Montgomery County Board of Health Discuss New Budget in Annual Budget Meeting

The Montgomery County Board of Health discussed their new budget for fiscal year 2026, a fee for a new vaccine and heard several reports during their monthly meeting on Thursday, June 12, in the Montgomery County Health Center in Mount Vernon.

Following a roll call, Board Member Braxton Parks offered a motion to accept the minutes from the Board’s meeting on Thursday, March 13, which passed unanimously.

The Board then heard an update regarding the Board’s budget for the 2026 fiscal year, delivered by Missy Mullis. According to Mullis, the new budget will roll over $125,000 in received fees from the 2025 fiscal year into the 2026 fiscal year.

“The health department’s allowed to roll any fees that they receive in one year into the next,” says Mullis. “They’re able to hold that money and roll it over, so we try to hold on to as many of them as we can and roll them into the new year, gives us a little cushion if needed.”

The budget also featured money given from the state, as well as the total amount of official grant aid the county would receive, which dropped $3,605 from fiscal year 2025. Several expected expenditures were based on expenses from fiscal year 2025, though Mullis claimed the budget offered room for potential changes to expenditures moving forward.

Board Member Dorothy Days offered a motion to accept the budget, which passed unanimously.

Next, the Board discussed approving fees for a new private vaccine. According to Mullis, a new vaccine was added during the current quarter, along with minor fee changes to other vaccines. Board Member Parks offered a motion to approve the new fees, which passed unanimously.

The Board then heard an update regarding the county’s environmental health, delivered by Rachel Templeman. Templeman gave the Board Members multiple graphs detailing trends in Montgomery County from 2019 to 2024, including the number of septic system permits given, the number of septic systems installed and the active number of facilities.

The Board next heard a nursing update delivered by Beth Spires. According to Spires, the Montgomery County Health Center will receive a new security system, and staff are preparing for upcoming hurricanes.

The Board also heard a program manager update from Mullis. The autism project in Laurens County hired a new technician with hopes to begin the project in July. According to Mullis, all counties served by the South Georgia Central Health District, which includes Bleckley, Dodge, Johnson, Laurens, Montgomery, Pulaski, Telfair, Treutlen, Wheeler and Wilcox Counties, will be able to participate in the program.

The Montgomery County Health Department also hopes to be included as a pilot or included in the first wave of rollouts for the state’s new electronic medical records system. The system, purchased from Patagonia, will take two years to fully implement.

During Board Member announcements, Mullis shared the new House Study Committee on Evaluating Funding for Public Health, a state committee formed by House Resolution 847 to evaluate Georgia’s public health system structure and funding. The Montgomery County Health Department is optimistic about the committee due to several members being public health advocates.

“We’re hoping that this is going to be a good thing, and they’re going to look at funding and even potential services that public health could offer to health departments,” says Mullis.

Dr. Ronda Hightower announced the Montgomery County School System is looking to open an in-house clinic to better support student health beyond the current capacity of their school nurses.

Finally, Board Member Alexis Fountain offered a motion to adjourn the meeting, which passed unanimously.