ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
The Seward County Health Department’s budget is largely funded through grant money, and last Thursday, county commissioners approved the submission of applications for more grants from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Before the vote, though, SCHD Director Brie Greeson clarified some information given out at prior meetings, namely that no raises were given out in any prior grants.
Rather, Greeson said, she budgets off a complicated formula from the Kansas Grant Management System.
“The important thing to look at when you are looking inside of each of the individual grants that have been applied to is the money we are actually getting from the state and the money we are actually matching for the state,” she said. “As previously decided, I will not be giving any raises unless it comes before you guys.”
Greeson said the KGMS formula was an upgrade from previous formulas, and because of the complicated nature of the formula, local officials among others have asked for a fix before the next grant session.
“A lot of the hiccups were not worked out before we were having to get them submitted,” she said. “For the state formula grant, you see an increase in that. That’s because the COVID money went away. Some of the stuff the state pushed back on us, we had to continued to do, or they stopped doing after COVID.”
Greeson explained in previous years, a number was put in for the county to offset contractuals and commodities.
“That’s the number that goes into the state formula grant as a placeholder,” she said. “That number can go up and down within a certain range, but we have to put that in for what I asked for on the budget you guys got last year.
Greeson further said SCHD operates in two separate grant years and possibly a third with having the local Women Infants and Children office in the health department.
“With KDHE’s being July 1 to June 30 and the county fiscal year being Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, there’s some stuff that overlaps in there,” she said.
Commission Vice Chair Todd Stanton asked Greeson if the numbers in the grant request could give the appearance of salary increases.
“That’s using a formula you are required to use that’s dictated by the state,” Stanton said. “Where do we then keep the salary data which we are making sure we don’t have pay raises? Where is that occurring?”
Greeson said this is based on a spreadsheet Payroll and Benefits Technician Juan Meza keeps for payroll records.
“It is their base amount they get like $20 an hour at how many hours they’re budgeted to work for the week, which is 34,” Greeson said. “That is the total I plug into KGMS at that point. I don’t know what the system does with it, but I keep that.”
Greeson said no adjustments are made to this without consent of the commission, Administrator April Warden and Meza.
“The hard numbers they’re making an hour are kept with Juan, and I also keep that on a spreadsheet for me,” Greeson said.
Greeson likewise said this is something the commission approves within the budget itself.
“I’m not changing it from what’s being budgeted at all,” she said. “I can give that to you if would like it, but everything’s with payroll.”
Stanton too asked what would happen if the health department received more money from KDHE than anticipated. Greeson said this should not happen.
“They will not fund me any higher than this number,” Greeson said. “These are my wishlist numbers.”
Should extra money come in, Greeson said the commission would decide how to handle the additional funds.
“I have to bring that back to you guys for that addendum to be approved for it to be exactly where it’s going to be spent,” she said. “Then we get the money from KDHE, but then I send that back to the state. There’s nothing you guys are not seeing before we’re doing something with it. If I get less money, I will let you guys know, but more money has to come back to you guys.”
