If passed by the State Legislature, the Governor’s draft of the 2018-2019 budget passes over 38 million dollars in retirement contributions to local health departments. The Lake Cumberland District Health Department’s (LCDHD’s) share of this is over 2 million dollars!
Over the last few years, state and federal funding cuts and increases in expenses have already resulted in the LCDHD reducing its staff size from over 300 to around 160 full-time employees. An additional 2.2 million dollar increase in retirement liabilities could mean that 35% to 50% more of our staff could lose their jobs, severely reducing our capacity to carry out needed services for our community.
Please reach out to your State Representative or Senator at, Who is My Kentucky Legislator, and encourage them to fund the retirement increase to local health departments.
The short video below highlights some of the services that may be lost if this expense is passed on to local health departments.