Churchill County social services budget stresses lab expansion, homeless transitional house and Medicaid match limits

Shannon Ernst, director of Churchill County Social Services, told the Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 18 that her department kept operating budgets largely flat but is facing pressure from rising professional fees, federal grant uncertainty and statutory limits on local property tax levies that pay the county's Medicaid match.

Ernst said the department is advancing a homeless transitional house project with $1,700,000 in funding already received and "we spent just under, 800,000 to date for the purchase of that project," and she said final approvals for an RFP could come in this or next fiscal year. She warned that ARPA funding that has offset some costs is winding down and that many federal grant programs are under discussion in Washington, leaving future reimbursements uncertain.

The presentation laid out why Social Services budgets differ from other departments: multiple dedicated tax allocations and a mix of federal, state and local grants that must be matched or spent for specific programs. Ernst reviewed mandated services, including crime-victim assistance (where the county pays the first $1,000 per eligible case), indigent burials, a statutory Medicaid-match that can be assessed at up to 8 cents on the tax rate, and child-protective services assessments that are volatile and set by the state.

Ernst told commissioners that the county currently levies a senior tax allocation of 6 cents, a social services allocation of about 6.5 cents, and an indigent tax that can be assessed up to 8 cents for the Medicaid match. She said the county had reduced that levy historically but cautioned: "If we were to have to go up to 8 cents our obligation could be to $680,000 for the Medicaid match," versus about $550,000 at 6 cents.

Other highlights in Ernst's presentation: - The Life Center lab, created as a public-health response during COVID, is being positioned to become self-sustaining by expanding testing services and setting competitive fees; Ernst said turnaround is typically about two hours and the lab is pursuing grant funds for equipment to add opioid and GI testing. - Senior services: Meals-on-Wheels and congregate meals have a required 15% local match; the Life Center serves an average of about 155 people a day in the dining room, with occasional higher attendance. - Indigent accident fund: the county recently received a statutory reimbursement of just over $280,000; statute requires that amount be used first for the Medicaid match and the remainder is available for other eligible indigent services. - Grants and federal funding uncertainty: Ernst said the department applied for dozens of grants last year and emphasized ongoing federal freezes and potential cuts to key programs such as CSBG and certain justice grants that fund local services.

Ernst outlined that many social-services staff positions are grant-funded and that the department has avoided drawing on the general fund in recent years. She recommended the board consider ongoing funding stability as federal support shifts and urged commissioners to expect possible budget changes later in the fiscal year if state assessments for child-protective services are updated by the legislature.

Ending: Commissioners did not take final action on Social Services items during the hearing; staff will include the presentation details in the tentative fiscal plan and monitor grant outcomes and any state assessment updates that affect the department before the final budget.