Did city officials choose a word poorly, too honestly or what?
The citywide business plan that involves goals and financial strategies hit a pothole Wednesday over one word in a health care item.
Groups who provide preventive care to poor people raised concerns to two city council committees over the proposed wording. They feared it smacked of dividing prevention from other health care and pitting them against each other for too-scarce dollars.
The exact wording: “Develop baseline on percentage of health levy dollars invested in prevention as opposed to medical care.”
The business plan is in the council finance committee, which heard the protests and also sent the matter to the public safety and neighborhoods committee for input.
In the public safety committee, Council woman Katheryn Shields suggested deleting the entire paragraph and voiced suspicions about motives: “Being a cynic, I recognize a money grab when I see it.”
They could only make recommendations to the finance committee, however, because that is where the matter is on hold for now.
Councilwoman Alissa Canady of the public safety committee suggested it get input from city officials on the meaning of the wording before deleting the paragraph.
The committee voted to recommend the paragraph be deleted unless officials show it will not negatively impact the preventive public safety providers. They also asked it be delayed past next week to allow time for wider input.
Trackbacks