Greater Borough public‑health staff weigh FY26 budget options: contract nursing, part‑time hire and software trade‑offs

Mikaela, the Greater Borough shared‑service coordinator, presented two FY26 budget options for the municipal public‑health collaboration covering Southborough, Northborough, Boylston and Westborough and answered detailed questions from the Board of Health on May 6.

The options: continue the current contract with Salmon (30 hours per week of nursing services) while adding data‑visualization software and absorbing a Salmon per‑diem increase to $75 per hour; or hire a direct‑hire 16‑hour/week nurse at $48 per hour while reducing contracted hours and using a lower‑cost nursing software. Mikaela said the Salmon contract currently provides 30 hours per week and a per‑diem rate that has been $45 per hour; the vendor’s proposed per‑diem for FY26 is $75 per hour. ClearPath, a separate contract for hoarding‑case technical support, was discussed as an optional $8,000 annual expense for the four towns.

Why it matters: the Greater Borough public‑health program supports nursing services, inspections and trainings across four…