Mental Hygiene makes up for budget shortfall -- and then some
NORWICH – All but $52,000 of a nearly $400,000 deficit reported in the Chenango County Department of Mental Hygiene Services back in 2007 has been made up with revenues collected this year.
Changes in the format of counseling programs have resulted in more units of service, meaning more individuals receiving care, and “excellent” revenue collections, said department Director Mary Ann Spryn. Spyrn made her report before members of the Chenango County Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday.
“The current budget through October indicates that revenues are in excess of expenditures and have eliminated the local share for mental health programs,” she said.
The 20-year department veteran had remained optimistic in her projections that her budget would turn around. The deficit, which she characterized as an anomaly, was the result of Medicaid take-backs from 2004 and 2005 that the New York State Office of Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Services considered overpayments based on the county’s revenues. Low service numbers, inexperienced clinicians, unfilled positions and absences due to illness were also partly to blame.
Lawmakers have been keeping a keen eye on the department’s budget since February of 2008 when it first learned about the Medicaid take-backs.
Also during the Health and Human Services Committee meeting, Chenango County Public Health Director Marcas Flindt said the department had received a $20,000 grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to increase the number of children and adults vaccinated against vaccine preventable diseases. As part of the program, the county will receive additional inoculations from the state and use the grant money to pay nurses to administer them. The committee voted to appropriate the grant into the department’s budget.
Town of New Berlin Supervisor Ross Iannello directed Flindt to be prepared to offer water testing services to property owners and companies that plan to drill for natural gas. The Department of Environmental Conservation, in its draft regulations for hydrofracking into shale formations call for pre and post drilling tests of water wells within 1,000 to 2,000 feet of a well, depending if their are residents there.
Social Services Commissioner Bette Osborne said the department had received $20,000 for the Person In Need of Services, or PINS, program. The committee voted to appropriate amount to cover staff and contract administration costs. Osborne also received the go-ahead to transfer $5,000 from a personnel line within the DSS budget to cover staff overtime costs that normally build up at this time of year, she said.
Changes in the format of counseling programs have resulted in more units of service, meaning more individuals receiving care, and “excellent” revenue collections, said department Director Mary Ann Spryn. Spyrn made her report before members of the Chenango County Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday.
“The current budget through October indicates that revenues are in excess of expenditures and have eliminated the local share for mental health programs,” she said.
The 20-year department veteran had remained optimistic in her projections that her budget would turn around. The deficit, which she characterized as an anomaly, was the result of Medicaid take-backs from 2004 and 2005 that the New York State Office of Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Services considered overpayments based on the county’s revenues. Low service numbers, inexperienced clinicians, unfilled positions and absences due to illness were also partly to blame.
Lawmakers have been keeping a keen eye on the department’s budget since February of 2008 when it first learned about the Medicaid take-backs.
Also during the Health and Human Services Committee meeting, Chenango County Public Health Director Marcas Flindt said the department had received a $20,000 grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to increase the number of children and adults vaccinated against vaccine preventable diseases. As part of the program, the county will receive additional inoculations from the state and use the grant money to pay nurses to administer them. The committee voted to appropriate the grant into the department’s budget.
Town of New Berlin Supervisor Ross Iannello directed Flindt to be prepared to offer water testing services to property owners and companies that plan to drill for natural gas. The Department of Environmental Conservation, in its draft regulations for hydrofracking into shale formations call for pre and post drilling tests of water wells within 1,000 to 2,000 feet of a well, depending if their are residents there.
Social Services Commissioner Bette Osborne said the department had received $20,000 for the Person In Need of Services, or PINS, program. The committee voted to appropriate amount to cover staff and contract administration costs. Osborne also received the go-ahead to transfer $5,000 from a personnel line within the DSS budget to cover staff overtime costs that normally build up at this time of year, she said.
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