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Health department official urges Montgomery County to retain director of finance amid staffing cuts
Summary
A county health‑department staffer urged the Montgomery County Legislature to keep the director of finance position, saying the role now covers two departments’ duties and helps secure millions in grant funds; the Legislature heard the appeal during a public hearing before adopting the 2026 budget.
A county health‑department staffer, identified in the public hearing as Sarah, urged the Montgomery County Legislature to reconsider eliminating the director of finance position in the proposed 2026 operating budget.
Sarah told the board she reduced front‑office staff in 2023 and has assigned remaining duties to two clerical employees and the director of finance. She said the director now manages contracts and payments for every mental‑health provider the county contracts with, pursues grants — including a $5,200,000 lead poisoning prevention award — and handles opioid‑settlement and other settlement funds that support county programs. She said workforce bonuses and incentive payments distributed across multiple departments would not have been possible “if it wasn't for my director of finance.”
The speaker said the salary in the budget is reimbursed through local government unit (LGU) funding and New York State Article 6 reimbursement, and that unspent LGU funds must be returned to state. Sarah asked the Legislature explicitly to "reconsider the elimination of the director of finance position and not reallocate it to a lower position," characterizing the job as covering the workload of two full‑time positions in neighboring counties.
The hearing transitioned immediately into a special meeting on the 2026 budget. Legislators later debated and passed amendments to the budget, including one that removed certain line items; the board also discussed the legal limits on direct grants to private corporations and options for structuring service contracts.
The Legislature adopted the 2026 operating budget as amended at the same meeting; the schedule for any personnel changes referenced by Sarah will depend on the final enacted lines and follow‑up actions by the Legislature and county staff.
