Social service takeover has no benefit to county
By Daniel Arens
One of the major items which has been touted by the state legislature is the takeover of funding for county social services by the state government. But what does this takeover mean for Mercer County and its residents?
Not much, according to Shana Brost, Mercer County Auditor. She said the benefit the county accrues for not having to fork over the social services bill does not compensate the losses in state money the county sees as a result of the state buy-down program ending.
Brost noted that, currently, the budget she sets aside to cover social services is approximately $150,000 less than the amount of money the county receives from the state through the buy-down program. That means that, in the future, Mercer County will have a $150,000 shortfall in the budget, that the county commission will have to address.
