The City Council on Tuesday approved a Home Rule Petition to expand the city’s Board of Health to five members.
Councilors unanimously approved the petition, the first step in adding additional seats to the board at the request of Mayor Melinda E. Barrett.
“It kind of showed itself, a three-person board is a little tricky if people are out sick or the doctor that is on the panel was working and away. It became difficult,” she said.
As only WHAV reported, a letter from City Solicitor Lisa L. Mead said state law limits the city to a three-person board. The requested legislation would give the mayor the authority to name five members to the board, each with three-year appointments.
Broadway resident Rachel Cohen questioned whether the Council should add qualification requirements for appointees to serve on the board.
“Their role in our city affects people in our day-to-day lives and, while we have a doctor, we have a nurse and we have Peter who previously owned a dry-cleaning business, in the last Board of Health meeting I was at in July I was asking very pinpointed questions about chickens and they did not have any experience with chickens,” Cohen said.
Cohen, who was previously denied permission to own chickens beyond the 24 she was previously allowed, suggested board members should have certain backgrounds, education or work experience to “better round the appointed positions.”
The mayor countered, however, Health Board Chairperson Peter Carbone has much more experience than simply having owned a business. “He has decades of service to the community. He has served on the Board of Appeals, the Planning Board. He has run church events. He has run basketball events and baseball teams. He has a breadth of knowledge that is beyond owning a dry cleaner,” she said.
Council President Thomas M. Sullivan noted the city would have to further petition the state to add qualification requirements for the board.
Councilor Melissa J. Lewandowski and Vice President Timothy J. Jordan agreed that the board should be expanded, but noted the final say on appointees still comes down to the Council’s discretion, as Lewandowski explained.
“At the end of the day, it comes down to is whether or not we confirm the appointments as recommended by the mayor and the qualifications that those individuals possess,” Lewandowski said.
Cohen later clarified that she is not looking for “everybody to have experience in everything.”
“I’m just looking for some transparency going forward and, if that’s petitioning the state, I’m not opposed to that. There’s probably other people also looking for transparency,” Cohen said.