MARSHALL - Madison County Board of Health members said they feel blindsided by the county commissioners' proposed takeover of the health board, which has been in place for more than 50 years.
Dr. Bob Adams, a retired longtime dentist and Madison County Board of Health chair, said he was "mystified" by the board of commissioners' proposed takeover. The idea was introduced in the commissioners' May 13 meeting in which the board voted to approve a motion to explore the potential takeover.
The Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing in its July meeting and potentially vote on whether to approve the takeover.
According to Adams, the health board met May 22 for its biquarterly meeting, but left with many questions unanswered about what spurred the commissioners' proposal.
"Yes, the board had a lot of questions, and really, we're still mystified," Adams said, adding that the proposal was supposed to have been added as an agenda item on a meeting before the May 13 meeting, but a staff member got sick and the agenda item was postponed.
Adams said before the May 13 meeting, the health board "had no clue at all" about the proposed takeover.
Adams moved to Marshall and began working as a dentist in Madison County in 1975.
He practiced dentistry for 37 years at his Marshall office. He has served on Madison County boards of health since at least 1980.
In Adams' view, the current Board of Health is thriving, citing the state's most recent re-accreditation process, which takes place every four years, in which the Madison County Health Department received an honors ranking.
"I can't think of a better yardstick to say how good our Health Department is performing than that," Adams said.
"In the 40-plus years I've been sitting on these boards, I haven't seen that ever. If the Health Department is doing this well, why change that, the method of governance? Why mess with that?"
Adams said Hensley said the commissioners felt assuming control of the Board of Health would allow the commissioners more direct input into the workings of the Health Department.
But Adams said that was a misconception.
"All of the functions that are performed by the Health Department are already kind of proscribed by state statutes," Adams said. "Really, they're not going to have any more hands-on."
Background
The idea to explore the potential of assuming control of the health board was introduced in the May 13 Board of Commissioners meeting.
According to county attorney Donny Laws, North Carolina General Statute 153A-77 allows county commission boards to gain control over boards, agencies and commissions, such as a county Board of Health.
The statute reads, "the board of county commissioners may assume direct control of any activities theretofore conducted by or through any commission, board or agency by the adoption of a resolution assuming and conferring upon the board of county commissioners all powers, responsibilities and duties of any such commission, board or agency."
The statute also mandates an advisory board be instated alongside the Board of Commissioners should the Board of Commissioners vote to assume control of the Board of Health.
Laws and some of the commissioners mentioned the possibility of the current health board members staying on to serve on the advisory board.
But Adams said the current board is "so disappointed" that he wonders whether any of them would agree.
"The whole staff is kind of jittery now," Adams said of the Health Department.
"As far as the current health board members being a support and an advocacy board, that's the board's biggest impact. That trickles down to the whole morale and mood of the Health Department staff."
If the commissioners were to assume control of the Board of Health, the Board of Health business would be discussed in the Board of Commissioners public meetings, typically held on the second Tuesday of the month.
Adams said he wondered whether an increased workload with the proposed health board takeover would further strain a commissioner board already dealing with a Tropical Storm Helene rebuild.
"I just can't imagine why they would want to do that," Adams said. "I can't imagine that they're going to be able to spend the time that the current Board of Health spends — two to three hours every other month — getting presentations from the staff and talking about the functions and operations of the Health Department."
What prompted this?
The Madison County Board of Health is comprised of 11 members, including various health care professionals, including a physician, a dentist, registered nurses, a veterinarian and a pharmacist, as well as Madison County Board of Commissioners Vice Chair Jeremy Hensley.
Chair Matt Wechtel also previously served on the Board of Health.
As it exists now, Madison County Board of Health members are state personnel employees, as are the Department of Social Services employees, and a number of Madison County Sheriff's Office employees.
Madison County's current health director is Tammy Cody.
In the May 13 meeting, Hensley wondered whether, under the current format, if the county would be held liable if a suit was brought against the Board of Health.
Also in the May 13 meeting, Hensley said one of his main concerns was liability.
"As a citizen, if I had trouble with the department, I would want to call an elected official instead of a board member that's not elected," Hensley said. "We get those phone calls anyway. But we're just passing the buck.
"As a commissioner board, I think we need to have the legal liability to what affects our county."
The News-Record spoke with Hensley and Wechtel about what may have contributed to the proposal.
According to Wechtel, there was not a specific incident that brought this on, nor was there a suit that had been brought against the county.
"Most people naturally assume that the Commissioners are responsible for the activities at the Health Department, so for me, it's about aligning things up to what public perception already is," Wechtel said in an email.
Wechtel said he wished to make clear that the proposed takeover was not aimed to push Cody out as county health director.
"I want to be clear that this is not a move to force anyone out, especially Tammy," the Madison County Board of Commissioners chair said in the email.
Like Adams, the county health director said she was blindsided by the commissioners' proposed takeover.
“All of our operations at the Health Department are running well,” said Cody. “We have no financial concerns and continue to pass all of our audits. None of our programs have corrective action plans. I am truly blessed to work with a dedicated board and staff who love our communities and want the best for all of our residents.”
Hensley said, prior to the May 13 meeting, he had done a lot of research on the proposed takeover and the issue of liability was referenced throughout his research.
"During my research it seemed that no matter what website I was on the word legal kept popping up. Wording like 'legal responsibility,' 'legal duties,' 'legal obligations' and so forth," Hensley said in an email to The News-Record.
"So, me not being a lawyer, I wanted to make sure with Donny that all the legal liability was going to be lifted off the current health board and placed on the commissioners."
Hensley reiterated his stance that the proposed takeover would provide some accountability for Madison County residents by holding the county's elected officials liable.
"Personally, I do not want an individual that is volunteering their time with no pay and not elected to be able to be sued personally or also to be making legal decisions that affects the citizens of this county," Hensley said.
"I think that the legal liability should fall on the elected official whether it be a lawsuit or just a legal decision that needs to be made."
Johnny Casey is the Madison County communities reporter for The Citizen Times and The News-Record & Sentinel. He can be reached at 828-210-6074 or [email protected].