SHELBY — Shelby City Council has come out against a provision in a bill before the Ohio Senate that would force the Shelby City Health Department to merge with Richland Public Health.
All five members of council co-signed a letter dated May 4 to Rep. Marilyn John and Sen. Mark Romanchuk denouncing the language in the two-year state budget bill that would effectively abolish many of the state’s city health departments.
Letter from Shelby City Council
An earlier version of the Ohio House budget bill called for merging all departments within cities of fewer than 50,000 residents. The amended version passed in the House on April 21 includes a required evaluation before any action is taken. It now goes to the Ohio Senate for approval.
Cities with fewer than 50,000 residents that have a local health department would be required to evaluate “the efficiency and effectiveness” of merging with the county department versus remaining on their own. The criteria would be created by the director of health and state auditor.
If a local study concludes a merger is “advisable,” the city would be forced to consolidate soon after.
While this language is watered down from its original form that would’ve required the immediate elimination of the Shelby City Health Department, local officials are still unsettled.
“This is very troubling,” said council member Nathan Martin during a committee-of-the-whole session at council on Monday. “This almost feels like an attempt to get the intended outcome without having to deal with the political blowback, under the guise of efficiency and effectiveness.”
All 88 counties in Ohio have a countywide health department. Shelby is one of 25 additional cities which have their own unique departments. Of those 25 cities, 19 of them would be potentially impacted by this provision, including Shelby.
The Shelby City Health Department has provided public health services to the Shelby community since 1923.
In the letter to the statehouse, authored primarily by council member Garland Gates, the prime concern of council comes from the language requiring a study examining the “efficiency and effectiveness” of merging with the county health department.
“Quite frankly, we are concerned that the criteria for such a study will lead to a foregone conclusion,” the letter reads. “Why is it that only (city health districts) must conduct this study? Is it assumed that the general health districts – by the sole virtue of their populations – are efficient and effective?”
Martin argued that accountability for efficiency and effectiveness of the health department lies in the hands of Shelby constituents, not elected officials in Columbus. Numerous tax levies have passed in favor of the health department over the years, signaling local support.
“Even if they came up with a perfect process for determining ‘efficiency and effectiveness,’ it will be imperfect because of who’s coming up with it,” Martin said. “This is a danger, fundamentally, to accountability.”
The letter to the statehouse also notes that the Shelby City Health Department has completed the “complicated, time-consuming and expensive” process of accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board. The department will receive its accreditation on May 14; the process began in 2016.
“As chairman of the safety committee, I’ve watched them work towards accreditation and they are really passionate about that,” said council member Derrin Roberts. “Our health department does a very good job.”
A separate letter advocating for the merits of the department will come from the Shelby City Health Department itself. Mayor Steve Schag said the letter would include facts and figures of how many hours and dollars went into the process of accreditation, as well as highlighting the department’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
