Mr Cook said figures published this week in the Otago Daily Times showing the board's per patient income demonstrated its plight.
''As one of the sacked board members with 17 years' experience, I can confirm that every year the issue of short funding was raised by the chair and chief executive with the Ministry [of Health].
''The response was that Southern was funded the same as everyone else, and [we were told to] `find the savings'.
''Board members were actively encouraged to remain silent on any public comment about the issue,'' Mr Cook said in a comment to the ODT website.
The board had the lowest per patient income in the South Island, and the third lowest in New Zealand.
The only boards with lower per patient income were in the densely populated Auckland area.
Critics of population-based funding say it benefits rapidly growing areas, and hurts those with stagnating populations.
Mr Cook told the ODT the board watched as new services popped up elsewhere, while meetings at Southern ''revolved around finance''.
''We weren't talking about the things we wanted to talk about, which was improving services.
''We were just talking about money all the time,'' Mr Cook said.
Mr Cook, of Invercargill, said the mood in Southland was one of uncertainty, and few people were happy with the decision in June to sack board members.
Southland Hospital staff were asking: ''When's the axe going to fall?'' Mr Cook said.
District health board funding in New Zealand is closely guarded by the Ministry of Health, which has been criticised for unwillingness to release information about the population-based funding formula.
This week, in response to ODT queries, the Ministry of Health released information about ''transitional'' funding that tops up some boards' population-based funding.
Transitional amounts are based on population updates, and had been figured out this year with the most recent Census for the first time, a ministry spokesman said.
In 2015-16, 10 boards received a top-up.
Southern DHB received $1.07million transitional funding, while Counties Manukau and Canterbury received more than $11million each, and Capital and Coast DHB received $6million.
