The Wayne County Health Department cut its county budget request for fiscal year 2025 by about $13,000 from its fiscal year 2024 budget.
The county board of health approved the health department’s revised county budget and the health department’s Health First Indiana budget at its Aug. 20 meeting, which allows the health department to present its budget to the Wayne County Council at the Aug. 21 council/commissioner workshop.
The council did not amend the budget during its meeting and will continue to review the budget as it moves toward adopting the county budget.
Dan Burke, who oversees the health department, presented the county budget of $814,000 and the Health First Indiana budget of $1,552,124.27 to the health board. Health First Indiana funding increased from $803,101.48 in 2024 due to the state allocating additional funds to public health. The county's health contribution was budgeted at $827,541 in 2024.
In 2025, the entire health department workforce was transferred to the county budget, which includes converting three contract employees to county employees, and the health department must cover benefits.
Next year's budget also includes a reorganization of department management, including the creation of an Executive Director and two Deputy Directors for Clinical and Environmental Affairs. When the original budget request was submitted, the position of Executive Director did not exist. After the Clinical Director and Environmental Director were in place, the decision was made that there was too much administrative work being placed on the county health officer and therefore an Executive Director was needed.
Health committee chairman Dr. Paul Ryder said there have been four applications for the executive director position. The clinical director position is also currently vacant.
Other Businesses
During the Board of Health meeting, Wayne County commissioners approved a revised contract for Purdue University Extension to be a subcontractor through the Health First Indiana program. Purdue had requested the removal of a section that did not apply to Extension projects. The state does not allow the Health Department to pay Birth to Five, a subcontractor for Health First Indiana, from a Safety PIN (Newborn Protection in Indiana) grant. The Board of Health approved payment to Birth to Five from the Health Department's Health Maintenance Fund. The syringe exchange program has moved to the Centerstone facility at 100 N. 15th St. It is available Tuesdays and Fridays from noon to 1:30 p.m. A moribund bat was found in Wayne County and tested positive for rabies after death. There is no evidence that the bat transmitted rabies to humans. The Board of Health approved the purchase of a Softworks software system to help manage the department's finances. The software was purchased for $7,995 with an annual fee of $1,995. The county road department also used the same software. Commissioners also approved the purchase. The health department keeps centuries-old birth and death records in bound books, stored portrait-style, which requires some books to be rebound each year. The health board approved $14,322 to purchase two cabinets that will store the books landscape-style on pull-out shelves, although commissioners requested two more quotes from the department. The health board and commissioners voted to terminate the employment of the physician's assistant.
A version of this article appeared in the Aug. 28, 2024, print edition of the Western Wayne News.
