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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH April 21, 2010 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 8 April 21, 2010 commissioners no later than May 20 (Hillsborough) which is also the date of the first of two public hearings on the budget. The second public hearing on the budget is May 25 in Chapel Hill. The Board of Health was asked to consider whether the Board: • Supports no further cuts to the Health Department budget • If not, which programs should be considered by the Health Director for further cuts • Should communicate directly with the County Manager and Commissioners about the department’s budget concerns • Should discuss the appropriate timing for communications with the County Manager and Commissioners • Should have a consistent message in communicating with the Manager and Commissioners • Should adopt a strategy for communicating with the Manager, Commissioners and the public. The Board was asked to offer direction to the Health Director on further actions that are needed. Paul Chelminski asked for a further explanation of Orange County’s loss of revenues that is a factor in this year’s budget planning. Commissioner Yuhasz replied that revenue reduction was due to a projected decrease in tax revenues. Steve Yuhasz also stated that the County is expecting a reduction in the Medicaid relief package for counties, sales tax revenues, and personal property taxes; therefore spending must be reduced. There is also a need to fund increased capital debt. Christopher Cooke commented on the options presented and questioned the strategic advantage of going along with the proposed cuts. He stated that as one option it would be better to take a stand that these cuts are unreasonable and deal with the consequences when they are made. Secondly, he pointed out the County’s history of deference to the schools versus healthcare, questioning which the citizens would rather have, protection from an infectious disease or a library completely full of books. He stated that there are different levels of attributes that are important as in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, some things you have to have and some things are nice to have and questioned why county services are exempt from that kind of assessment when it comes to budget cuts. He stated that it seemed fair to make an across the board 15% cut but questioned if that policy was doing the County a service by cutting every department equally. He felt there was an opportunity for pushback and that was where he felt the Board should put its energies. Anissa Vines replied that for the Board members that were on the BOH last year the same kind of issues came up and that the Department operating costs had been cut to the bone at that time and wondered realistically where the 15% could come from.