MOSES LAKE — The Grant County Health District projected its lowest budget in five years for the 2011.

The projected operating budget for next year is set at $1.69 million and was approved during the board of health meeting in early December.

The new budget is around $180,000 less than the 2010 operating budget and includes position reductions and worker reclassifications.

“We need to do the work we need to do with less,” says Grant County Health District administrator Jeff Ketchel.

Apart from financial and staff reductions, the health district will forego hiring for the new position of community public health manager for the time being. The community public health manager would provide leadership to the Moses Lake office, act as a liaison to the medical community, and fill the vacant registered nurse position.

“The position is one I feel is necessary for the residents of Grant County,” Ketchel says.

Although the position must remain unfilled for the time, Ketchel says he remains hopeful.

“Eventually the economy will rebound and things will improve again,” Ketchel says. “In the meantime, we’re going to have a restructuring of customer service.”

Ketchel says the biggest change in the new budget will be fewer direct services, such as the elimination of the once-per-month clinics in Ephrata, Quincy and Mattawa.

“Over the course of years the number of people using these clinics has declined sharply,” Ketchel says.

Ketchel attributes the clinics’ decline to people using other medical facilities.

“We prefer that, actually,” Ketchel says. “Sending a nurse and public health associate out to outlying communities and serving one or two people is not a good use of the community’s money. We’d rather spend our time working with doctors to connect with people in their community.”

The health district will have to rely more heavily on medical care providers, health centers, non-profit organizations, city governments and local officials to take up the slack left by the cutbacks, Ketchel said.

“Central Washington is not Western Washington. It’s rural. We really rely on each other,” Ketchel says.

Despite the downturn, Ketchel says staff are still committed to public health.

“Our staff have come together and are just as passionate as they were before times got tough,” Ketchel says.

A $21,000 cushion in the budget between expenses and revenue should accommodate “uncertainty of the legislative session” according to Ketchel.

City contributions are only about $1,300 less than 2010 and Ketchel says the department is going to apply for grants as well to help offset costs.