Greenwich health department seeks part-time public health educator in proposed 2026–27 budget

Caroline, director of the health department, presented the department's proposed 2026–27 budget to the committee, saying the request totals $2,819,148, an increase of $81,987 (about 3%) over 2025–26 and that full-time salaries account for roughly 84% of department costs.

The presentation outlined division-level totals — administration (~$632,490), family health (~$685,000) and special clinical services (~$309,000) — and emphasized that personnel and contractual salary adjustments (a 2.5% general increase cited for several divisions) drive much of the change.

Caroline said the department is asking for part-time funding for a public health educator, approximately $43,000 on the temporary salaries line (5130), equivalent to about 0.74 FTE if approved. She said the position would be paid from ARPA (Fund F) dollars the town received and that those ARPA funds expire in December, so the position is temporary unless additional funding is identified. The director said she had previously held a full-time public health educator post that was eliminated during an earlier reorganization and framed the new request as restoring communications capacity the department lacks.

Committee members questioned why the educator did not appear on the table of organization. Caroline replied she typically does not add proposed positions to that table until after committee approval; staff clarified the ARPA fund source is why the role is not listed in the general-fund table. The group noted the $43,000 temporary salary estimate and requested that the HR committee and finance staff confirm where the line will appear on voting sheets and whether any transition plan will be needed at ARPA expiration.

Caroline reviewed the department's revenue streams and grant portfolio, saying environmental health licensing (food service, septic, well permits) drives much of the local revenue and that state and federal grants have funded equipment purchases (for example, a centrifuge for clinical services) and workforce-development efforts. She described a practice of using grant funds to offset town costs, then returning unspent grant balances to the town at grant closeout.

During a lengthy question-and-answer period, committee members pressed on a longer-term trend Caroline documented: the volume of some direct services (immunizations, radon testing, lab tests) has declined over the last decade. Caroline attributed the decline largely to increased private-sector access (pharmacies, big-box retailers, hospital programs) and to changing care patterns (more residents working remotely or accessing private providers). She argued, however, that the local health department retains critical surge capacity, homebound nursing services and emergency response roles that private providers may not sustain in a crisis. As part of that explanation she said, “this year we lost a resident from West Nile virus,” framing it as an example of why outreach and communications capacity matter; no formal causal finding was offered during the hearing.

The committee and staff reviewed next procedural steps: HR and finance will place voting sheets and proposed budget resolutions in the shared document folder for review; members aimed to finalize remaining work by Tuesday's reconvened session at 9 a.m. The meeting adjourned after a motion from Mr. Kelly, seconded and approved by voice vote.

What remains: the public health educator request is proposed and ARPA-funded through December; final placement in budget documents and any plan for ongoing funding must be decided before a permanent hire can occur. Committee members requested follow-up details about the position's duties, the exact voting-sheet placement and contingency plans for ARPA expiration.