- The Barry-Eaton District Health Department is losing $1.5 million in funding from both county and federal sources.
- Nine positions have been eliminated, and two senior officials have taken early retirement due to the budget crisis.
- Environmental Health services will be reduced to just two days per week, potentially slowing response to foodborne illness reports.
WATCH: Eaton County health services face major cuts amid budget crisis
Budget cuts totaling more than $1.5 million are forcing the Barry-Eaton District Health Department to eliminate positions and adjust critical services for residents.
Inside the health department offices, numerous desks sit empty as remaining staff struggle to maintain services with fewer resources.
"We are very resilient as a team, and we have a staff that's committed to showing up for our community every day," said Rebekah Condon, operations manager at the Barry-Eaton District Health Department.
Nine positions have been eliminated, along with two early retirements from senior officials, as part of efforts to adjust to their ongoing budget crisis.
The cuts have also forced the elimination of important community programs.
"We had to end our connections program recently, which provided important social support for residents of our counties that need housing, food assistance, help signing up for Medicare Medicaid," Condon said.
The Environmental Health Office, which oversees food, water, and septic safety in the county, will now operate only two days per week. This reduced staffing is expected to slow response times to reports of foodborne illnesses.
"We will have less staff to actually respond to that type of call, and that would include a visit out to the restaurant and then some follow up and if anybody else was sick or if it was a widespread illness or something like that," Condon said.
The situation may worsen as both federal and local funding cuts are expected to increase in the near future. Health officials anticipate that Barry County will implement similar reductions.
Two weeks ago, Eaton County commissioners doubled their original proposed cut to the health department.
"Our expenses outpaced our revenues, we were not able to secure more revenue, we had to make more cuts, the board deliberated, and made those cuts," said Logan Bailey, Communications Director for Eaton County.
Bailey noted that additional changes could still occur as the board finalizes the budget-cutting process.
"The board was presented with a budget that is balanced that takes into consideration, fund balance policy and takes into consideration the reductions and cuts that they've already made. They can still make more cuts with the goal of long-term financial stability, which is something this county has not seen in a long, long time," Bailey said.
Condon emphasized that residents can advocate for services they value.
"The best thing residents can do is talk to their commissioners and their lawmakers and talk to them about how they're using the services so that our governing officials have a better idea of how services are being used," Condon said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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