Consolidation of health entities is no-brainer, but action absent

Why does Youngstown Mayor Charles Sammarone have to set a deadline for Mahoning County to indicate if it’s interested in consolidating the health districts of the city and county? When we advocated the revamping of the public health system last year, we believed it was a no-brainer. After all, consolidation of government services has long been supported by private sector taxpayers.

Indeed, Ohio Gov. John Kasich has told government officials at all levels that the ongoing budget crisis in Columbus means less money for local operations. Doing more — or, least the same amount — with less should be standard operating procedure.

And yet, when the mayor of the largest community in the Mahoning Valley says he is willing to have the city health department merge with the county health department, there doesn’t seem to be a sense of urgency. Why?

Youngstown city and Mahoning County governments are facing financial challenges, which means the status quo is unsustainable.

On Feb. 16, when city and county officials meet to further discuss the merging of the health departments, we hope they will agree on several things: One, taxpayers are unwilling to pay for duplication of public services; two, with the decline in the county’s overall population and a steep drop in the number of city residents, the size of government must also be reduced; three, the merging of the health departments will make the consolidation of the 911 emergency telephone systems operated by Youngstown and Mahoning County so much easier.

Sammarone wants county officials to indicate in writing whether they’re interested in the health department mergers. If the answer is yes, a time line would be developed for accomplishing this seemingly easy undertaking. But if the answer is no, the mayor says the city will move on.

There’s no reason the merger cannot be accomplished. Nor is there any excuse, other than the preservation of jobs, for the city and county failing to come to terms on a joint 911 emergency system.

When former Mayor George McKelvey proposed folding Youngstown’s system into the county’s, he offered a million-dollar payment to the county to pay for the costs of an expanded county system.

Chatter class

Nonetheless, the issue has been confined to the chatter class. Sammarone wants to move on 911, and has found an ally in Commissioner John A. McNally 1V.

McNally, who will be leaving office when his term ends in December, says the city and county should not only look at 911, but should also consider combining Youngstown’s building office with Mahoning County’s building inspection office.

As for the merger of the health departments, McNally says the health board’s district advisory council has the final say.

It is inconceivable that the council would say no if the elected officials in City Hall and the county administration building say yes.

For private sector taxpayers who have concluded that the public sector has its own reality, consider this:

The Youngstown Department of Health receives $2.67 million from the general fund and an additional $888,803 in grants. It has 24 full-time employees and four part-timers.

The county health district had a budget of $6.3 million in 2010 and a work force of 48. It receives no county general fund money, but is financed by property tax inside millage, fees, revenue from contracts and federal and state grants.

Each is managed by a commissioner.

Private sector taxpayers are saying “enough.” The keepers of the public purse should listen.