Butler County Health Department staff summarized accomplishments and budget pressures for commissioners during the July 8 workshop, reporting program activity after flooding and warning about grant cuts and staffing gaps.

The department used workforce-development grant funds to provide staff training, tuition assistance and equipment that supported service delivery after the floods, including drive-through vaccine and tetanus clinics; staff said the county provided nearly 100 tetanus shots at two pop-up clinics after flood operations. The department reported record attendance at a baby-shower-style community event and said staff completed new child-passenger safety certifications and added an in-house tobacco treatment specialist.

On funding, the health director said the WIC grant had an immediate $29,000 cut as of June 1; the county temporarily used workforce-development grant funds to cover staff until the federal program resumes October 1 and the state implements a new funding formula that the department hopes will increase county allocations in 2026. The department also reported that the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) funding ended June 30; the county retained one MRC support position through August using workforce-development funds but the employee plans to resign in August.

Staff said they have a vacant nurse position open since January that they have not been able to fill because candidate salary expectations exceed the county's current offer; the director said starting salary ranges for nurses in the draft pay plan run from approximately $23.33 to $34 per hour and that some candidates are seeking salaries up to about $45 per hour in other settings.

Operational pressures include two new recurring costs: fit-test machine calibration the state will no longer cover (about $1,600 per unit) and potential loss of the state courier service that delivers laboratory samples; the department said replacing the courier will cost and that it will coordinate with local partners if the county must fund regular courier runs.

No budget vote was taken; the department asked commissioners to note the grant changes and staffing challenges and to consider the staffing implications in the broader compensation discussion.