CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Nueces County and the City of Corpus Christi have once again agreed to postpone the separation of the City-County Public Health District.
This separation has already been pushed back twice, but the big question -- why?
Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni said that he believes both entities need more time to come up with two separate business models. While an official date has not been solidified, Zanoni said the timeframe will fall around early December instead of the planned Sept. 30.
"As we move closer to that date [Sept. 30], it's become more apparent that both sides may not be ready to activate a new plan," he said.
Nueces County Precinct 4 Commissioner Brent Chesney said he feels there are still pieces of the puzzle missing when it comes to planning on the County's end.
"We don't have all the answers to the questions, so you don't just go forward if you still have some significant questions to answer," Chesney said.
Commissioners also agreed to table the proposed work contract with Amistad Community Health Center. According to Chesney, the contract was estimated around $925,000. It's a cost he said he didn't think the county could justify right now.
"It had about a three percent increase each year that it went up; there's also administrative costs to run it," he said.
Zanoni said that as he combed through the proposed budget, there were certain factors he wanted to pay close attention to, especially as it regards employees within the health district.
"If the county had terminated the contract for an Oct. 1 start, it would be 21 employees that we would be reducing from the health district, because the $1.7 million that the county does provide for those services wouldn't be coming in as revenue," he said.
Zanoni said that it will be business as usual until the December deadline.