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Madison County Health Department asks for $175,000 county support; staff warn building on old landfill needs replacement or major repair
Summary
Madison County Health Department asked the county for about $175,000 in FY2026 support for core operations, and warned the department's building -- sited over an old landfill -- is showing structural and plumbing failures that may require substantial repair or replacement.
The Madison County Health Department presented its FY2026 budget request to the Board of Commissioners on Aug. 11, seeking approximately $175,000 in county funding to cover operating expenses, primarily salaries.
Elizabeth Allen, nurse manager, and Emily Eisen, district administrator, explained the department's annual budget is about $1 million, about half of which comes from state funding; county support covers roughly 15% of the department's budget. Allen summarized services the department provides: immunizations, family planning, TB testing and treatment, STD screening, cancer-screening support (including a county program to pay for mammograms and diagnostic tests for people unable to afford them), school health screenings and community outreach. She cited FY24 service totals included in distributed materials: 652 family-planning visits, about 495 immunizations administered, and 121 child-health home-visit referrals in the year referenced by the department's packet.
Health department staff told the board the department operates under state code requiring counties to provide a suitable building for public health services. They also reported repeated and worsening structural problems at the department's current facility: floor drains and sanitary lines have been displaced under the slab, recurring settlement and cracking of floors, and prior remediation by a contractor (RamJack) has not been warranted due to the building's siting over an old landfill. Paul (county facilities staff) and health department staff said consultants advised the county the site is problematic and that substantial reconstruction would be expensive; one staff member noted previous interior remodeling and remediation work had cost roughly $161,175 in 2023.
Commissioners asked for quarterly updates and documentation; staff agreed to provide infographics and to work with county attorneys and facilities staff on options that could include pursuing state matching funds for major repairs. The board did not commit to additional county funding beyond the requested appropriation; the health department packet and staff presentation will be used in budget deliberations.
