HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-08 - Res. Calling on the State of WA to Provide Financing for Local Public Health - 2008/09/23 y -
RESOLUTION NO. 02-08
A RESOLUTION relating to the Mason County Public Health Department budget and calling on
the state of Washington to provide adequate, stable, dedicated, long-term financing for local
public health statewide and to provide financing options for local jurisdictions to protect,
promote and provide for the health of the public.
WHEREAS, it is the responsibility of Mason County government to provide public health
services to the 54,000 plus full time residents of Mason County, the summer residents, and the
workers and visitors who enter the county each day, and
WHEREAS, state law vests in the Mason County Board of Heath oversight of all matters
pertaining to preservation of the life and health of the people of Mason County, including the
adoption of countywide public health policy and the enactment and enforcement of local public
health regulations, and
WHEREAS, over the past century, public health functions have led to remarkable gains in health
that have significantly increased longevity and improved quality of life, including
accomplishments such as: safe food and water dramatically reducing illness and deaths;
population-wide vaccination programs eradicating smallpox worldwide and making other once-
common diseases rare; and better hygiene, nutrition, antibiotics and access to health care,
contributing to a ninety percent decrease in infant mortality and a ninety-nine percent decrease in
maternal mortality since 1900 nationwide, and
WHEREAS,public health functions provided by the Mason County government protect,
promote and provide for the health of the public every day, and
WHEREAS, over the past decade, federal and state revenues that support public health, such as
the motor vehicle excise tax,have been eliminated, limited or reduced, and costs to provide
public health services have increased—thus requiring increases in the level of county general
fund resources for public health services, and
WHEREAS, increases in county general fund contributions to public health are not sustainable
over the long term, and
WHEREAS, Mason County Public Health has eliminated 2.2 positions in 2008 and projects
additional reductions in 2009 to balance revenues and expenditures, and
WHEREAS, in a study on county financial health, the Washington State Department of
Community, Trade and Economic Development found that all counties across the state are
fiscally distressed, and
WHEREAS, The Washington State Legislature's 4410 Joint Select Committee concluded that
the Washington State public health system is under-funded by more than $600 million each
biennium and that the need for additional funding for local public health jurisdictions statewide
t is critical, and
RESOLUTION 02-08 1
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r' WHEREAS, the 4410 Joint Select Committee concluded that funding for public health must be a
a� joint responsibility of the state and local jurisdictions, and
WHEREAS, counties have limited local authority to provide for adequate funding for public
health,
NOW, THEREFORE,the Mason County Board of Commissioners and the Mason County
Board of Health, hereby resolves as follows:
1. The Board finds that the resulting risks to the health of the public are unacceptable.
2. The Board finds that it is imperative to identify and acquire adequate, stable,
dedicated, long-term state and local funding sources for public health in order to
protect,promote and provide for the health of the public.
3. The Board calls on the State of Washington to provide adequate, stable, dedicated,
long-term financing for local public health statewide and to provide financing options
for local jurisdictions to protect,promote and provide for the health of the public.
4. The Board calls on the City of Shelton to pass a resolution to place public health
financing as a top priority on their state legislative agendas.
5. The Board commits to work with the community, regional and state partners to
educate the public about the value of public health and the need for adequate, stable,
dedicated, long-term state and local funding sources.
6. The Board urges the State to examine any and all adequate and stable options for state
and local financing for public health.
7. The Board recognizes that the growing lack of adequate health insurance coverage is
a major contributor to the increasing need for public health services and the lack of
revenue to support. The Board of Health requests that the Mason County Health
Department forward to the Board a set of principles that the board and others can use
in advocating for state or national health care reform.
Adopted this day of September 2008.
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BOARD OF HEALTH,
Mason County Washington
ATTEST:
Cl of the Board Ross Gallagher, Chair
APPROVy
O FO M:
o" y o a ing-Erickson, �ommissioner
e r s g ttorn
Tim Sheldon, Commissioner
i
t
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