GC Health district approves 2017 budget

EPHRATA — The Grant County Health District on Wednesday unanimously approved a $2.65 million budget for 2017, expecting to spend roughly $78,000 more than it anticipates collecting in revenue for the year.

The health district, which collects information and deals with disease and other threats to public health in Grant County, will spend the bulk of its projected 2017 budget on salaries and benefits for administrators, doctors, and researchers.

About 60 percent of the district’s budget is projected to come from federal and state grants, with another 27 from licenses, permits, and fees, and roughly 11 percent in contributions from the towns and cities of Grant County.

“We have several federal and state grants coming to an end this year,” said Theresa Atkinson, the health district’s chief administrator. “They will likely be renewed, but we aren’t sure at what level.”

While little has changed from the 2016 budget, the district has reduced the term of their summer temporary environmental health specialist to four months from six.

“We had to make some tough calls, and this was a disappointment,” Atkinson said.

The environmental health unit inspects restaurants, and approves permits for swimming pools, septic tanks, and garbage dumbs, as well as tracks diseases that human beings can get from animals, such as rabies, zika virus, and West Nile virus.

To make up for the difference between anticipated revenue and projected spending, the district plans to draw about $78,000 from its three-month reserves $671,000, with roughly $18,000 scheduled as a retirement payout.

“We like to keep a three-month reserve,” said Ryan Brimacombe, the district’s accountant.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.