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County explores short-term MOU coverage for sanitarian services with Dawson County amid retirement
Summary
With the county sanitarian retiring Dec. 23, commissioners discussed emergency coverage under an MOU and longer-term options; a Dawson County sanitarian said he could cover emergencies but his regular schedule is full and a long-term arrangement would require approvals from his commissioners.
Fallon County commissioners discussed how to cover environmental health and sanitarian duties after the county’s sanitarian (Rich) retires Dec. 23.
A sanitarian who currently works under contract for Dawson County described the challenge of recruiting and retaining sanitarians statewide and said his regular schedule is largely filled. He confirmed he would honor the county’s existing MOU for emergency coverage and said he would be open to discussions about longer-term help, but that any formal arrangement would require buy-in from his elected commissioners.
Commissioners raised practical issues, including who would take sanitation-related phone calls and how routine, non-emergency tasks (subdivision sign-offs, plan review, licensing) would be handled. The clerk and recorder’s office was identified as a temporary call point; commissioners said they will meet with the Dawson County sanitarian one-on-one to develop a plan for call routing, emergency response and whether a short-term contract or temporary hire is needed while the county recruits a permanent replacement.
No formal agreement was executed at the work session; commissioners asked staff to pursue a private conversation with the Dawson County sanitarian to outline options and return with a proposed plan.
