Health Department seeks half‑time grants director and marine lab upgrades as grants drive most operations

Health Department Director Stephanie Harrington Sloan told City Councilors on May 21 that the department will present an FY26 general‑fund budget of about $1.4 million and seek two enhancements: funding 50% of a senior grants and finance director and $5,930 for marine laboratory equipment.

Sloan said roughly 90% of the department’s general fund supports salary and wages, and that the grants director position (50% city‑funded in the requested enhancement) helps secure non‑municipal funding, build grant capacity and manage grant‑supported staff. "In less than 12 months, this position has secured a little more than a half a million dollars in funding through 3 grant awards with another $2,000,000 pending," Sloan said, adding that the city positions the grants director’s compensation across several grants by charging an administrative share.

Councilors questioned the grants director’s funding model and asked for a breakdown of how much of that position’s salary is funded from grant administrative dollars. Sloan said the portion varies by grant and that she would provide a detailed breakdown.

Councilors also asked about dental services the Health Department provides in New Bedford Public Schools. Sloan said two contracted dental hygienists provide in‑school oral exams, sealants and fluorides primarily at elementary schools. The hygienists bill MassHealth for students with coverage and the resulting revenue is recorded in the health department’s revenue line. The department reported the dental hygienists’ line moved this year from a consultants line to a contractual services line and that the contract increased from about $77,000 to $90,000 after the vendor raised rates for the first time since 2019.

Sloan described the municipal marine laboratory as the only commercial municipal lab in Massachusetts, providing beach testing, well water testing and shellfish testing for the South Coast. The $5,930 enhancement would replace essential equipment to maintain state certification for those testing services.

Councilors pressed on vacancy savings and hiring plans. Sloan said the department had four current vacancies (three full‑time, one part‑time) with applicants for each role and expected to fill them; she said one grant‑funded division head is already doing the work and the city’s enhancement would create partial general‑fund stability for that role.

Ending: Councilors requested a breakdown of reimbursements for the dental hygienists and an itemized accounting of the grants director’s funding from individual grants. Sloan said she would provide detailed figures after the meeting.