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  • September 27 Adeline Hambley Response To FY24 Budget Approval

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    The O awa County Board of Commissioners approved a $4 million reduction to the public health budget, representing a 23.3% cut to the requested funds. This will impact critical programs like O awa Food and communicable disease prevention. The health officer believes these cuts are retaliation for her work and that they will disproportionately impact the most vulnerable communities. She remains committed to transparency around the impacts of the reductions.

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    September 27 Adeline Hambley Response to FY24 Budget Approval

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    The O awa County Board of Commissioners approved a $4 million reduction to the public health budget, representing a 23.3% cut to the requested funds. This will impact critical programs like O awa Food and communicable disease prevention. The health officer believes these cuts are retaliation for her work and that they will disproportionately impact the most vulnerable communities. She remains committed to transparency around the impacts of the reductions.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    5K views3 pages

    September 27 Adeline Hambley Response To FY24 Budget Approval

    Uploaded by

    WXMI
    The O awa County Board of Commissioners approved a $4 million reduction to the public health budget, representing a 23.3% cut to the requested funds. This will impact critical programs like O awa Food and communicable disease prevention. The health officer believes these cuts are retaliation for her work and that they will disproportionately impact the most vulnerable communities. She remains committed to transparency around the impacts of the reductions.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 3

    9/27/23

    The public health budget approved at last night’s O awa County Board of Commissioners mee ng s ll
    represents over $4 million in reduc ons through the county’s general fund alloca on and the removal of
    various grants. This is a 23.3% reduc on in requested revenue from public health for FY24.

    Despite Administrator Gibbs’ and various Commissioners’ con nued claims that they have instructed me
    not to cut the O awa Food program, I have never received such communica on. In addi on, I have
    confirmed with County Fiscal Services that the third epidemiologist is not fully funded using county
    general fund alloca on. Furthermore, it is false to characterize this budget as the “second highest level in
    the past 15 years” to public health. More details on these issues are provided below.

    1. The county stated in its 9/27/23 media release on the budget that the budget “fully funds
    cri cal programs such as O awa Food, Communicable Disease, and others”.
    This is false. The county is not fully funding O awa Food, Communicable Disease, and other
    programs. It is using State of Michigan Essen al Local Public Health Services block grant funds
    earmarked for the chronic underfunding of local public health to “fully fund” the Communicable
    Disease, Immuniza ons, and STD programs. O awa Food is not fully funded because the Health
    Educa on and Nutri on/Wellness budgets were cut by 48%.

    2. Administrator Gibbs claims he instructed me “numerous mes” not to cut O awa Food.
    This is false. I have never received any instruc on not to cut O awa Food from either
    Administrator Gibbs or any Commissioner. The last communica on I received from Administrator
    Gibbs was on September 18 regarding the family planning budget.

    3. Administrator Gibbs claims the third epidemiologist posi on has been fully funded in public
    health administra on.
    This is false. This is not being funded with funds provided through the county or in public health
    administra on but will be funded through addi onal State of Michigan Essen al Local Public
    Health Services block grant funds. The amount of this grant will not be known for several more
    weeks.

    4. Commissioner Moss claims this approved budget “is funded at $14,397,715, the 2 nd highest
    level in the past 15 years”.
    This is false. Commissioners are quo ng total budgeted and actual expenditures, which includes
    various grant funds and other sources of revenue. The amount allocated in the FY24 budget is
    not the highest general fund alloca on provided to public health for opera onal expenses, which
    primarily includes the cost of staff salaries and fringe benefits, and a smaller amount for program
    opera ons. In addi on, the general fund alloca on requires public health pay back to the county
    the cost alloca on plan (county indirect expenses including HR, Administra on, IT, Fiscal
    Services, etc.) thereby reducing the amount available for opera ons. Public health was funded at
    higher levels from the county in 2021, 2022, 2023, and in the years before 2008. Infla on and
    cost of living have increased since that me.
    9/27/23

    I remain frustrated that other county departments are not being required to make cuts of any kind and
    are being funded with infla on and cost of living in mind.

    As I have stated before, these reduc ons include cuts to mandated health educa on, and nutri on and
    wellness programs, as well as a reduc on in funding for one epidemiologist for disease surveillance.
    Moreover, it is the statutory responsibility of the Health Officer to determine where budget funds are
    allocated, in accordance with the law and O awa County employee bargaining agreements.

    Although this approval was expected, I remain steadfast in my belief that these ac ons represent
    unlawful retalia on against me and the department.

    It has been difficult to create a plan for how these cuts will be implemented given the number of mes
    the public health budget has been changed over the past several weeks. Our task now will be to iden fy
    exactly how these cuts will be passed along to O awa County residents. What is certain is that

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    9/27/23

    these reduc ons will affect the most marginalized in the community by elimina ng necessary programs
    and resources.

    I will con nue to provide transparent and credible informa on to the community about these impacts as
    I know more.

    As you are likely aware by now, my a orney, Sarah Riley Howard, received a No ce of Hearing for
    Removal of Officer at 11:10 pm on Tuesday, September 26. That No ce and A orney Riley Howard’s
    response is a ached.

    Adeline Hambley
    Administra ve Health Officer

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