County Supervisors Agree To Allocate Remaining Tax Dollars To MCPH
The Mills County Public Health Office is receiving the remainder of its allocated tax dollars following action last week by the Mills County Board of Supervisors.
By a unanimous vote, county supervisors agreed to allocate the remaining $230,000 that’s been pledged to MCPH for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The board had originally intended to allocate MCPH its remaining budgeted funds in two installment payments of $115,000 over the next four months, but agreed to turn over the dollars after concerns and criticism of the installment plan were voiced at a November meeting of the Mills County Board Of Health. Without the immediate funding, some MCPH employees could have been placed on furlough.
Last April, the county board’s preliminary 2024-2025 fiscal year budget called for a reduction in taxpayer funding for MCPH, from $612,542 to $155,000. After hearing objections and concerns about MCPH services that would be lost or reduced as a result of the reduction, the board agreed to provide $500,000 to the agency in FY25.
According to Mills County Auditor Amber Farnan, MCPH was given $155,000 of its budgeted funds at the start of the fiscal year in July. Originally, the remaining dollars were to come in three quarterly installments of $115,000. MCPH had received $270,000 of the $500,000 allocation prior to last week’s meeting.
At a November Board Of Health meeting, MCPH Administrator Brenna Crouse noted that MCPH is currently operating on a total budget of $1.3 million with the majority of funding coming from grant dollars tied to specific services and programs. The grant dollars, however, come in on a reimbursement basis after services are rendered, sometimes several months after being billed. The lag in payment of the grant dollars has created financial challenges for the MCPH Office, according to Crouse, who was asked in an interview with The Opinion-Tribune if the $230,000 will keep the office up and running through the fiscal year which ends on June 30, 2025.
“That depends,” Crouse said. “It really depends on the grant money that comes in because that’s going to support the remainder of the fiscal year. The $230,000 will probably get us through a couple months. Any (grant) money that comes in is going to keep adding to that balance.”
Before last week’s action by the supervisors, Crouse presented documents to the board showing that she’s tracking and monitoring the budget – what’s been billed and what dollars have been received. She noted that 30% of the MCPH budget had been spent through the month of October.
In addition to agreeing to allocate the $230,000 to MCPH, Crouse said the supervisors attended a special meeting of the board of health later in the week and agreed to amend the MCPH budget to over $1.3 million, which accounts for all tax and grant dollars the agency is expected to receive and spend during the fiscal year. The amendment to the budget was not made last spring after the county agreed to reset MCPH funding from $155,000 to $500,000. Without the amendment, MCPH showed a budget of $864,000 instead of the $1.3-plus million.
Prior to the county board approving the $230,000 allocation last week, supervisor Richard Crouch read the following letter from attorney Michael Galloway concerning an allegation that MCPH had supplanted grant dollars.
“I have reviewed the DPS letter regarding the determination that PH has been supplanting grant funds. I have also discussed this issue with outside counsel, a representative of the State Auditor’s Office, and the County Attorney. The allegations and findings contained in the letter are very serious and have the potential to impact other grants awarded to Mills County. This is an extremely serious issue.
“I will be recommending to the Board of Supervisors that it approve fully appropriating the property tax dollars budgeted to the Board of Health in the budget that commenced on July 1, 2024. That amount is $230,000. I will further recommend to the Board of Supervisors that no additional property tax dollars be appropriated to the Board of Health for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025.
“I also want to make clear that the Board of Supervisors has in no way condoned or engaged in any supplanting of grant funds. It appears based upon the revenues and expenditures to date, the Board of Health will not have enough funds to fund their operations through June 30, 2025. This assertion has been supported by various entities including the State Auditor’s Office. The Board of Supervisors and County Auditor’s Office has been extremely vigilant in warning you of this situation, but no steps have been taken to remedy the situation. The actions of overspending the certified budget and the improper use of grant funds have the potential for severe legal implications.”