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By Linda Golz
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 02:26 p.m. EDT, Jul 09, 2009
BARBERTON: The move would save Barberton some money, but some fear a merger of its Health Department with Summit County could cost the community much more.
Some have expressed concern that eliminating the 115-year-old Health Department could limit Barberton residents' access to needed services.
City officials met with the Summit County General Health District on Wednesday night to discuss the proposal.
Mayor Bob Genet said an agreement has been ironed out to make the merger a reality should the city opt to adopt it.
Genet said his main concerns are that the prenatal, WIC and other services such as public access to records remain available in the city. He also wants assurances that the department's 22 employees be offered the chance to apply for jobs with the county.
The potential merger comes as the Barberton department confronts a $121,000 budget shortfall this year.
Barberton Health Commissioner Paulette Kline said her total budget is $1.8 million this year.
Kline said a promised $108,000 grant from the state's tobacco fund will help cut the deficit.
Norton, which had contracted with Barberton's Health Department until its contract ran out May 31, has decided to contract with the county.
Genet said that decision cost his city $300,000.
Genet said if the city were to merge with the county it would result in a $500,000-a-year savings.
Among the topics raised Wednesday were concerns that the merger discussion was moving too quickly and whether the quality of care, especially students and children in the WIC program, would be compromised.
Genet said his hope is that a merger would actually create stability in the health safety net for Barberton residents.
''Every year the Health Department gets thrown under the bus'' with budget cuts and layoffs, the mayor said.
Gene Nixon, the county's health commissioner, said he wanted to work out a deal that would offer good service to the residents, hire as many of the displaced employees as possible and provide ''not just basic public health services, but quality services.''
The mayor said he has no timeline for a merger, but if the decision is made to contract with the county there will be legal issues that will take time to work through.
Linda Golz can be reached at 330-996-3640 or lgolz@thebeaconjournal.com.
BARBERTON: The move would save Barberton some money, but some fear a merger of its Health Department with Summit County could cost the community much more.
Some have expressed concern that eliminating the 115-year-old Health Department could limit Barberton residents' access to needed services.
City officials met with the Summit County General Health District on Wednesday night to discuss the proposal.
Mayor Bob Genet said an agreement has been ironed out to make the merger a reality should the city opt to adopt it.
Genet said his main concerns are that the prenatal, WIC and other services such as public access to records remain available in the city. He also wants assurances that the department's 22 employees be offered the chance to apply for jobs with the county.
The potential merger comes as the Barberton department confronts a $121,000 budget shortfall this year.
Barberton Health Commissioner Paulette Kline said her total budget is $1.8 million this year.
Kline said a promised $108,000 grant from the state's tobacco fund will help cut the deficit.
Norton, which had contracted with Barberton's Health Department until its contract ran out May 31, has decided to contract with the county.
Genet said that decision cost his city $300,000.
Genet said if the city were to merge with the county it would result in a $500,000-a-year savings.
Among the topics raised Wednesday were concerns that the merger discussion was moving too quickly and whether the quality of care, especially students and children in the WIC program, would be compromised.
Genet said his hope is that a merger would actually create stability in the health safety net for Barberton residents.
''Every year the Health Department gets thrown under the bus'' with budget cuts and layoffs, the mayor said.
Gene Nixon, the county's health commissioner, said he wanted to work out a deal that would offer good service to the residents, hire as many of the displaced employees as possible and provide ''not just basic public health services, but quality services.''
The mayor said he has no timeline for a merger, but if the decision is made to contract with the county there will be legal issues that will take time to work through.
Linda Golz can be reached at 330-996-3640 or lgolz@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Canton, OH
Posted 02:43 PM, 07/09/2009
Have faith in the Mayor. . .
Barberton, Oh
Posted 09:08 PM, 07/09/2009
I voted for the guy. I'll just say that I don't like the direction he has been taking the city down. It's not the direction I thought when he was campaigning.
Akron, Oh
Posted 09:06 AM, 07/10/2009
Mayor Don is in the same game. Akron plans to merge it's health department with the county. A fesability study is due in October (they already know it's fesable) the merger will then take place in 18 to 24 months after that.
Tepplin, DC
Posted 02:21 PM, 07/10/2009
Next comes police, then fire. Consolidate and save, folks. Consolidate and save.
