Daily News - Franklin County Public Agencies Agree to Share Resources and Funds (ContributorNetwork) Daily Business News
In kindergarten, we learn the importance of sharing, playing well with others and inviting everyone in the class to a party. Life is not a kindergarten classroom, but in Ohio public agencies are recalling some of the important lessons learned during our primary years. Sharing of services and allowing increased flexibility in how departments utilize available funds is having a positive effect in Franklin County. Gov. John Kasich and Auditor of State Dave Yost have been promoting cost saving measures and using available tools to increase efficiency to benefit taxpayers. The message is getting through and at least one Ohio county is experiencing positive results.
Due to an amendment in a two-year transportation bill passed in March, county agencies were granted increased flexibility in how tobacco settlement funds could be spent. As soon as the ink was dry on the bill signed into law by Gov. Kasich, two Franklin County agencies opted to share their portions of the funds with the financially struggling child support agency. The Children Services Board and Franklin County Department of Job and Family Services (JFS) have clients in common with the child support agency, which was facing imminent layoffs and lack of operating funds. While under the guidance of the Strickland administration in October the agency was forced to eliminate 26 positions. The influx of funds from sister agencies allowed the remaining 258 employees to exhale a collective sigh of relief.
The county agency oversees approximately 87,000 child support cases. The struggling economy has caused an increase in support order review requests from parents who have joined the unemployment rolls seeking an adjustment in their monthly payments. According to agency officials a growing number of cases require more staff hours to review due to an increase in support claims from single mothers. When a father is not listed on the birth certificate a subpoena is necessary to require the potential biological father to submit to a paternity test. According to Franklin County JFS Director Erik Janas, federal cuts to the child support program contributed to the agency's financial crisis.
This is a perfect example of the kind of cooperation that we need to do, and that Franklin County does very well," Janas stated to local media.
Franklin County Child Support Director Susan Brown must have felt like she won the lottery after receiving the $400,000 for the Children Services Board and $600,000 from the Franklin County JFS. The agency is still watching every penny spent and prohibiting overtime and travel, but has not decreased the quality of service to taxpayers. Brown feels that her agency is functioning "more efficiently than ever" and the tobacco settlement funds were the agency's saving grace. The child support agency agreed to help the Children Services Board to process support requests from families with incomes that exceed the federal welfare reimbursement guidelines.
Sharing of surplus funds is a step in the right direction for collaboration between public agencies in Ohio. Combining services on a multi-county or regional level to reduce administrative overhead and building operations cost is another possibility to regain fiscal solvency in Ohio. Another cost saving option for Franklin County to consider would be combining the Columbus City Health Department with the county health department. Sharing of duties while maintaining services to the public is but one tool public agencies can utilize to remain solvent without raising taxes on Ohioans.
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