloughs this month for MCPH employees.

“This correspondence is to inform you that the Public Health Department budget is showing a shortfall which makes it insufficient to make the November 22nd payroll,” the letter read. “This payroll period would cover the dates from November 3rd through November 16th. If immediate unpaid furloughs are put in place, it is possible that such action will provide sufficient funds to cover the dates of November 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th. It is our recommendation to consider unpaid furloughs happen immediately.”

Although some part-time MCPH employees have had their hours reduced this month, no full-time employees have been furloughed, as of yet. The matter will be discussed at a meeting on Saturday, Nov. 16, 9:30 a.m., at the Mills County Annex. The meeting will include members of the Mills County Board of Health and at least one representative of the board of supervisors.