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Search for new Youngstown health chief to begin
YOUNGSTOWN
Replacing Neil Altman, retired city health commissioner, is expected to be discussed when the Youngstown City Health District Board of Health meets Monday, said Dr. Douglas Lewis, board member.
The board’s meeting is at 8 a.m. at the health district’s offices in Oakhill Renaissance Place.
Altman, 63, longtime health commissioner who has been on sick leave since last July, retired effective Monday. His annual salary was $71,660. He was named 2010 Champion of Public Health in the Public Health Practitioner category by Ohio State University College of Public Health.
Dr. Lewis said Thursday that he was not sure what the process for hiring a commissioner is but that it probably would be sorted out Monday.
In Altman’s absence, Erin Bishop was hired as full-time health district administrator, effective Feb. 9. She resigned her seat on the health board to take the position.
The new health commissioner should not be under civil service, said Youngstown Law Director Iris T. Guglucello, who said she has researched the issue.
She said the Ohio Revised Code defines what constitutes a civil-service employee, and the job of health commissioner does not fit that definition.
Guglucello said she believes public employees who serve their employers in fiduciary or confidential capacities, as does the health commissioner, are not considered civil service. Guglucello said she met with the Youngstown Civil Service Commission on the matter, but she and the commission agree.
A fiduciary employee is one who is responsible for setting policy and rules, can act independently and reports directly to the hiring authority, in this case the board of health. A confidential employee is one who assists the employer with confidential matters such as personnel, the law director said.
Guglucello said the Ohio Revised Code also established minimum requirements for a health commissioner, such as a master’s degree in public health, and says the board of health has the authority and duty to hire the new commissioner.
“I would expect the board to seek applicants, do interviews and make its choice,” she said.
The Youngstown Health District Board of Health is an independent political entity that operates under state law. However, Guglucello said it receives funding from the city, and the mayor appoints all of its five board members.