Cayuga County Health Department staff presented a series of resolutions Jan. 14 to fill positions, renew contracts and authorize audits and services, and the Legislature approved each measure during the meeting.

Public health presenter Kathleen Cuddy described a contract renewal with Central New York for sign-language and interpretation services (HH1), which the Legislature approved. The committee approved HH2 to fill two part-time WIC peer lactation consultant positions (approximately 10 hours per week), and approved HH3 to fill a Director of Health Education and Public Information position; Cuddy and legislators discussed the recruitment challenges and supervisory structure that justified a director-level appointment. HH4, a request to fill a public health educator or senior public health educator funded through the Healthy Neighborhoods program, was approved; Cuddy said the senior role has a higher grade and supervisory responsibility, but the department will hire a public health educator if a senior candidate cannot be found.

The panel approved a three-year contract with Venezia & Company for auditing and consulting of the county diagnostic and treatment center at a small annual increase (HH5). Cuddy also reported technical progress on Medicaid billing: the eMedNY portal statewide issues affecting preschool special education reimbursements have been resolved and the county submitted three months of claims that had been prepared. She said the state now requires a larger escrow for early intervention — up from about $30,000 to $50,000 monthly — while weekly calls among the state bureau, the vendor PCG and counties continue through March to address software issues.

Cuddy updated the committee about avian (bird) flu surveillance, WIC outreach into rural areas (a new monthly off‑site clinic in the town of Ira), WIC participation growth in New York State (a reported 24% overall increase since March 2020 and a 36% increase for children ages 1–4 through Sept. 2024) and hiring for a rabies coordinator. Because the rabies coordinator hire is expected to be part-time and take months to reach full independence, Cuddy floated a proposed $200-per-week stipend for the department directors who will serve on-call during the interim. She said the county has budgeted money for the stipend under the rabies coordinator line, but requested the Legislature direct staff to develop a resolution in February; legislators and staff discussed legal and human-resources issues tied to paying stipends to nonbargaining (exempt) employees.

All resolutions presented for the Health Department passed by voice vote during the meeting; the rabies stipend request was presented as a proposal for a future resolution rather than a formal action at this meeting.