Fiscal Note
Expenditures and revenue will have no fiscal impact on the Public Health 2010 Adopted Operating Budget. There is also no anticipated impact on the tax levy. The request is for about 30 percent of the current annual revenue of this trust.
Title
Authorizing the use of up to $5,000 per year from the Catherine M. Corscot Trust to prevent the transmission of communicable disease.
Body
PREAMBLE
Catherine M. Corscot was the Chair of the Board of Health until shortly before her death in 1952. She established a trust on behalf of two family members with instructions that upon their death the remainder be given to the City of Madison to support the East Washington Avenue Hospital, the hospital for contagious diseases that was built during her tenure on the Board of Health. The hospital was closed in 1953.
In 1997, soon after the death of the last family member, the Circuit Court of Dane County ordered that the funds be given to the City of Madison to aid in the prevention of contagious diseases. The Court stipulated that these funds could not be used to replace or supplant programs currently funded by the City of Madison’s operating budget. The City of Madison may distribute funds upon a two-thirds vote of Common Council and public recognition of Catherine M. Corscot.
In 2007, Common Council authorized the release of up to $5,000 per year to create a fund to provide temporary housing and support for people with TB who are homeless and others who live in precarious circumstances. These funds were to be matched by donations from local health care institutions. In the last two years, Public Health has used this program to work with seven individuals 2009 who needed support, with funds being used primarily for rent and groceries. Even though the number of individuals was small, the fund was a valuable tool for keeping individuals with active TB in isolation.
There are other communicable diseases that may be spread to others in the community. Public Health is...
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