Health department requests county supplement to continue behavioral health services after grant transfer

Doctor Brewster and health department staff explained at the March 14 budget work session that several county-funded behavioral-health staff and grant-funded positions are shifting administratively from Aging & Human Services to the Health Department for FY18. The health department requested the continuation of a $70,000 county supplement that had supported the county-side personnel and grant-match obligations in the prior year.

Officials described the transfer as a neutral-budget action at the county level: the county’s $70,000 supplement for FY17 sat in Aging & Human Services and, with the grant and staffing split changing, the health department asked that the same $70,000 be shown in its FY18 request to continue supporting the same work. Meeting participants confirmed the change is a transfer of funding responsibility rather than an additional new recurring county cost; commissioners signaled they were satisfied with documentation but asked staff to provide more line-item detail from the prior year to show how the supplement had been used.

Health department staff also outlined planned recruitment for the posted positions and noted that while some existing county employees had been offered lateral, noncompetitive transfers to other county vacancies, the department would post new positions under the grant terms. Commissioners asked for follow-up detail about whether the posted grant-funded job descriptions would match the qualifications of incumbent county employees.