The head of Oklahoma’s state health department has resigned amid questions about mishandling of funds.
As Oklahoma Watch reports, the Oklahoma State Board of Health accepted the resignations of Health Commissioner Terry Cline and his top deputy late Monday night.
The state health department was sent into a tailspin a couple of months ago when Cline and his team announced that the agency had somehow developed a $10 million budget shortfall. In a statement, the health agency blamed the budget gap on “multiple years of over-expenditures and fiscal mismanagement.”
The fallout from the budgetary mismanagement comes at a time when the state at-large is grappling with a massive budget shortfall. Meanwhile, open enrollment began on the health care exchanges at Healthcare.gov on Wednesday.
Martha Burger, chairwoman of the health department board, said the health board remains focused on delivering public health services to Oklahomans.