This coming year Public Health is seeking an $1.69 million increase to its consolidated budget versus 2020, for a total just over 25.5 million.
Approved during the meeting on Wednesday, it represents a more than seven per cent increase for the agency over the 2020 budget.
Although it may on the surface seem like a big jump, more than $670,000 of that increase is due to the provincial government restoring funding that it cut for the 2020 budget, said David Kingma, director of administrative services.
“Upon review of our funding levels this year the ministry has since determined that our funding level will be restored to the previous amount,” Kingma told the board.
The item line with the biggest jump over the 2020 budget is employee wages and salaries, in part due to a spending of $639,222 on a new COVID-19 school-focused nurses program that is being fully funded by the ministry.
The 2021 budget will continue to be devoted in large part to pandemic response efforts, as opposed to its normal programming at the direction of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
Public Health expects COVID-19 costs that exceed the 2021 budget resources to be largely reimbursed by the ministry.
The agency is seeking an increase from all of its funding sources, including the City of Guelph.
Public Health’s budget is made up of funding from multiple sources, including the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS), the City of Guelph, the County of Wellington, the County of Dufferin and the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Some programs are 100 per cent funded by the ministry, while others are shared between municipalities. The consolidated budget takes both of those into account.
Ontario’s Ministry of Health is the largest funding source for the agency, providing an estimated $16.6 million to next year’s budget.
The City of Guelph is expected to contribute an estimated $4.1 million to next year’s consolidated budget, for a total increase of $66,964 or 2.4 per cent.
The increase in funding from the City of Guelph is based on a funding framework prepared by the municipality and is reflective of the rate of inflation and market conditions, as well as being reflective of area population growth.
The local public health unit is projecting the total cost of COVID-19 in the year 2020 to reach $2.8 million.
The projected figure was presented during the monthly board meeting for the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health.
Although the unexpected costs associated with COVID-19 are having an effect on the current year’s budget, many of those costs are being offset by a dramatic reduction in the number of programs being run by the agency due to the pandemic.
To date Public Health has spent an estimated $2.1 million in COVID-19 related costs.
Despite the increase in COVID-19 costs, Public Health expects to end the year 2020 maintaining its balanced budget.
