Vermilion County Health Department Expects Further Cuts Soon

Vermilion County Board Chairman Jim McMahon vows that the county will maintain its health department, but it may become something residents don't recognize.

By late this year, the department could go without a number of state-grant funded programs, and cut more jobs in addition to the 12 it lost in January. Tuesday night. Vermilion County Board members approved extending a $300,000 loan that it gave to the health department last year. The action gives the health department until mid-July to pay it back. But the board voted down an additional loan of $400,000. McMahon says the department has to assume that it won't receive the $700,000 dollars that it's owed from the state by July. He says that means running a stripped down health department. "Our goal is to maintain a certified health department in addition to restaurant inspections and also a sanitation-sewer division," said McMahon. "Those would automatically stay. We would to whatever it takes to keep those. Any other program that isn't in that immediate program may have to be on hold the state of Illinois straightens out their act."

The Vermilion County Board's options for health program cuts and the additional loan also called for a property tax hike in Vermilion County of around 16-percent. The increase would have paid for not only the health department's shortfall, but additional county offices like the state's attorney and juvenile detention center. "If we hadn't taken the action to eliminate 12 jobs and three programs, the state would have owed us $1.2 million at the end of June," said Vermilion County Health Department Administrator Steve Laker. "Now we're projecting (a deficit of) only $700,000, only the state isn't reimbursing the county for state's attorney's salary, public defender's salary, juvenile detention staff, and probation services staff. And all that adds up to about another $1.2 million. The state owes the county about $1.9 million."

The Vermilion County Board of Health will put forth a new proposal for potential program cuts. It meets at 7 Wednesday night. The Board of Health proposals will be passed on to the Vermilion County Board, which will vote on them May 11th.