To: Harris County Commissioners Court
Through: Barbie L. Robinson, Executive Director,
Public Health Services
prepared
Prepared By: Ed Anderson, Director, Human Resources
Subject: Creation of Positions, COVID-19 Division
end
Project ID (If applicable]: N/A
Purpose and Request:
title
Request by
Public Health Services (PHS) for six months of operational funding from September 1, 2021 to February 28, 2022, in the amount of $17,797,937 to be funded by the
Public Improvement Contingency Fund. PHS also requests authorization to create a new COVID-19 Division including the approval of 69 new positions, effective August 28, 2021, to be funded by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services Grant on Health Equity and COVID-19. The Grant on Health Equity and COVID-19 was awarded on May 27, 2021 and accepted by Commissioners Court on July 20, 2021.
end
Background and Discussion:
Public Health Services provides testing, vaccinations, epidemiological surveillance, and outreach throughout the community for the COVID-19 pandemic. PHS has been in emergency response Incident Command Structure (ICS) since February 2020. ICS emergency responses are not designed for long-term use. Accordingly, PHS proposes the creation of a temporary 2-year COVID-19 division. The proposed division would be mostly grant funded, reduce reliance on county funding, and dissolve within 24 months.
Fiscal Impact:
Assuming COVID-19 trends eventually stabilize, we expect the division to need approximately $17.8 million in additional funding for the remainder of FY22. This is an estimate subject to fluctuations in grant opportunities and operational footprint.
Fiscal Summary
Expenditures
FY 20-21
FY 21-22 Projected
Future Years Projected [3 additional years]
Service Impacted:
COVID-19 Response
Existing Budget
$15,634,121.00
$40,028,365.00
Additional Appropriation Requested
$17,797,937.00
$18,402,876.00
Total Expenditures
$33,432,058.00
$58,431241.00
Funding Sources
Exis...
Click here for full text