Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Health department reports revenue shortfalls, proposes longer delinquency window for accounts
Summary
Finance staff reported midyear service revenue at roughly 35% of expected midpoint levels and proposed changing the delinquent-accounts policy to mark accounts uncollectible after 24 months and increase debt setoff referrals to twice yearly; the board could not vote without a quorum.
Frederick Perschau, Financial and Administrative Services Division Director, presented the Orange County Health Department's second-quarter financial report and billing dashboard on Jan. 21.
Perschau said several clinic improvements have been completed, funded through county capital improvement and Medicaid cost settlement funds. He reported that, due to a lag in service revenue, "current earnings are at 35% rather than the 50% expected at the midpoint of the fiscal year." Division-level performance varied: Environmental Health was about even with last year, Dental Health is recovering after a data-breach-related downturn, Community Health saw higher revenues, and Personal Health has a deficit tied to clinic renovations and staffing turnover.
Perschau introduced proposed amendments to the delinquent-accounts policy: extend the time before an account is considered uncollectible from 12 to 24 months and increase the frequency of sending accounts to debt setoff to twice per year. Because a quorum was not present, the board could not approve the policy; staff said the item will return for consideration at the Feb. 25 meeting.
Quintana Stewart also briefed the board on a hiring freeze and said vacant or new positions are being approved on a case-by-case basis. The department plans to present a proposed budget for FY2026–27 at the February meeting with the goal of keeping the total roughly flat with the current year.
