Cleveland County commissioners create consolidated human services agency, appoint initial members
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Summary
After a public hearing with no public speakers, the Cleveland County Board of Commissioners voted to establish a consolidated human services agency, set the board at 17 members with staggered two- and four-year terms, appointed initial members to most seats and approved the enabling resolution.
The Cleveland County Board of Commissioners voted to establish a consolidated human services agency and appointed initial members to most of the board on a unanimous vote.
County manager David Cough told the commissioners that the purpose of the public hearing was “to receive public comment relative to the establishment of a consolidated human services agency.” He outlined a model collapsing the county health department and social services department under a single advisory body and recommended the board adopt a resolution creating the agency and approving staggered terms for members.
The board set the agency’s size at 17 members plus the commissioners’ ex officio seat, with seats 1–4 and 15–17 initially serving two-year terms that would later transition to four years, and profession-specific seats 5–14 intended as four-year terms. David Cough read the nominees for the initial seven consumer/public citizen seats—Henry Gilmore, Paula Kneidt, Robert Miller, Maggie Horn, Mary Acor, Allison Gragg and Danny Bland—and the professional seats that were filled at the meeting, including Grama McLaughlin (psychologist), Marty Hammock (pharmacist), Cale Mead (engineer), Sarah Connor (dentist), Rick Dixon (veterinarian), Suzanne Hensley (social worker), Christina Alexander (registered nurse) and Dr. Nancy Klein (physician). Two professional seats (optometrist and psychiatrist) remained open; commissioners asked staff to continue recruitment and return with recommendations.
The board appointed the listed nominees and approved the draft resolution creating the consolidated human services agency. The resolution and appointments were presented as advisory in nature: Cough emphasized the new board would provide recommendations to the Board of Commissioners, while the consolidated human services agency director would be an assistant county manager appointed by the county manager with advice from the agency but appointed at the county manager’s discretion.
The public hearing on the proposal closed with no members of the public signed up to speak. The commissioners said they would return any outstanding recruitment items to the nominating committee and that staff would shepherd the new body’s rules of procedure, decorum and ethics.
Next steps: the county will recruit to fill the two remaining professional seats and implement the resolution’s provisions as directed by county staff.
