A $1 million shortfall in the Human Service Center budget will be covered by reserves, but leaders say they will work to find a long-term solution to a budget shortfall.
The Center is located in Rhinelander and provides citizens of Forest, Oneida, and Vilas Counties with chemical dependency, developmental disabilities, and mental health services. The center is a collaboration of the three counties.
Director Tamara Feest says costs are rising, but revenues are decreasing. She says changes by the state in the Family Care program cut more than $200,000 from the budget, and costs to have people hospitalized also increased...
"..hospitalization usually ends up at Winnebago Mental Health institution, the state hospital. When we compare the first half of this year to the first half of last year, we have a 36 percent increase in the number of people needing hospitalization and along with that a 37 percent increase in the length of stay. So not only are more people going, they have to stay longer...."
Feest says due to other state-mandates changes to the Family Care program, the three counties said they would cut support to the Center so they can make the required payment to the state. That alone is more than $600,000. Maggie Peterson is the Board of Directors chair. She says they will cover the deficit for 2018 with a reserve fund, but she hopes the counties will step up with more funding....
"....we feel we were very well informed and we saw these costs coming. It was our hope that the counties would do something similar to what we're doing, taking some things out of a reserve in order to make those payments(to the state). They're passing those costs onto this agency...."
Peterson says while next year is covered, unless a solution can be found, they will be having cash-flow problems by 2019. Feest will be going to the three counties' budget meetings, which are beginning, to make the case to help out the agency.
