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Summit County health director outlines Peak Performance review and asks council for $1.2 million to maintain behavioral-health services
Summary
Health director presented an internal Peak Performance review of contracting and grant workflow (77 grants; 43 state-funded) and a 2025 budget that is largely flat except for a requested $1.2 million increase to sustain behavioral-health services, and answered council questions about contingency plans for potential federal/state funding cuts.
Summit County Health Department Director Phil presented the department—s Peak Performance initiative, a workflow review intended to speed up and standardize how state and federal grants are received, signed, recorded and drawn down.
Phil said the department manages 77 grants (43 state-funded) and described a multi-step contract path that currently requires county manager signature even for delegated pass-through funds, producing a week-long turnaround and multiple handoffs. He described internal changes and legal constraints that limit how much the department can change signature delegation without county-manager sign-off.
On budget priorities, Phil said the department currently employs about 45 staff and proposed a relatively flat budget for 2025, with a key exception: a $1,200,000 request for behavioral-health funding to preserve University of Utah and HMHI contracts, single-case agreements and school-based services. "That is a collective request for new funding as it relates to... maintaining current levels of mental health and behavioral health services in Summit County," Phil said. Council members asked about declines in grant funding for early intervention and preparedness and how the department would backfill those losses. Phil said contingency plans exist (reassigning staff, identifying alternate funding and using a restricted reserve required by state statute) and committed to share more detailed plans on request.
The director also described ongoing public-health accreditation planning and a public health improvement plan guided by a community health assessment. Council thanked the health leadership team and asked for follow-up on contingency plans and the department—s reserve level.
What happens next: council expects follow-up briefings on contingency funding plans, and the $1.2 million behavioral-health request will be considered in the broader county budget process.
