Findlay council asked to approve more money for public health

FINDLAY — Findlay Council is expected to take up the second reading today of legislation that will raise the city's annual contribution to Hancock Public Health for the next three years. Council will meet in regular session at 6 p.m. today at the Findlay Municipal Building, 318 Dorney Plaza. All council meetings are open to the public and are livestreamed on the city's YouTube channel: Findlay Ohio. In a letter to council, dated March 5, Service-Safety Director Rob Martin said the new agreement updates how costs will be shared for 2027 through 2029. The total amount billed to all participating jurisdictions would be capped at $663,390 a year, with Findlay's share capped at $381,449. The city and the Hancock County District Advisory Council first combined their health departments in 2015, creating what is now Hancock Public Health. The agreement has been updated several times since then, including a three-year amendment approved in March 2022, with a one-year extension. The health department is supported through a combination of local cost-share contributions from Findlay, townships and villages, along with state and federal grants and fees for services such as environmental health inspections and clinical programs, according to the agency's annual report. Grant funding makes up a significant share of its revenue and can fluctuate year to year. The Hancock County District Advisory Council approved the request for a 4% local funding increase for the health department at its March 2 annual meeting. Martin wrote that Hancock Public Health will continue aiming to support itself through fees, with shared costs split by population among the city, townships and villages. The amendment keeps the rule that the shared amount can rise by up to 5% every three years, and it also allows reductions if the district's budget improves. The health department has been working through several years of financial strain. The department ended 2025 with a deficit of about $108,000, an improvement from roughly $400,000 the year before. Hancock Public Health has been trying to stabilize the budget by raising some fees, seeking more grants and tightening operations, including furlough days and leaving some positions unfilled. It also lost $213,000 in federal grant funding in March 2025, money expected for clinic renovations, adding to the financial pressure.