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Public health director asks Columbia County to sign letter opposing state funding cuts
Summary
Jamie Anderson, the county’s public health director, asked commissioners to consider adding the county’s name to a draft advocacy letter urging state lawmakers on the Joint Committee on Ways and Means not to cut public‑health funding; commissioners asked staff to customize the draft and return next week.
Jamie Anderson, Columbia County’s public health director, asked the board to consider signing a draft advocacy letter, prepared by the Oregon Coalition of Local Health Schools, asking state lawmakers to avoid cuts to public‑health funding. Anderson said the letter would be sent to legislators on the Joint Committee on Ways and Means.
“And they asked either the public health director to sign or to talk with boards to see if there would be county support,” Anderson said, describing the draft and its timeline. Commissioners raised concerns that a stock letter should be customized to local priorities; Anderson said staff could revise the draft to reflect the county’s community health needs assessment and bring it back to the board next week. The group requested a response before the January deadline cited in the packet.
One commissioner noted the county includes residents who are skeptical of vaccines and asked that the letter not lead with vaccination policy if that would hamper local support. Anderson agreed to rework the draft to reflect local priorities and statistics. The board did not vote on the letter at the meeting; staff will return with a revised draft for consideration.
