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Health Department Scales Back Expansion After State Funding Cut; Council Presented Plan to Preserve Core Services
Summary
Vanderburgh County Health Department told the council that state reductions to a local public-health appropriation required cutting or deferring positions and reducing planned expansion; the department proposed using fee-funded Medicaid pre-k revenue to shift one public-health nurse and submitted $1.8 million of requested repeals for 2025.
The Vanderburgh County Health Department presented a set of budget adjustments after the state sharply reduced an appropriation intended to expand local public-health services.
Joe Grease, speaking for the county health department, said the state reduced the direct appropriation to local health departments by about 73 percent. The department had previously budgeted roughly $4.6 million for 2025 in that fund but has now submitted roughly $1.8 million in reductions (repeals) to reflect the smaller state allocation. That action includes eliminating nine positions tied to the grant expansion; the department emphasized that it seeks to preserve existing, filled core positions where possible.
Health Department: "They reduced this funding amount by 73%. So the idea here is to keep the positions that are that we have...but eliminate these other positions because we just the state has reduced that funding." (Joe Grease, 00:50:50)
The department also proposed shifting 1 public-health nurse to a fee-supported pre-k Medicaid fund (fund 4901) and covering salary and benefits from those Medicaid fees; the department said those funds are available and would reduce levy pressure.
Council members thanked the department for the conservative re-submissions and urged health department leaders to keep the council apprised as the state funding picture and federal/state program rules evolve. The department said the reduced budget plan aims to preserve core services through 2026 and 2027 while seeking to restore positions if state funding returns.
Key figures: the local public-health services budget previously listed about $4.6 million for 2025; the department has submitted roughly $1.8 million in reductions and proposed a 2026 budget (fund 1161) of about $2.4 million as part of a multi-year plan to manage the reduced state funding.
