Paul Partridge, who supervises the county’s Community Developmental Disability Program (CDDP), told the Board of Commissioners that a budget proposal in the governor’s revised package would shift foster‑home licensing duties from county programs to the state Office of Developmental Disabilities Services (ODDS).

Partridge said the proposal would move roughly 38 county full‑time equivalent positions into fewer state positions (about 20), and that the state projected roughly $2,000,000 in savings. “We worry that centralizing that duty…is going to impact the relationships that our office has with our local providers,” Partridge said.

Why it matters: County staff argued local licensing provides technical assistance and quicker local responses that state offices have not consistently delivered. Holly, a county staff member, told commissioners the state has “not shown to really do a good job with it” and remains behind on other oversight work. County staff said the proposed savings estimate has not been shared as a transparent fiscal impact study.

County members raised practical concerns about service quality and access. Commissioners asked whether statewide intake or assistance lines had long waits; Holly said wait times remained a problem and that the county had “just stopped complaining about it.” Partridge said county leaders had not pursued public testimony on that specific change in part because doing so might affect other county budget asks before Ways and Means.

Next steps: Staff planned to brief legislators during the delegation’s next in‑person meetings and to prepare a short one‑page set of talking points for those conversations. Partridge and local advocates said they will seek direct meetings with the delegation to explain local operational impacts and request reconsideration of centralization without a clear quality‑assurance plan.

Ending: County staff and supervisors framed their position as a request for more information and a transparent fiscal justification from ODDS before any licensing duties are shifted from local offices.