In late July, Burke County Manager Brian Epley first unveiled to the public a plan for the board of commissioners to assume the powers of both the Board of Health and the Board of Social Services.
The Board of Health has oversight of the Health Department and sets countywide health policies. The Board of Social Services has oversight of the DSS (Department of Social Services.) These two departments (Health and DSS) have large budgets, and together provide a wide range of services that affect many county residents deeply and directly. I think it would be fair to call them the two most important government departments in all of Burke County.
Control over these two departments is likely to change on Aug. 20, according to both The News Herald and The Paper.
Under the current system, our county commissioners already have substantial control over the Health Department and DSS. For example, they control both departmental budgets, and both departments must follow the county’s rules on finance, human resources, information technology, etc. But the county commissioners and the county manager do not set county-wide health policies, nor do they have day-to-day management control of either department.
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That power lies with the two boards. They operate largely insulated from political pressures. This was by design. Boards of health are required by law to include several doctors and other highly trained health professionals. State legislators originally felt that county commissioners might not fully understand the medical implications of all county health decisions (quarantining, for example,) and might at times bow to uninformed pressure from the public. We all know how political COVID-19 got.
It is exactly this power structure which our commissioners are considering changing: Placing themselves and the county manager fully in charge. The two boards will continue to exist, but only with the power to advise the commissioners. All real power will now lie with the commissioners and county manager.
As far as I’m aware, the public discussion of this proposed change so far consists only of presentations made by Brian Epley to each of the two boards, in favor of the proposed change. Based on their unchanged public statements, these boards are clearly unconvinced by the points and reassurances Brian has made.
DSS Director Korey Fisher-Wellman has said, “This is an incredibly important decision that affects countless lives, both citizens and employees ... It’s important that all parties have the appropriate amount of time to ensure all questions are answered...”
Health Department Director Danny Scalise has said, “Dissolving the Burke County Board of Health would be a significant setback for our community.”
Board of Health Chairman Isaac Crouch has written, “[D]o you want politicians with no medical or scientific expertise to have direct control over things like vaccine administration, restaurant health scores, pandemic response, substance abuse assistance programs, etc. etc.?”
After Brian’s pro-change presentation to the Board of Health, its members still voted unanimously for a resolution opposing “dissolution of the board” and asking the commissioners to launch a comprehensive study into the possible effects of the proposed change.
From reading Brian Epley’s comments in the local papers, and from watching his presentation to the Board of Health last Wednesday, I understand his arguments in favor of change to be:
1. A new state law was passed in 2012 empowering county commissioners to change how they manage the county health department and DSS. Since then, 42 counties have made changes in how these two departments are managed. Burke County should seriously consider doing that, too.
2. By placing the Health Department and the DSS under the county manager’s control, along with all the other county departments that he already directs, we can unify the approach of all county employees. Brian has said: “I think at the end of the day, the only goal here is to make sure we’re all in the same boat rowing in the same direction.”
I’ve done some research of my own on the first item. Information on what other NC counties have done with their Health and DSS departments since 2012 is available from the UNC School of Government in Map 2 at the bottom of this web page: . Compiling this information myself, I found that 44 counties have indeed decided to make changes.
But the 2012 law gives counties many different options for management changes, not just the one option proposed here for Burke County. Given the specific proposal for Burke, I think the most relevant simple fact is:
Only 18 counties have decided to put their health departments under commissioner control since 2012. Eighty-two counties have so far chosen to keep that power with an independent board of health!
It’s true that some counties may not have gotten around to considering making any changes at all since 2012. But 44 counties actually did make changes to the management of their health or DSS departments. More than half of those 44 counties actively chose to retain board of health control. So, by any fair measure, commissioner control is what only a minority of NC counties have chosen.
As for the second item about unification, in what ways are health department and DSS employees not currently rowing the boat in the same direction? Neither Brian nor the commissioners have spoken to either board about how a unification of county-wide purpose might be achieved. Why can’t his goals be met by working within the current system? No effort to do that has been made.
What’s clear is that no concrete problems with the current system have been raised. To anyone. The house is definitely not on fire, so we have endless time to think and talk about this proposal publicly!
If you agree that this critical change in the power structure of Burke County government should at least be postponed, please consider attending the board of commissioners meeting.
It will be held in the Commissioners Meeting Room (Door E) of the Burke Services Building, located at 110 N. Green St., ɫ, at 6 p.m. on August 20. If you plan to speak, arriving 15-20 minutes early would be well-advised.
Rob Nelson
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