Carrabelle health department will stay open for another year

Health Department chief Wesley Tice said the Carrabelle branch of the health department will remain open for the next year. Mister Tice told county commissioners at a public workshop on Tuesday that he has been working on his budget over the past seven weeks and thinks he has found a way to keep the Carrabelle location open even though it may cost the county about 60 thousand dollars more to do so. Tice told the county commission in June that he would have to close the Carrabelle health department because of state budget cuts – something the county commission said it did not want to happen. On Tuesday, however, Mister Tice said a few things have changed since his announcement that has freed up a little more money to keep the Carrabelle location open. That includes two people quitting, the removal of two additional positions, and budget cuts in two departments. Mister Tice said that because of those changes he can likely keep the Carrabelle location open for the next year without a budget increase, but it will be very difficult. He said it would be easier if the county can find an additional 60 thousand in its budget to help pay for services. The county said it will discuss the funding issue during its budget workshops, but added it will do what is necessary. Clerk of the Court Marcia Johnson pointed out that some of the financial problems the health department is facing may be due to poor billing practices – something she feels the health department should look at more closely. According to health department figures, the Carrabelle location only collected about 51 percent of what it billed last year, while the Apalachicola location collected 87 percent. The clerk calculated that the Carrabelle location lost about 155 thousand dollars last year while the Apalachicola location earned over 312 thousand dollars.