Health and Welfare
Michael Hinsley
Deputy Fire Chief
Health Officer
Ryan Borkowski
Dr. Carolyn Murray
Deputy Health Officer
Deputy Health Officer
Gary Quackenbush
Food Establishment Inspector
SOCIAL SERVICES
The activity in this budget includes all of the functions that are involved in the delivery of
social service-oriented programs contributing directly to the health and welfare of our
residents.
Personnel Costs
• Jen Gantrish, General Assistance Coordinator and Elder Advocate
• Community Nursing Part-Time Salaries *NEW*
• Gary Quackenbush, Contracted Restaurant Inspector
$11,000
$12,000
$2,000
A Community Nursing Steering Committee has been commissioned to explore the viability of
a Community Nursing Program in Hanover to serve our elder population. Consisting of
representatives of the Upper Valley Community Nursing Project, medical professionals from
within our community, other Hanover residents, and town staff, the Community Nursing
Steering Committee hopes to present a proposal to the Selectboard over the coming months to
launch a program to better and more cohesively support older adults in Hanover. The
proposed funding of this project for the coming fiscal year is budget-neutral: $12,000 is
budgeted to come from a combination of grants, donations or other restricted sources to offset
the budgeted cost of any nursing services.
General Assistance
The primary point of contact for general assistance (welfare) services required by NH RSA
165 is the Human Resources Coordinator, Gloria LaCasse, who works with our part-time
General Assistance Coordinator, Jen Gantrish. The Town of Hanover has been working on a
holistic approach to providing necessary financial assistance, including the management of
hardship tax abatements, fuel assistance requests and a number of other unique circumstances.
Regional social service agencies have been invaluable in helping the Town manage its
delivery of social services.
Requested in the proposed budget is $1,552 for General Assistance program support for
training, supplies, postage, etc. and $8,500 for direct General Assistance to our residents.
Regional Health Program Support
The Town’s FY 2017-2018 proposed operating budget includes an amount of $2,528 (up from
$2,500) to continue the Town’s support of the Public Health Council of the Upper Valley.
[Note: in late 2016, the Mascoma Valley Health Initiative became part of the Public Health
Council of the Upper Valley.] Also included in this line-item is $2,800 for ongoing support of
Hanover’s community AED (Automated External Defibrillator) Program.
Interdepartmental Charges: Charges to Housing
This line-item reflects the annual allocation to the Housing Fund of a portion of the
appropriation to the Grafton County Senior Citizens’ Council. The Town has contracted with
the Grafton County Senior Citizens’ Council to provide resources for senior citizens who live
either at Summer Park or elsewhere in Hanover for a fixed annual fee of $5,000. This ‘back-
charge’ reflects that the bulk of these contracted services are spent responding directly to the
needs of the elderly residents in Summer Park (the Town’s Section 8 Housing Complex).
Community Contribution to Hanover Ambulance Services
The funding request for this line-item reflects the fee assessed to the General Fund for
ambulance services provided to Hanover residents by Hanover Ambulance Services
(administered through the Town’s Ambulance Fund). Currently, about one-half of the
ambulance budget is offset by revenues collected from patients, insurance providers, or
Medicare/Medicaid; the remaining 50% is shared on an adjusted per capita basis ($35.86 per
capita proposed for FY 2017-2018; up from $34.78) by the towns of Hanover, Lyme, and
Norwich, as shown here:
FY2018
Town of Hanover
$284,466
Town of Lyme
$61,540
Town of Norwich, VT
$126,095
Total Per Capita Ambulance Fund Revenues
$457,871
A more complete explanation of the ambulance budget can be found in the Hanover
Ambulance Service section of this budget book.
Social Services Agency Funding
The Town provides funding for various social service agencies who submit to the Town of
Hanover a formal and detailed application and who meet the Town’s Guidelines for
Municipal Appropriations to Social Service Agencies (copy included as supplementary
information), adopted by the Selectboard in the fall of 2010. The FY 2017-2018 requested
Social Services Agency Funding budget includes requests from six agencies that requested
funding.
Agency Name
Grafton Co. Sr. Citizens Council
Headrest
Tri-County Cap
Visiting Nurse Assn & Hospice of
VT/NH
West Central Behavioral Health
WISE
FY2017
FY2018 Approved
Funded
by Selectboard
$10,500
$11,025
10,000
8,400
760
798
25,930
10,500
6,200
$63,890
%
Increase
5.0%
-16.0%
5.0%
27,227
11,025
6,422
$64,897
The Town received a request for $500 funding from Court Appointed Special Advocates
(CASA) of New Hampshire. This amount is not included in the proposed Social Services
Agency Funding as their request falls outside of the social service agency guidelines.
5.0%
5.0%
3.6%
1.6%
Town of Hanover
Health and Social Services
Department Budget FY2018 (July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2018)
FY14ACT
Revenues
01-0 Trust Fund Income Disbursement
01-0 Grants and Donations
Total Revenues
FY15ACT
FY16ACT
FY17BUDG
Proposed
FY18BUDG
% Change FY17
Budget to FY18
Budget
71
71
357
357
463
463
350
350
475
12,000
12,475
35.7%
3464.3%
9,872
1,996
11,868
8,356
4,336
12,691
7,874
3,913
11,786
10,877
4,000
14,877
11,000
12,000
2,000
25,000
1.1%
-50.0%
68.0%
Non-Personnel Costs
01-2 General Assistance Program Support
01-2 Direct Assistance to Residents in Need
01-2 Regional Health Program Support
01-2 Interdepartmental Charges
01-2 Community Contribution to Ambulance Fund
01-2 Social Services Agency Funding
Total Non-Personnel
641
8,464
2,500
(5,000)
206,134
63,976
276,715
825
8,772
2,500
(5,000)
214,942
64,885
286,925
2,872
2,505
2,500
(5,000)
241,507
62,749
307,132
1,440
8,500
5,300
(5,000)
275,892
63,890
350,022
1,552
8,500
5,328
(5,000)
284,466
64,896
359,742
7.8%
0.0%
0.5%
0.0%
3.1%
1.6%
2.8%
Total Expenditures
Net Expenditures
288,583
288,512
299,616
299,259
318,918
318,456
364,899
364,549
384,742
372,267
5.4%
2.1%
Expenditures
Personnel Costs
01-2 General Assistance/Counselor PT Salaries
01-2 Community Nursing PT Salaries
01-2 Health Officer and Restaurant Inspector
Total Personnel
Town of Hanover
Guidelines for Municipal Appropriations to Social Service Agencies
Purpose
Given the impact of state and federal funding reductions and relationship of current economic
conditions to the community’s ability to continue or increase its level of personal charitable
giving, the Town has seen an increase in the number of requests and dollars requested by social
service agencies which provide a variety of services to Hanover and other residents in the region.
As this activity has picked up, so has the need for a clear, well-defined policy to guide the budget
allocation of the Town’s limited resources.
General Concept
As an underlying principle, the Town of Hanover is prohibited from appropriating funds to make
general charitable donations to deserving non-profit organizations. Opinion of the Justices, 88
N.H. 484 (1937) requires a ‘quid pro quo’ in that Town funds cannot be granted to a private
organization unless that private organization takes on some obligation to benefit the Town; and,
further, that the Town has some ability to enforce and obtain that benefit for the public. The
decision regarding if and to whom Hanover residents want to make charitable donations should
be a private decision and not built into their tax rate. That said, the services provided by certain
agencies may fill gaps in critical services that the Town of Hanover would be obligated to
provide through welfare or other general assistance laws if these agencies did not provide such
relief.
Policy Statement
Municipal appropriations to social service agencies will be awarded because there has been a
clear demonstration that the agency provides a critical service to Hanover residents that the
Town would otherwise need to cover through providing these services itself, or as a municipal
welfare function. As a broad guideline, the municipal welfare function will be defined as
providing the basic necessities of life that an individual, for whatever reason, is unable to pay
for.
To demonstrate their eligibility for a municipal appropriation from the Town of Hanover,
requesting agencies will be required as a critical component of the application form: to address
in a 1-2 page narrative that they meet all of the following 5 criteria –
1. The agency serves a core group of Hanover residents;
2. The agency provides a service that the Town of Hanover would otherwise be obligated to
provide either directly as a Town service or would need to pay for through its municipal
welfare function;
3. The services provided by the agency directly or indirectly reduce Town expenditures;
4. The agency must clearly demonstrate a financial need; and
5. The services provided by the agency demonstrably enhance the quality of life in the
Hanover community.
Adopted by the Board of Selectmen October 11, 2010
Page 1 of 2
Proposed Municipal Funding Application Process
•
Those agencies who are currently receiving municipal appropriations and any other agencies
requesting information on securing a municipal appropriation will receive the current
application form no later than mid-November. A copy of this form is attached.
•
A completed funding application form must be submitted by the agency no later than the
deadline. Agencies submitting late or incomplete funding applications will not be considered
as part of the Municipal Funding Application Process (regardless of when their request to be
considered and/or an application form was received).
•
Regardless of previous history of funding or non-funding, an application will be required of
all agencies seeking funding in a particular budget year, and each application will be
reviewed carefully each year.
•
Town staff will make an initial determination as to whether the agency satisfies the 5 criteria
necessary to be eligible for a municipal appropriation. If yes, Town staff will include the
agency’s funding request into the proposed municipal budget. If no, the request will not be
factored into the proposed municipal budget presented to the Selectmen over the course of
several Public Hearings in February and March. However, the text accompanying the Human
Services proposed budget will highlight the reasons these requests do not appear in the
proposed budget.
•
All social service agency funding applications in their entirety will be presented to the
Selectmen as supplementary information in their proposed budget binders. Agencies will be
discouraged from sharing information not specifically requested in the application form such
as glossy brochures, informational pamphlets, etc.; if received, these items will not be made
part of the supplementary budget information provided to the Selectmen.
•
Representatives from all of the social service agencies requesting funding will be invited and
strongly encouraged to attend the appropriate Public Hearing where the Human Services
proposed budget will be discussed.
•
The Selectmen will determine what agencies are clearly serving Hanover residents and
satisfy all of the 5 criteria; the requests of these agencies will be included in the Selectmen’s
proposed budget to go before Town Meeting.
•
For those agencies whose funding is being approved for the first time, or after any significant
gap in funding from the Town, the Selectmen will place their requested appropriation in a
separate warrant article for Town Meeting action and will speak in support of this warrant
article at Town Meeting. Thereafter, approved sequential funding requests from this agency
will be presented in the Selectmen’s warrant article presenting the overall Town budget to
Town Meeting.
•
If the Selectmen determine that a requesting agency does not meet the required criteria and
denies its funding request, the agency has the option of pursuing a municipal appropriation
through securing signatures of 25 registered Hanover voters for a petitioned warrant article
on the Town Meeting warrant.
Adopted by the Board of Selectmen October 11, 2010
Page 2 of 2
Town of Hanover Social Service Agency Funding Requests
% Increase
Agency Name
Grafton Co. Sr. Citizens Council
Headrest
Outreach House
Tri-County Cap
Visiting Nurse Assn & Hospice of VT and NH
West Central Behavioral Health
Women's Information Service
FY17 to FY18
FY2018 Amt.
Requested
5.0%
-16.0%
n/a
5.0%
5.0%
5.0%
3.6%
1.6% $
11,025
8,400
798
27,227
11,025
6,422
64,896
FY2017 Amt.
Funded
FY2016 Amt.
Funded
FY2015 Amt.
Funded
FY2014 Amt.
Funded
$
10,500
10,000
760
25,930
10,500
6,200
63,890
$
10,763
7,893
760
26,578
10,486
6,269
62,749
$
10,500
7,700
3,725
684
25,930
10,230
6,116
64,885
$
10,500
7,700
3,500
25,930
10,230
6,116
63,976
$
63,890
$
62,749
$
64,885
$
63,976
Requests Not Included in Proposed FY2018 Budget
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of NH
n/a
500
The Bridge House (withdrew citing that they did not
meet funding requirements)
n/a
2,000
$
% Increase from Prior Year
67,396
5.49%
1.82%
-3.29%
1.42%
-1.36%