Pulaski County commissioners voted to advertise the health department’s preliminary budget with an added full-time nurse.
Staff explained the health department received elevated grant receipts this year that will decline in the next fiscal year, but the department also has unspent funds rolling forward from the current year that can support the full-time nurse addition. The motion to advertise the health department budget with the nurse addition passed on a voice vote.
A county staff member noted the department received between $200,000 and $300,000 this year and expects a lower allocation next year, but that rolling balances and restructuring of fund usage made the nurse position feasible. The board directed staff to confirm the funding source is appropriate and to show the nurse’s position in the advertised worksheets.
Commissioners instructed staff that adding the nurse will draw from the specified public-health fund (funding code referenced in meeting as the relevant grant/reserve fund) rather than county general. The chair said advertising the nurse addition does not finalize hiring; it permits public notice and sets the item for potential final adoption at the public hearing if funding remains available.
Next steps: staff will publish the health department budget with the nurse line included and will provide supporting documentation about fund availability prior to the public hearing.