Health director: family planning cuts will shrink grant revenue; county transfer trimmed after multi‑year build up

Kathy, Lee County health department director, told the finance committee the department is a certified local health department that must provide four core services — immunizations, infectious disease control, wells and septics, and food safety — and that much of the department’s remaining programs run on grant funding. “Our overall mission is very simple, to promote and protect the health of Lee County residents,” Kathy said, describing maternal and child health, environmental health and community health divisions. Grant cuts and fund balance: Kathy told the committee the family planning grant has been cut across Illinois because of reductions in federal funding that flowed through the state; the health department will be awarded $62,800 for family planning this year, “43% less than we had hoped,” she said. Staff also said the county previously transferred larger sums into the health department’s fund — in some years nearly $500,000 — and that the board has reduced the planned transfer this budget cycle to $280,000 because the department’s grant revenue and fund balance improved. County support and return flow: the director outlined the department’s financial interactions with county government, noting that while the health department receives county transfers it also returns money to county functions: staff health insurance, IMRF, FICA, cleaning, rent and utilities accounted for roughly $328,006.20; additional behavioral health subsidy payments pushed the total county‑funded outflows to about $406,000 in the director’s estimate. Program continuity and contingency: Kathy warned that many programs are grant‑dependent and that the department’s staffing decisions have been conservative because of grant timing. She said some grants (for example a public health infrastructure grant) are time‑limited and will not continue indefinitely; staff said the department has maintained fund balances in part by conserving fee revenue while drawing on federal grants. Why it matters: the committee must balance the county’s statutory obligation to maintain a health department with the department’s fluctuating grant mix. Finance staff said the county’s board has a general fund balance policy (60 days of operating funds) and that transfers can be adjusted to maintain liquidity without leaving the health department over‑funded. Ending: Kathy summed up the operating reality: “We receive money from the county, but we’re giving all that back,” she said, referring to the portion of county transfers that subsidize fringe benefits and other county obligations. Committee members asked staff to continue close monitoring of grant awards and fund balances ahead of final budget decisions.