The Gilmer County Health Department can expect to see at least an 11 percent reduction in state funding for the next fiscal year, but the decrease is not expected to affect services or programs at the local public health facility.
The Gilmer County Board of Health was briefed on the health department’s 2021 budget proposal by Stephen Tonya, North Georgia Health District Chief Financial Officer, during a June 9 board meeting held via teleconference.
The health department’s budget request for the coming fiscal year is $1,051,365.
“The Georgia Legislature and OPB (Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget) is recommending a 14 percent budget reduction for all state agencies due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, the governor revised that budget reduction to 11 percent. The revised 11 percent reduction will cost the health department $31,668,” Tonya told board members Lex Rainey, Tracy Wells, Curtis Kingsley, Charlie Paris, Nicole Bond and Dr. Shanna Downs.
The health department doesn’t anticipate any capital expenditures for 2021, Tonya said, and the current budget includes a $63,000 surplus that will offset the proposed state funding cut. The 14 percent of the health department’s budget provided by county funding, will remain unchanged, Tonya added.
“The proposed budget reduction will not affect services at the health department. Thus far, the financial effort to fight the COVID-19 pandemic has been supported by both the federal and state governments. I expect those resources to be available, if necessary, in the fall,” Tonya said. “Our health department has also prepared for public emergencies such as COVID-19 by ensuring our fund balance reserves are strong.”
Another wave of the coronavirus could result in further budget changes, Tonya noted.
“This request represents budget projections under normal economic conditions. If COVID-19 lingers through the summer and comes back in the fall, things may look considerably different,” he said.
In other news ...
﹣ Gilmer County Environmental Health Manager Andrea Martin gave an update on the local environmental health office’s activity with local restaurants and food service businesses during the pandemic.
“When this first hit, many of them closed either temporarily or permanently. The ones that have reopened opened under restrictions dictated by the executive order from the governor’s office. We’ve had to enforce some of our establishments not complying with the executive order. I’m proud to say hopefully everybody is getting a better handle on what’s expected,” Martin said.
The district’s environmental health department heads have met multiple times via conference calls to discuss the changing executive orders, she noted.
“It seemed like every couple of weeks we were getting a new executive order, so we just rolled with the punches, adapted and got that information out via e-mail. The people who didn’t have e-mail, we called. If we couldn’t get them by phone, we would go in person if they were open,” Martin said. “This also applied to swimming pools. We only have three in our county, but those pools shut down during that time, as well, at the hotels.”
Jennifer King, public information officer for the health district, noted that responding to Gov. Brian Kemp’s executive orders for compliance at food service facilities included some new checkpoints for health inspections.
“During inspections, aside from routine observations, they have reviewed each food facility’s compliance for usage of face coverings and for employee health policies including monitoring for symptoms, employee hygiene with an emphasis on frequent hand washing, social distancing restrictions and facility sanitizing procedures. Most restaurants have reopened their dining rooms while maintaining social distancing measures, but many continue to also offer curbside, takeout and delivery service options,” King said.
All restaurant employees who have interaction with customers are supposed to wear face coverings, she added.