McDonough County reduced its funding to the Health Department in 2010.
In the three years prior, the Health Department received the same amount of the county's tax levy as the county-run nursing home and the 708 mental health board.
Lynnette Cale heads the health department. She said if the three organizations received level funding once again, hers would gain a $50,000 bump.
“We really need to increase our funds and we realize the county doesn’t have extra funds to give so we are just asking it to be re-divided,” Cale said. “So it’s the same amount of money it’s just divided evenly that gives us a little more funds and makes it a little more even across the board.”
She said the three organizations are comparable in size and how they operate.
“The difference for me is we serve the entire 32,000 residents where those serve a specific population,” Cale said.
The extra money would go toward much-needed technology upgrades and efforts to open a dental clinic in the county.
The county’s money accounted for about a third of the health department’s budget last year (@ $317,000).
The department also relies on state and federal grants as well as fees for services. But Cale said because of the state’s budget situation, she has become choosier about which grants for which she applies.
“We want to make sure that if we go for a state grant, we kind of keep in mind that the payments might be delayed and we may have to cover those costs for a while so we just kind of keep that in mind when we are budgeting and make sure that we have enough of a cushion to be able to cover that until those funds come in,” Cale said.
The fiscal year for McDonough County and the Health Department runs from Dec. 1, 2014-Nov. 30, 2015.
The McDonough County Board will approve the upcoming budget this month.
