LifeWays Slashes Spending Amidst Federal Funding Questions
The Federal DHHS plans to cut distributions by 26.2 percent.
Hillsdale County—LifeWays’ CEO Maribeth Leonard announced at the County Board of Commissioners’ 24 June meeting that the United States Department of Health and Human Services—from which LifeWays receives the majority of its revenue—will slash over one-quarter of its annual spending.
Leonard told the board that federal cuts will affect state and federal grants, as well as Medicaid—all sources LifeWays relies on for revenue.
“DHHS has released their proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget,” which reportedly includes “26.2 percent budget cuts.” The total nationwide is approximately $33.3 billion.
In response, Leonard said, LifeWays is planning to scale back spending by 3 percent in Fiscal Year 2026, though she also admitted that “about 79 or 80 percent” of LifeWays’ federal funding comes from Medicaid, while a significant portion also comes from state and federal grants.
The financial uncertainty comes amidst LifeWays’ efforts to secure Hillsdale County’s full faith and credit in the backing of a $15.5 million building bond for a new, 28,000-square-foot facility at the corner of Beck Road and Industrial Drive.
When asked about the progress on the new building, she told the board that the organization is “just waiting for the financing for the project.”
LifeWays has also approached County National Bank about financing the project, but the bank has delayed its final decision on issuing the bond until after 8 July.
In response to the building bond, some Hillsdale County citizens have launched a petition effort to bring the issue to the ballot rather than run the risk of LifeWays defaulting on its loan payments.
Ashley Risher, a Hillsdale County resident who is coordinating petition efforts, told the Hillsdalian that the latest news about DHHS funding only makes the bond more untenable.
“LifeWays announcing significant cuts to their available funding only increases the risk to the county should a county building bond be issued for their new facility,” Risher said.
“If their decrease in funding causes them to be unable to make the payment, the county will have to, and the results could be devastating.”
Complicating the situation, the Board later discussed the District Court, which is currently located at the Courthouse Annex on McCollum Street in Hillsdale. The annex building is now owned by Hillsdale Renaissance.
Having sold the building, the county intended to move the District Court to the current LifeWays building, which the county owns. But, with the LifeWays building bond in some doubt—particularly as efforts to put the bond issue on the ballot come to a head—some on the board speculated that LifeWays could remain in their current facility until as late as 2030, which raises questions about the future location of the court.
According to District 3 Commissioner Mark Wiley, who also sits on the LifeWays board, the terms of the new District Court lease would be “in accord with the current market rate,” apparently meaning a substantial step up in rent prices.
Though the building bond has been supported by three of the five county commissioners, not all agree with it.
Ingles told the Hillsdalian that in light of the latest news from DHHS, backing the bond would be particularly egregious.
“It is wrong, and it is fiscally irresponsible to begin a 20-year bond program when we are hearing all around us about reductions in federal spending,” he said.
Jacob Bruns
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