Tompkins County board debates job description, recruitment process for 'commissioner of whole health' role

Members of the Tompkins County Community Services Board spent the bulk of a meeting discussing a draft job description and recruitment plan for a combined public-health and behavioral-health executive — described in the draft as the commissioner of whole health — and debated whether the current draft places too much weight on public-health credentials.

The county administrator (name not specified), who presented the draft, described the current language as deliberately skewed toward meeting state public-health minimum requirements. The county administrator said, “that’s the reason why it appears from the skewed over the public health side” and called the document a draft to be revised with board input.

The discussion mattered to members because the role will lead integrated public health, mental-health, substance-use, and developmental-disability programs that serve Tompkins County residents. Board members…