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Regional granters recommend Pitkin County cover roughly $40,000 shortfall for Community Health Services pending partner outreach
Summary
A four-member regional granters group recommended Pitkin County contribute a share of an unexpected ~$90,000 funding gap for Community Health Services; staff and commissioners asked the nonprofit to seek partner funding and said the county could cover its portion via a supplemental request if needed.
Pitkin County staff and commissioners on July 15 reviewed a regional-granters collaborative recommendation urging shared support for Community Health Services to cover an unexpected funding shortfall.
Sam Lander Casper, deputy director of human services, and representatives from the Aspen Community Foundation and City of Aspen described a new off-cycle request process the four regional granters use to screen and make joint recommendations on urgent funding requests. The group’s RFI process aggregates applications from organizations in the region so multiple funders review the same information and recommend proportionate contributions.
Community Health Services notified the collaborative of a roughly $90,000 gap caused by cuts to Title X family planning and a CDC women’s wellness grant, Sam Lander Casper said. The regional granters applied historical funding shares among six regional funders to the $90,000 total and initially calculated Pitkin County’s share as $46,503. The staff discussion showed the board and staff then checked the math; a corrected Pitkin County share cited later in the meeting was $40,149.
As presented, Pitkin County’s portion could be paid from the Healthy Community Fund surplus or the general fund, staff said. The four-member collaborative recommended Community Health Services seek funding from Eagle County Public Health, Garfield County Public Health and the City of Aspen according to their historical percentages. County staff and commissioners asked Community Health Services to pursue those partner conversations before Pitkin submits a third-quarter supplemental appropriation.
Commissioner Greg Poshman emphasized the shifting federal funding landscape and urged partners to revisit historical contribution assumptions. Kara (public health staff) and others said the services are essential, citing maternal and reproductive health and local maternal health outcomes. The board did not take a formal vote but directed staff to bring back any partner responses before making a final supplemental funding decision; staff said the county can pursue a budget supplemental if necessary.
No final appropriation was approved at the July 15 meeting. Staff described the process to commissioners: the regional-granters group will ask Community Health Services to approach partner funders; if partners cannot or do not fully fill the gap, staff will return to the board with a supplemental request and more precise numbers.
