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Public Health director seeks to retain ARPA‑funded roles; department highlights community health priorities
Summary
Public Health Director Greg Olsen described a $2.2 million FY26 request, stressed the value of Oak Park’s certified health department, and urged continuation of two ARPA‑funded supervisory positions that expire in 2026.
Greg Olsen, Oak Park Public Health Director, presented the Health Department’s FY26 operating request Oct. 30 and emphasized that Oak Park is a certified local health department with distinct responsibilities and access to state grant opportunities.
Olsen described the department’s mission to prepare for and respond to community health needs, including food safety inspections, communicable‑disease surveillance, lead-poisoning prevention, emergency preparedness and public‑health education. He noted that certification enables the local department to receive state grant support and to tailor responses to local needs.
The FY26 operating request totals about $2.2 million, up roughly $210,000 from FY25. Olsen said that increase largely reflects rising fringe and insurance costs; the department also expects a modest increase in grant revenue. Two supervisory positions (an environmental‑health supervisor and a health‑education manager) are currently funded through ARPA and run through 2026. Olsen told the committee that those roles are “vital to how our health department operates” and warned that if ARPA funding ends without replacements, public‑health programming and customer service could be constrained.
Olsen said the department plans a community health assessment and an implementation plan focused on social determinants of health and health equity, and seeks to publish an interactive public dashboard of local health metrics and searchable food inspection results. He also said the department is rebuilding partnerships with hospitals, schools and other local organizations for emergency preparedness planning.
Trustees asked if any positions were vacant; Olsen said the department had no current vacancies and that some grant funding runs beyond 2026, giving limited ability to move funds between line items if needed. The director and Deputy Village Manager Lisa Shelley said ARPA funding restored positions that historically existed but were scaled back before 2019; staff will return with further detail during budget deliberations.
