On Wednesday, Public Health Sudbury and Districts approved a 0.76-per-cent budget increase for 2020, out of a $26.6-million budget.
*The health unit submits its budget to city council, who can either approve it or send it back and ask for revisions. However, Public Health Sudbury and Districts can refuse to make any changes, and council would be obligated to approve the budget as is. While spending is not increasing by much, provincial budget cuts mean the cost to local taxpayers is rising by 10 per cent compared to 2019.
For all boards of health starting January 2020, the province will no longer fully fund certain public health programs and is reducing its funding share for all programs to a maximum of 70 per cent. Locally, this is a $1.17 million funding cut for 2020.
To ease the transition, the Ministry of Health said in August all municipalities will be protected in 2020 from any cost increases resulting from the funding changes that exceed 10 per cent of their existing costs.
That translates into an increase in municipal funding of $4.47 per person per year, or an almost $735,000 total increase compared with 2019. The 2020 operating budget totals $26,623,396, which represents an increase of $200,000, or 0.76 per cent, compared with 2019.
“These are difficult times,” Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre, chair of the board, is quoted as saying in a news release. “In 2019, we had to put in place a hiring freeze in addition to many spending restraints.
“We continue to have hard work ahead of us. Our communities’ needs are increasing while at the same time projections estimate a shortfall of over $1.2 million for 2021. We are very active in the Ministry of Health’s public health modernization initiative so that we can give our best advice on how to protect a resilient and responsive local public health system for years to come.”
The budget approved this week “aims to maintain important public health programs for local communities despite major provincial funding reductions, increases in fixed costs, and heightened health needs,” the health unit said in a news release.
“Our commitment is that residents, communities and partners can continue to depend on Public Health as a foundation in the health system, working for all to improve health opportunities,” CEO and medical officer of health Dr. Penny Sutcliffe is quoted as saying.
“Achieving this commitment with a near-zero budget increase has been very difficult and is the result of deliberate planning and hard decisions, which included organizational realignment and staffing reductions, to preserve our ability to promote and protect health, and prevent disease.”
“Local public health interventions are highly cost-saving,” Lapierre is quoted as saying. “But more importantly, they are health-enhancing. The work of local public health is critical to preventing patients from entering the health care system in the first place, which is essential for ending hallway health care.”
The 2020 operating budget includes more than $500,000 in cost reductions related to organizational realignment and staffing reductions, the release said, and a one-time provincial grant of $600,000.
On Nov. 18, the Ministry of Health launched its public consultation process to modernize public health and emergency health services in Ontario, the release said.
Public Health Sudbury & Districts serves residents across a service area that spans more than 46 551 square kilometres.
The agency “is committed to improving health and reducing social inequities in health through evidence-informed practice,” the release said.
To learn more about public health programs and services, visit phsd.ca, or phone 705-522-9200 (toll-free 1-866-522-9200).
*An earlier version of this story didn't make it clear that council was obligated to approve the health unit's budget. While council can request revisions, Public Health Sudbury is not obligated to make changes.
