Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the County Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Richland County HHS faces proposed $350,000 levy cut; veterans officer warns part-time post is critical
Summary
County administrator recommendations would require HHS and veterans services to contribute to a $350,000 levy reduction beginning in 2024. Veterans service officer described operational strain and urged retaining a 20.5-hour benefit specialist position.
Richland County Health and Human Services board members spent significant time reviewing portions of the county administrator’s package that would require the HHS committee to identify $350,000 in levy reductions, a cut officials said would affect 2024 and subsequent years.
The proposal, listed in the administrator’s recommendations (identified at the meeting as “10J”), names a range of possible reductions affecting HHS programs, including a proposal to eliminate or reduce a part‑time veterans benefit specialist position. The committee treated the discussion as review and direction only; the resolution had not yet passed Finance and Personnel or County Board.
Why it matters: County officials said the reductions are part of systemwide guidance to reduce levy-funded operational costs. HHS leaders warned the cuts could force program changes, affect placements paid from county funds and reduce direct services to veterans and county residents. County staff and board members repeatedly emphasized this was a preliminary discussion tied to the administrator’s work plan, not a final county board decision.
Veterans service officer Karen (last name not specified in the transcript) told the committee the office has been operating without a full assistant for months and that cutting the 20.5‑hour benefit specialist would substantially harm service delivery. “I cannot do my job with the mandated services asked without somebody there,” she said, describing missed outreach, canceled home visits and an inability to separate sensitive client interviews under HIPAA when alone in the office. She added that the office brings federal benefits into the county, estimating “we bring in $12,000,000” in veteran disability and benefit payments that support local spending.
Committee members asked for more specificity about the proposal. The veterans position discussed is budgeted at $20.33 per hour for 20.5 hours per week (roughly a $21,000 annual salary); Karen said the county also receives a state grant of about $9,350 that offsets part of the cost, leaving a net county cost she estimated at roughly $5,000 if the position were restored to prior hours.
HHS staff described other budget directions in the administrator’s packet, including a planned $100,000 reduction in child and adult placement expenses that staff said is based on anticipated case closures and a new state subsidy for certain guardianships. The committee also discussed a previously adopted five‑year contract for the alcohol and drug treatment court that staff said cannot be unilaterally rescinded without fiscal or contractual consequences.
Board members asked staff to track exactly which programs and positions would be affected and to return with more detailed, line‑by‑line fiscal estimates before any formal action. Several supervisors urged caution about eliminating positions that create time‑sensitive filings or that produce federal/state reimbursement.
The discussion concluded without a vote on the county administrator’s recommendations; members said they would report back to the next Rules and Resolutions meeting and to Finance and Personnel for further direction.
