Winona County approves organizational evaluation contract for Health & Human Services amid skepticism over consultants

Winona County commissioners approved a contract with Seal Strategic Innovations to perform an organizational evaluation and 12 months of follow-up strategic planning for the county Health and Human Services department.

The contract, funded from the county’s foundational public health responsibilities grant dollars, was approved on a motion by Commissioner Meyer, seconded by Commissioner Vaguely. Commissioners voiced concerns about hiring outside consultants, the cost of travel, and whether the work will produce new positions rather than internal efficiencies.

The county’s public-health director told commissioners the state awarded the county roughly $204,000 for foundational public-health work this grant period, of which about $27,000 has been spent and approximately $177,000 remains to be spent by June of this year. The Seal contract would use a portion of those unspent dollars for an organizational assessment, recommendations on staffing and resource allocation, and strategic planning with three-, six-, nine- and 12-month follow-ups.

Precious (Seal Strategic Innovations) said the firm’s work includes a strategic workforce assessment, process and systems review, and recommendations that may or may not require additional staffing: “It doesn't mean you need to hire 4 or 5 more people. Maybe it's already embedded in your structure and we need to look at that structure and look at some of your process and systems and maybe enhance it or redefine it.”

Commissioners pushed for concrete deliverables. Commissioner Vaguely, among others, said past experience with consultants can produce recommendations that default to hiring more staff; he said his concern is that consultants must “be of their value” and may recommend new positions to justify the expense. Another commissioner asked whether the contract could be delayed or discussed again at a later meeting; staff noted the item had been presented to both the public-health board and the county board and that Seal representatives were present for questions.

The contract was approved by the board. Several commissioners said they were “reluctantly voting in favor” but emphasized they expect measurable results and concrete recommendations that improve efficiency and reimbursement recovery rather than simply adding personnel.

The county will use remaining foundational public-health grant dollars for the contract; the department director told commissioners the state is reluctant to let counties swap these dollars to other emergency-preparedness uses without state approval.