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Henry County department heads warn budget cuts may shrink hours after state orders 5% reduction
Summary
County officials discussed a state directive to cut agency budgets by 5%, elimination of a regional health emergency preparedness liaison post, a $5,000 reduction in a preparedness position’s funding, and a county department head warned her agency may have to cut staff hours rather than grant raises.
Department leaders told Henry County commissioners that a state directive for another 5% across-the-board budget cut, together with local reductions in public‑health funding, could force departments to reduce service hours or make other operational changes.
A department director (unnamed) said the governor "went ahead and asked every department within state government to go ahead and reduce the budget yet another 5%." The director also reported that the district 6 regional health department liaison position for emergency preparedness was eliminated and that a $25,000 funding line for a 20‑hour‑per‑week preparedness position had been cut to $20,000. "So I'll be able to compensate that, move some funding around, and put the 5,000 back," the director said about county plans to cover the shortfall.
Later in the meeting a department head told commissioners her office “cannot and will not accept any direction from this council telling me I have to give my people a raise this year because I don't have it,” and said the health department is considering reducing full‑time hours from 35 to 32 per week to afford higher hourly pay. She described the 32‑hour option as a way to keep positions technically full time while cutting three hours of public service per week.
Commissioners and staff discussed the practical effects: if the county cannot absorb a reduction in available pay, some departments would need to change schedules, reduce open hours, or reallocate existing funds. The director observed that the eliminated liaison had been “indispensable” during COVID response and that losing that centralized emergency‑preparedness support reduces the county’s internal capacity for coordinated response.
No formal action or vote occurred on raises or hour reductions at the meeting; the statements were presented as departmental information and warnings about upcoming budget development. Commissioners acknowledged that raises are often finalized late in the budgeting process and said they will need to consider departmental budget submissions in light of the directive and upcoming budget deadlines.
