The St. Joseph/Buchanan County Health Department has no county control and no county staff, and now it’ll have no county funding.

Buchanan County commissioners met with City Manager Vince Capell on Tuesday to inform him the county will end its $135,000 annual payment to the health department on June 30. The two had operated without a health contract since 2005.

The county plans to hire its own person to handle health issues in the county, such as septic tank inspections, inspections of the six county restaurants and animal control. The county also expects a new state law to be passed this year, allowing the county to create a nuisance law and take a formal role in property maintenance enforcement in rural areas.

“We’re pretty excited about it,” said Presiding County Commissioner Royal “R.T.” Turner. “The driving force on it is the (state nuisance law), and if we create a position, we need some other things for that person to take over.”

County officials said they hope to save money and at the same time take a more educational, “proactive approach” with county services. In other words, the county wants to take a middle-road approach between its minimal involvement now and what’s sometimes seen as punitive oversight by the city — “What can we do to help you become better,” as Western District Commissioner Ron Hook described the approach.

The Patee Market Health Center, 900 S. 10th St., will remain open to all city and county residents. It provides numerous services, including immunizations, blood pressure tests, HIV and sexually transmitted disease tests and some treatment, food inspections, mosquito inspections and septic system inspections.

The county is willing to pay a share of costs such as immunizations, though state and federal grants cover most of those programs, Mr. Turner said.

Mr. Capell said the city will have to revisit its budget.

The county’s funds only accounted for about 3.4 percent of the health department’s overall budget, but that’s basically the amount that allows the department to operate “in the black.” The city would be about $120,000 in the hole without the county money next year, Mr. Capell said.

Still, he said he wasn’t upset with the county and this wouldn’t sour the relationship.

“It’s pretty straightforward,” Mr. Capell said. “I think we still look for opportunities to cooperate and work together on things. I think they just view this as an opportunity to help their budgetary bottom line.”

Joe Blumberg can be reached at joeblumberg@npgco.com.