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Saginaw County Board approves $5.2 million transfer for new Health Department planning, accepts MDHHS grant
Summary
The Saginaw County Board on Jan. 20 approved a $5,196,878 transfer from the General Fund to the Public Improvement Fund to develop a new Health Department facility, accepted a $150,000 MDHHS grant for FY2026 and approved several related budget actions, including vendor payments and a childcare fund amendment.
The Saginaw County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 20 approved a $5,196,878 transfer from the General Fund to the Public Improvement Fund to support development, construction and outfitting of a new Health Department facility.
Mary Catherine Hannah, Saginaw County administrator, told the board the appropriation will advance planning and initial costs; committee materials estimate a 25,000-square-foot facility would cost about $12 million to $15 million, including an escalation allowance. The board approved the transfer on a committee recommendation; no final construction contract was approved at the meeting.
The move followed a separate vote authorizing Christina Harrington, health officer, to accept $150,000 in grant funds from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (described as the Michigan HUB Program) for FY2026 and to amend the county budget accordingly. Harrington was identified in committee materials as the point person for the grant acceptance.
The board also approved routine vendor transactions for Dec. 1–31, 2025 totaling $12,546,197.33, and accepted an amendment to the Childcare Fund to increase programming by $258,720 to cover expanded services for children under court jurisdiction; Todd Borders, court administrator for the 10th Circuit Court Family Division, said the increase requires no general-fund contribution and that Saginaw County Community Mental Health Authority will cover $64,680 of the total.
Undersheriff Gomez told the Budget/Audit Committee that Purchasing advised a $35,528 Dodge Durango purchase was a favorable opportunity after another agency declined the vehicle; the board approved a $13,000 increase to surplus-sales and vehicle-purchase accounts to complete the procurement for use as an unmarked unit.
The board adopted the budget and grant items as compiled and recommended by the Budget/Audit Committee. No roll-call tallies were recorded in the minutes beyond motions carried recorded by the board coordinator.
The board’s next procedural step for the Health Department facility was described as refinement of scope and potential referral to the Building Authority; no binding construction contract or final site-selection vote was taken at the Jan. 20 session.
