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Council hears administration explain proposed increase to Knox Public Health contract
Summary
City staff outlined a proposed increase to the Knox Public Health (KPH) contract intended to cover the equivalent of one full environmental health specialist in the city jurisdiction; current contract is roughly $67,000 and the administration estimated the full cost to fully staff one FTE at about $93,000 annually.
City officials described a proposed increase to the citycontract with Knox Public Health (KPH) at a committee meeting, saying the adjustment is meant to fund the equivalent of one environmental health specialist assigned to work daily within the city.
The administration said the current contract for 2025 is about $67,000 and that the proposed change would add roughly $25,000 to the citycontract payment, moving toward covering a full FTE with benefits. A KPH representative explained that a full loaded cost for a specialist with wages, payroll taxes and benefits is about $44.87 per hour, or "just over $93,000 annually" to hire and retain that staffer. The KPH representative said the current contractual arrangement did not previously cover a full FTE and that the proposed increase seeks to correct that.
Administration members said KPH staff routinely support code enforcement, probation and police operations and that the additional funding would sustain daily public-health coverage in the city. The administration framed the proposal as more efficient than the city duplicating public-health services and said, citing state rules, that a full general health district typically requires multiple licensed positions.
No vote was taken in committee; the presentation was to inform council and explain the recommended increase in the annual contract funding.
