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Wright County HHS director outlines state budget developments and potential local impacts
Summary
Health and Human Services director briefed commissioners on recent state-level proposals and what appears omitted; major proposed county cost-shifts were removed from current proposals, but the legislature created a work group to seek long-term human services savings and other items remain under discussion.
Wright County's Health and Human Services director briefed commissioners Tuesday on pending state-level budget proposals and the likely effects on county services and levy obligations.
Jamie, the county HHS director, said several high-dollar proposals that counties feared this year are not included in the current legislative package as understood on Tuesday. "The waiver rate exception county cost share... has been removed so that's no longer in the budget as we understand it right now," Jamie said, calling that omission a relief for counties.
Jamie said the legislature included a requirement to form a work group charged with identifying human-services cost savings; if the group cannot meet its goals, a contingent county cost share could be legislated later. Jamie described the work group's savings target as large (she referenced a figure in the hundreds of millions) but said the immediate effect was that the county would not face the previously proposed cost shift in the current package.
Other items Jamie discussed: proposals to increase behavioral-health county levy obligations and the county share for residential services were not included in the current package; a proposed change from time-study reimbursement to a flat reimbursement for some long-term care assessments was projected at the state level to reduce payments by about $18 million over two years (statewide), a figure Jamie said the county would scrutinize for local effect; competency-attainment cost shifts and other items remain under discussion and "could be significant," Jamie said.
Jamie also updated the board on childcare assistance: Wright County's allocation for child care assistance for 2025 is $2,562,502, funded about 48% by the state and 52% federally, with a small county match of roughly $40,000. "As recently as February 2023 we were only getting like $900,000 for this program and we're now at over $2.5 million," Jamie said, adding the county is watching monthly spending to avoid a wait list but currently expects to manage with the higher allocation.
Why it matters: proposals that would shift large human-services costs to counties could materially affect local levies and services; the items currently omitted relieve short-term pressure but create a work-group process that could recommend savings or future shifts.
What the board did: commissioners received the update and asked questions; no formal county action was taken Tuesday on legislative matters.
Ending: Jamie cautioned the situation remains fluid until the legislature finalizes bills and the governor signs them, saying, "we can feel hopeful...but time will tell."
