The Oneida County Health Department has a budget of roughly $3 million and employs 24 people.
About 30% of its budget from the tax levy, the rest comes from grants and payment or reimbursements for services.
The program generated revenue can range from licensing fees to vaccinations. The grants mostly come from the state which in turn gets that money from the federal government.
The Trump Administration has proposed major cuts to budgets for the Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Institutes of Health.
“Those federal cuts really impact us at the local level, whether we're talking about access to health care, whether we're talking about prevention or treatment, we're really going to probably see increases in our people that are the most vulnerable, increases in poor health outcomes. We're going to have sicker populations. We're going to have loss of productivity, and we are going to see an impact to our economy at the local level,” said Oneida County Public Health Department Director Linda Conlon.
The Oneida County Health Department is responsible for a range of services. This includes following up on animal bites in case of rabies, monitoring communicable diseases, restaurant inspections, and environmental health, like water, lead, and radon testing.
Conlon says there’s already been some cuts and uncertainty to grants they’ve already received, like one they get to purchase car seats. It was allocated, then partially taken away, and then told they’d be getting the full amount again.
“Thankfully, this year, we have car seats available at the same level as last year. However, it is our expectation that we are not going to see as many dollars next year, or we may not see any dollars available to us for car seats next year,” said Conlon.
This has also created a lot of uncertainty around employment. Many positions and programs are grant funded. Conlon says even if their program doesn’t get cut, some staff may choose to leave to find a job that offers more certainty.
“They are worried about not just the job, they're worried about their programs. They're worried about the work that they have dedicated their public health career to, and so they have some anxiety and they have some worry, but I have to give them credit, because they are being as positive as they can be,” said Conlon. “They really are dedicated to the work they're doing, and they want to hang in there for as long as possible, because they truly believe in what we are doing, they believe in public health.”
Health care infrastructure
Then there are more indirect cuts, like those to Medicaid and Medicare.
Wisconsin Department of Health Services estimates 52,000 people could lose their coverage under the changes that passed the House.
Conlon says that can have a domino effect on health care infrastructure.
“What happens when people lose their health care coverage is we end up with a strained health system so hospitals and clinics could face rising uncompensated care costs, which could force service reductions or closures,” said Conlon.
The Wisconsin Hospital Association says the changes to Medicaid as they stand now will have “severe and unfair consequences for Wisconsin health care.”
Conlon says the impact on public health could be a loss of preventative services like cancer screenings and vaccinations, all of which she worries will lead to worsening health outcomes in the community.
“When we lose funding, we lose public health infrastructure, which generally means poor health outcomes for our community, less services for our community, less ability to respond to community needs,” said Conlon.
Her other major concern is the cuts to preparedness grants which help make sure the county is ready in the event of a natural disaster or another pandemic.
“It would likely increase preventable harm during emergencies,” said Conlon.
Conlon says she understands making cuts at the federal level but wishes the process would take a closer look at how the cuts impact a community, not just the bottom line.
“They really could cost lives. They could cost not only lives at the end, but it could cost us our quality of life as well,” said Conlon.
In an overview letter for the entire Fiscal Year 2026 budget, the Trump Administration states: “Savings are achieved by reducing or eliminating programs found to be woke and weaponized against ordinary working Americans, wasteful, or best left to the States and localities to provide.”
None of the proposed funding cuts have been finalized.
The Senate now has the reconciliation bill with a self-imposed deadline of July 4th.
The Trump Administration released a more detailed Fiscal Year 2026 budget which Congress will begin to consider soon.
