Montgomery County commissioners will give the Montgomery County Public Health District $50,000 monthly after the health district’s federal funding ended in 2022.
The funding won’t start until late 2024 after the health district draws down its $3.7 million in reserves to $3 million, county officials said during a special meeting Monday.
Since 2010, the county has funded the health district $90,000 a year.
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“Obviously $90,000 isn’t going to run a health department,” said Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack, which prompted Precinct 1 Commissioner Robert Walker to suggest the county provide $50,000 a month to cover the health district’s yearly expenses of about $600,000 a year.
The funding issue began in July 2022 when the health district board voted to transition management of the Montgomery County Public Health District from the Montgomery County Hospital District to the county.
With federal funding ending and the hospital district unable to use public tax money to support the service of public health under a 2010 agreement, the fate of the district was up to the county.
In November, the public health board outlined the responsibilities of a transition manager which was filled by Jason Millsaps, executive director of the county’s Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
However, the transition stalled between the three entities with the contract between the hospital district and health district set to end Sept. 30.
During the meeting Monday, commissioners said the county did not want to be in the “health business” and the hospital district should continue its management of the public health district instead of the county running the department.
“I think our board feel they can do an efficient job taking care of the public health district,” said Randy Johnson, CEO of the hospital district.
Commissioners said the agreement need to move forward to ensure public health services.
“We are this close to putting something together and I don’t want it to fall apart because people aren’t talking,” Noack said. “I thought this meeting would be a way to get everybody on the same page and make certain if the desire of the court is the hospital district to continue providing the public health service it has, this court can say with clarity today.”
With that direction, Johnson said he would visit with the hospital district and health district boards to create a three-pronged agreement with the county providing the future funding. He expected the boards to meet later this month.
