Budget increase needed to help continue COVID-19 response: MLHU

The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) is adding millions of dollars to its proposed budget for 2021 as COVID-19 costs continue to mount.

Officials with the MLHU estimate they will need $7 million more than they did in 2020, as expenses related to the pandemic have skyrocketed.

The MLHU says payroll expenditures have nearly doubled compared to the same time last year, costing the health unit more than $1 million every two weeks.

Officials expect that price to climb as they scale up their vaccine campaign.

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“MLHU is launching a significant vaccine campaign for London and Middlesex that will require further investment in facilities, infrastructure, supplies, and significant human resources,” the health unit’s report reads.

“These expenditures will put additional pressure on the organization’s cash flow, and the existing rotating credit facility is unlikely to be inadequate.”

Details released Tuesday show the health unit used credit to cover the costs, which was repaid after the province delivered some one-time funding for COVID-19-related expenses.

“In December of 2020, a short-term variable loan of $1,150,000 was taken out by the organization to cover 2020 overtime costs and previous payroll shortfall from April 2020,” reads the financial document.

Since vaccine rollout is just beginning, the health unit is calling on the province to provide more timely distribution of funds, to help “ensure the successful implementation of the critical vaccine campaign.”

The proposed budget for 2021 is $42,657,163, an increase of just over 20 per cent compared to the 2020 budget.

The financial document will be up for discussion during a meeting Thursday morning, and would need to be approved by city council in a meeting later this month.