Health director warns of long‑term local public‑health staffing declines; seeks contractors for septic inspections and rabies specimen preparation; highlights $

Kathleen Cuddy, Cayuga County public health director, told the Health & Human Services Committee that a state health association study shows sustained staffing declines over roughly 15 years among local health departments and that the county is experiencing recruiting and retention challenges.

“There's been tremendous loss of staff, reduction of staff ... salaries making recruitment and retention a real challenge,” Cuddy said, summarizing the association’s survey results. She said the report includes graphical analysis and an enumeration study that will provide county‑specific staffing trends the department submitted over time.

Cuddy also reviewed operational needs in the Environmental Health Division. She said the department has received interest from three or four engineering firms to contract for septic and water‑system inspections and will hold follow‑up meetings with those firms. The county is pursuing contractors because of temporary but lengthy vacancies that limit the department’s ability to perform required sanitary code inspections.

Separately, Cuddy said the county has had no responses yet to requests for contractors to handle rabies specimen preparation — a specialized task that requires certification for use of euthanasia products and adherence to universal precautions. She said the county will send letters to veterinary offices and attempt to reach DEC wildlife specialists to recruit certified contractors. “We need to contract with rabies specimen preparation people,” Cuddy said, noting that some contractors may bid on specific components (bats only, certain species, transport only).

Cuddy and committee members discussed alternatives other counties use, including in‑house staff (Onondaga County) or contracting with Cornell veterinary labs. Cuddy said the county will explore options and that staff are not trained to perform specimen preparation and should be vaccinated before doing that work.

On the state budget, Cuddy flagged a provision in the adopted appropriations bill that allows the governor and director of the Division of Budget to withhold funds midyear with a 10‑day legislative window to respond, and she said Article 6 funding remained flat. She noted the capital budget includes $20,000,000 for lead abatement grants under the Lead Hazard Reduction (LEHI) program administered by the Division of Housing and Community Renewal; the county expects to participate in the lead registry and prioritized replacement work for units with children.

Cuddy also highlighted public‑facing programs: a recent Bike‑to‑School injury‑prevention event involving elementary schools across the county and upcoming vector‑borne disease outreach on mosquitoes and ticks.

Committee members asked about who picks up road‑kill and how other counties handle specimen pickup; discussion noted highway departments, towns and villages sometimes remove animals but that proper handling and vaccination considerations make contracted or trained pickup preferable.