ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
A large portion of the discussion around the 13-mill increase over the Revenue Neutral Rate for Seward County has been the county’s health department, and much of that discussion has centered on grant money being used for bonuses.
The county’s Women Infants and Children (WIC) office at the health department has gotten much of the focus, particularly the hours the office operates and the funding it will receive with a shutdown currently place at the federal level.
At the Nov. 3 county commission meeting, WIC Director Tammie Thompson said the department had received nearly $29,000 from the state for October and November.
“This amount will be applied toward our total grant allocation for the year, which runs Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2026,” she said. “With the $35,000 in county support, we expect to be able to continue operations through Dec. 3. Typically, it costs anywhere from $32,000 to $35,000 a month to operate or $45,000 to $47,000 in months that have the third pay period.”
Thompson said state officials continue to communicate reimbursement for the $35,000 is not guaranteed, but she added historically, WIC funding has been fully reimbursed, with all operating expenses, salaries and benefits covered.
Thompson said she and Seward County Health Department Director Brie Greeson continue to closely track and monitor budget expenses in their communications with the state.
“We are participating in statewide calls once to twice a week,” Thompson said.
As of Nov. 3, Thompson said state officials estimated the county’s WIC office’s food funding will last through Nov. 20 assuming no panic buying from clients to reduce cost.
Thompson next addressed the hours local WIC staff have been working. During October, she said staff had been working for 32 hours a week, and they are budgeted for 34 hours a week.
“I would like guidance on whether we should continue on at working the 32 hours a week or return to our budgeted hours of 34,” she said. “The difference is about $1,600 a month or being open one more day in December. If we don’t get the additional funding, that will be the difference. If the government remains shut down as of Nov. 15 and there are no additional emergency funds provided.”
Likewise, Thompson said she wanted to request a work session on how to proceed with staffing and operations at the local WIC office.
Commissioner Presephoni Fuller asked Thompson how much the WIC program generates in terms of dollars in the community.
“It’s approximately $1.2 million to $1.3 million into this community to the three vendors here in town,” Thompson said.
Thompson said the WIC office will continue to be open during its normal business hours.
“It just may mean staff just isn’t there the full time,” she said. “We’re going to flux staff where I may go home two hours early one day, and the next day, the other nurse goes home early, same thing with the clerks.”
Administrator April Warden said it is only the county’s five WIC employees and not the entire SCHD staff who is being reduced to 32 hours.
Commissioners voted unanimously to reduce WIC staff to 32 hours per week during the current government shutdown.
Later in the meeting, Greeson addressed some of the complaints regarding the use of grant money for bonuses, but first, she talked about the need for a formal procedure for handling grant funds.
“I have been following the process that was taught to me by my predecessor, but as we move forward, I believe it’s important we establish a clear standardized procedure to guide this process,” she said.
Greeson said a letter from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment confirms SCHD is currently in full compliance with all grant reporting, fiscal and programmatic requirements.
“This letter also explains each county in Kansas may adopt its own process for accepting and approving grant awards,” she said. “The state only requires the county commission chair to sign the grant application to authorize submission, and the local health department signs the aid to local contract once the grant is awarded.”
Greeson said these two signatures fulfill state requirements.
“With that said, I think it’s a good time for us to put a formal procedure in place at the county level so everything is clear, consistent and well-documented moving forward,” she said.
A copy of Greeson’s proposed procedure were in the agenda packet for the Nov. 3 meeting, and she said steps one and two concerning funding opportunity identification and preliminary internal review were only needed if the grant had not previously awarded to the county.
“Most of my grant funds are revolving and have been longstanding grants of the health department,” she said.
As part of the proposed procedure, Greeson said a deliverable was added to allow for transparency when handling open records requests.
“They know what they’re looking for, and we know what to give them,” she said.
Fuller asked Greeson to clarify how grant funds come in a grant year and how what looks like a bonus actually works within the health department to get funds.
“If those funds come to this county and we do not use that money, it goes back,” Fuller said.” “Can you explain that so people are clear you’re not getting bonuses?”
Instead, Greeson said the grants were used for bonuses, but she said that usage was within grant guidelines.
“They have been approved by the commission, and they are going for services we are doing,” she said. “They may not be clocked in services. Those may be weekends or after hours, but I would like to come back to you guys at a later time with a more formal discussion on that point.”
Greeson said the money from the grants does not come from Seward County taxpayers alone.
“This is coming from either the federal level as a pass through to us through the state or coming from the state to us,” she said.
Greeson said having a procedure in place would allow both county officials and the public to see how grants are handled. She also requested a work session be scheduled to review health department operations in detail.
“This will give us time to review our funding streams, our hours of operations, staffing and any other areas that may need discussions or clarification,” she said. “My goal is moving forward, we’re all on the same page, and we all have a clear picture of how the department runs, where our funding comes from and what challenges and opportunities we’re facing. If anything, I have learned having an open conversation would be really beneficial for everybody.”
