SIDNEY — The Sidney-Shelby County Health Department (SSCHD) is seeking approval of a .6-mill operating levy on the Nov. 7 general election ballot.
The proposed health levy is a replacement of the current .3-mill levy with a .3-mill increase. The current .3-mill levy expires next year and has been in place since 1954.
The purposed levy will only cost home owners $21 for every $100,000 of property value. The replacement levy is for ten years, with tax collecting beginning in 2025, based on 2023 property values.
The levy is an important part of the Health Department’s funding, accounting for nearly 33 percent of the health budget. Levy funds help provide essential services to the community.
“Our staff is continuously looking for grants to help support programs and salaries,” said Health Commissioner Erica Lentz. “For example, in 2023 we applied and received the Cribs for Kids grant. This grant provides safe-sleep education and cribs to families. In the first year, 70 cribs were given out to families in Shelby County.”
Grants are a major portion of the health department’s budget. However, grants are not guaranteed funding.
Quality improvement is a major focus. The health department has increased service opportunities over the last several years by incorporating late clinics to provide immunizations and WIC services to working families. Staff is attending more public events to inform the community on public health and the services that are available to them. Many in the community used their services in some way during the first year of COVID-19.
During COVID-19, staff stepped up and put in many hours to support our community by answering questions, offering guidance, providing immunization clinics, dropping off supplies to those impacted by COVID-19, providing immunizations to homebound residents, and just listening to those who were worried and scared. During the pandemic, many people realized how valuable their local health department is.
The SSCHD is fortunate to have a robust staff with years of public health experience and expertise. The environmental staff combined has over 100 years of experience and works to keep our community safe and healthy.
The levy is needed to support programs where funding is limited or nonexistent. The levy helps support immunization for children and adults, investigation and control of communicable diseases, public health nuisance abatement, school and jail inspections, investigation of animal bites and rabies control, maintaining birth and death certificates, and health education.
There are various fees charged for programs the state receives. For example, birth and death certificates cost $25 and the health department only keeps $11.50. The rest is sent to the state. Mandated environmental health programs, such as septic systems, food service operation inspections, campgrounds, public pools, and water wells are restricted on how much the health department can charge, which means local tax dollars pick up the remaining costs for these mandated services.
The SSCHD has been serving the community for more than 100 years and has great community partnerships. The health department participates in numerous committees/events to improve the lives of those who live in and visit Shelby County. In May 2023, the health department became nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board. This was a major milestone and assures the community the SSCHD is meeting a national standard for the services they provide.
