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Riley County health department budget outlines grant changes, staffing and a possible WIC clerk reduction
Summary
Budget officer Britney Phillips briefed the Commission on the health department budget, saying personnel counts for a pending reorganization are included, universal home visiting was split into a separate grant on July 1, and reduced federal funding may require supplementing the WIC program or removing one WIC clerk.
Britney Phillips, the county budget and finance officer, presented an overview of the Riley County Health Department's 2026 budget and highlighted grant changes, reorganization accounting and potential personnel adjustments.
Phillips said personnel numbers associated with a planned reorganization are included in the budget but that she could not present details of the reorganization until Elizabeth (the health director) returns to present personnel changes. She told commissioners that universal home visiting was split out as its own grant effective July 1 and that one of the department's programs (previously part of MCH) now has separate funding.
On federal funding, Phillips said the county has seen reductions to some grants and that the WIC program faces declining federal support; as a result, the budget currently contemplates eliminating one WIC clerk position if personnel changes are directed. "...we've seen a decrease in the federal funding, and so we anticipate for 2027 that this will be the first year that we have to supplement that program," Phillips said, noting she has not made any FTE reductions on the budget sheet pending clear direction.
Phillips also said the county received notice of an unplanned state award for childcare surveying of about $112,000, above the amount projected, and reiterated that some grants (like OPEI) require a county match. She said decisions on personnel effects of reorganization will be made when the health director is available to present the details.
What happens next: commissioners deferred personnel decisions until the health director can present the reorganization; staff will return with further detail and any specific requests for changes to FTEs or funding allocations.
