The Jackson Town Council continues to make progress toward finalizing the town’s budget, with health and human services funding — named as a priority by multiple councilors for the upcoming
Conogher Sargent Clancy of Jackson was among more than 60 University of Mississippi students to receive a Marcus Elvis Taylor Memorial Medal, the university’s highest academic award.
Funding for community health and human services organizations was the name of the game Monday as the Jackson Town Council again pored over the townâs various budgets at a special afternoon meeting.
âIf thereâs no other message that we send to our community â itâs something thatâs very important right now â this needs to be the year of health and human Services,â Councilor Jim Rooks said as councilors wrapped up a lengthy discussion about how they would like to see such organizations funded.
The council heard from Town Manager Larry Pardee and Finance Director Kelly Thompson about the townâs other budgets â including public safety, public works, information technology, planning and community development, among several others â but it was health and human services funding that was discussed at greatest length Monday.
âIt was extremely busy from the very beginning,â Erickson said. âIt was definitely unique.â
This time last year, when bars and restaurants had closed their doors to help curb the spread of the new virus, business at liquor stores boomed.
At Westside Wine and Spirits, where Erickson works, business increased by 55% â a record for the store.
âWe really started to see a big influx in April of last year,â he said. âWe had a lot of people with seasonal homes here that arenât typically here this time of year. Plus all the restaurants and bars were closed so if you wanted a drink you were going to liquor stores.â
The humanity of a civilization or community can best be judged by how we treat the most vulnerable among us. Fortunately, in Jackson Hole we have 10 nonprofit organizations that do a great job meeting these needs in our community.
Unfortunately, severe cuts to state budgets threaten much of their work. These 10 groups work âto ensure that urgent, core and essential services are unified, available, and accessible to vulnerable, at-risk and in-crisis community members in Teton County.â
They do so in an admirably coordinated fashion that ensures that the federal, state and private money we give them is used well.
There is also a lot of evidence that these groups are well managed and governed. The average tenure of the groupsâ leaders is well over 10 years. Some staff have been with their organizations for 20, 30 and even 40 years. This longevity of service speaks well of governance stability and the supportive culture of their organizations. This also indicates that ou