Under the new ordinance, the three sitting members of the Board of Health will remain in their positions for the duration of their terms.
Mary Clare HigginsNORTHAMPTON – Pending approval by the state Legislature, Northampton will have an expanded Board of Health with new rules about its oversight.
The City Council last week approved an ordinance expanding the board from three to five members and putting it under the control of a health director appointed by the mayor. The changes proposed by Mayor Mary Clare Higgins have been in the works for some time. The council got a first look at them in November before referring the ordinance to an ad hoc committee for fine-tuning.
Under the revamped system, the Health Department will enforce all city ordinances and state and federal regulations related to health, including issuing permits and investigating complaints. Although its duties do not change significantly from the duties of the current board, the expansion to five members is intended to make the process more efficient.
“It’s clearly a good thing to have a large base for decisions and planning,” said Councilor Pamela C. Schwartz, who served on the ad hoc committee. “With three, you can’t even talk among yourselves without being subject to the open meeting law.”
Because the board has only three members, a conversation between two of them would constitute a quorum and trigger that law, Schwartz said.
Although the ad hoc committee recommended that the board appoint the health director in consultation with the mayor, the council voted to amend that clause giving the mayor the power of appointment and the council the right of approval. Some councilors questioned the change, pointing out that the ad hoc committee was unanimous on that point. All three sitting members of the board were present at the council meeting, but the council twice declined to hear from them on the matter, a move that didn’t sit well with Ward 5 Councilor David A. Murphy.
“It was interesting to not even hear from them,” he said.
The measure passed on first reading with the amended language. It will come back to the council for final approval at its next meeting. The council also passed an order referring the changes to the state Legislature for approval. The Legislature has authority in the matter because it involves a change in the city charter.
Under the new ordinance, the three sitting members of the Board of Health will remain in their positions for the duration of their terms. The two new members will be appointed by the mayor with the council’s approval. Donna Salloom was among the three current Board of Health members present at the council meeting. Salloom said she was not upset by the council’s reluctance to hear from the board, given the amount of dialogue that has already taken place.
“I think many City Council members felt they had heard all the issues repeatedly,” she said. “I think it was a good compromise.”