The Union County Health Department (UCHD) is preparing to review its budget for 2019.
The budget was originally finalized in March. Since the renewal levy was recently approved and considerations for the renovation project were made, the board of health was presented with a revised budget at a meeting Wednesday morning. The budget that reflects recent changes will be reviewed at a special meeting Dec. 5.
UCHD Health Commissioner Jason Orcena said there were other factors that played into the changes, such as inflation in prices, employee benefits and how the department handles its vaccination purchases.
“We revise that budget at the end of the calendar year when we have better data as to what our expenditures and programming looks like for next year,” Orcena said. “Now we have a better understanding of where our revenue and our expenditures are going to be in 2019, so we’ll pass a new, revised budget.”
He said next year’s budget will consider the fact no new staff positions are planned, vaccines will be purchased directly from a supplier rather than a third party and contractual services and the renovation will be taken into consideration.
Later in the meeting, Orcena talked about the .75-mill renewal levy with .15-mill increase results, and noted that while it passed, the victory “wasn’t a slam dunk.”
“It’s not worth getting too cocky about any one win,” he said.
The commissioner said a majority of the county was in support of the levy, but there were some districts that had more opposition.
He explained to the board of health the levy earned more opposition votes in the Darby 1, Jackson, Dublin 1, Jerome 2, Liberty 1, Washington and York precincts. When the UCHD had a .5-mill renewal levy on the ballot in 2011, all of those precincts, except for Dublin 1, voted to support it.
“We have a more complicated message to give in 2018 than we did in the past,” Orcena said. “It doesn’t surprise me we had more no-voters.”
He said he enjoys the fact more than 57 percent of the county was in support of the levy. He warned the board of health to keep monitoring public opinion, as this year’s levy didn’t have enough total support from all the precincts compared to its other levy issues in 2008 and 2011.
Also at the meeting:
-UCHD Director of Nursing Joyce Richmond said the health department was denied funding for its reproductive health program in Marion. She said the state has acknowledged there’s growth in Marion, and technical assistance is being offered.
-Marcia Dreiseidel, director of environmental health at the UCHD, said the department and officials from the city and county met to discuss how to connect properties with private septic systems to the main line. She said there are some settlements in town that still haven’t connected yet.
-Shawn Sech, director of health promotion and planning, said she is still comparing the results of this year’s Union County Health Assessment to the Youth Behavior Survey.
Sech said the UCHD will take part in a parade in Plain City also. The department will participate in “Christmas Under the Clock” in Plain City, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Dec. 1, to hand out hot chocolate and flu kits.
The next meeting is planned for 7:30 a.m. Dec. 19.