Snohomish County Health Department braces for state funding reductions

Published 12:56 pm Monday, April 6, 2026

EVERETT — The Snohomish County Health Department may face cuts later this year after the state Legislature did not restore an estimated $21 million in public health funding.

The Foundational Public Health Services program was facing a $50 million cut at the beginning of the legislative session — $29 million from the state operating budget and $21 million due to changes in vapor taxes. Lawmakers replaced the funding in the budget, but it did not pass any of the four bills looking to resolve the vapor tax issue, resulting in a $21 million cut statewide.

The state’s Foundational Public Health Services account was created in 2019. Some of the funding gets funneled to local health jurisdictions, such as the Snohomish County Health Department. The department receives $6.8 million per year — or 25% of its budget — from Foundational Public Health Services funding.

About 56% of the department’s staff are at least partially funded through Foundational Public Health Services, Snohomish County Health Department Director Kim Van Pelt said in a February interview. The funding also goes toward specific programs, including communicable disease control, maternal child and family health, and environmental public health. The department has used the funding to mitigate the measles outbreak and respond to the December floods.

It’s unclear exactly how much the Snohomish County Health Department will lose from the reduction. Soon, a state committee will decide how the funding will be distributed to health jurisdictions across the state, said Nicole Thomsen, public affairs and policy manager for the Snohomish County Health Department. The department should have a clearer idea of local impacts in July, Thomsen said.

“There are decisions that are being made at the state level right now that we’ve tried to weigh in on, but at the end of the day, it’s not our decision,” Van Pelt said in an interview Friday. “We’re hopeful that they hear us, that the interest of a growing county with a significant number of residents is important to address, but lots of other folks have different points of view and are all going to be trying to position themselves to minimize any cuts that happen.”

On Feb. 10, the Snohomish County Board of Health approved a resolution that called for state lawmakers to maintain the Foundational Public Health Services funding.

The Foundational Public Health Services account is partially funded by the state’s tax on vapor products. In January, a bill went into effect that subjects any product that contains nicotine, including vapes, to the tobacco products tax rather than the vapor products tax. During discussion on the four bills that would have restored some funding, there was bipartisan support for fully funding Foundational Public Health Services, Thomsen said.

“The conversation really landed in somewhat of a policy debate around vaping in general, and so I do personally take solace in knowing that we do have bipartisan support in our state for a fully funded public health system in Washington State and the recognition and the understanding of the importance of having a robust and solid public health system to respond to and prevent disease outbreaks,” Thomsen said.

Currently, the health department is working on creating efficiencies to mitigate any future cuts, Van Pelt said. The department has paused hiring and cut back on travel and education reimbursement. The department is also looking at how its fleet is being used and may give some vehicles back to the county, Van Pelt said.

There are also potential cuts at the federal level, Van Pelt said. For example, the department recently received notice that a refugee services grant is being terminated. The department also doesn’t yet know how much funding it will receive from the county, Van Pelt said.

If there are additional cuts, Van Pelt said the department will prioritize services that have the most impact on protecting the public’s health. The department will also have to take into account what it’s legally required to fund and funding streams that are dedicated to specific purposes.

“There’s a lot of moving pieces,” she said. “We’re trying to prepare for all the eventualities, the possible outcomes that might occur. We’re tightening our belts as best we can, but it could ultimately have some impact on the services that we provide.”

Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.