The Lake County Council on a 7-0 vote approved a salary increase for the Health First Indiana project manager, raising the position from $57,750 to $72,100 effective Jan. 1, 2025. Council members approved the revision during the council's consent actions after a brief discussion about the position's duties and growing workload.

The action mattered because health department leaders told the council they are reworking staffing and program plans after a significant reduction in state local-public-health funding tied to recent state legislation and the state budget. A health department official said the department "took a big gut punch" when anticipated funding fell from about $9,000,000 to roughly $2,500,000 and that the agency is evaluating all options, including eliminating some planned hires and reducing subawards to partners.

That reduction, the official said, will force immediate changes to planned maternal and child health work: "Immediately, right off the top, we had about 6 positions planned to hire this year to meet our maternal and child health KPI. We're gonna eliminate that entire program and try to find ways to either partner with others or do it in house with the staff that we currently have." The official added the department previously subawarded about $4 million to $5 million annually and expects that to decrease "significantly."

Council members asked for more detail about the position's job description and performance measures. One council member said department requests for reclassifications or new titles rarely come with a job description or KPIs; the health department official replied, "I'm so sorry. I should have included that. I can send it to you." The official described the post as a project-manager role responsible for budgeting, program development, partner relations and data analysis related to Health First Indiana, and said the incumbent "has expanded way beyond that" to include staff development and cross-team coordination.

Council discussion also included a suggestion to update the employee's written job description to reflect added responsibilities. The council's roll call recorded unanimous support; no member voted against the measure.

Discussion only: council members and staff described possible program eliminations, subaward reductions and cross-training to cover gaps. Direction/assignment: staff were asked to provide the job description and KPIs for the position. Formal action: salary revision approved by roll call, 7-0.

Clarifying details from the meeting: current salary $57,750; proposed salary $72,100; proposed increase $14,350; effective date cited as Jan. 1, 2025 (as read into the record). The health department official estimated prior subawards at about $4–$5 million per year and said roughly six planned maternal-and-child-health hires will be cut. The reduction in state funding was described in the meeting as a drop from about $9,000,000 to about $2,500,000.