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Board approves reorganization moving Environmental Health under Public Health after staff objections
Summary
After extensive public comment from Environmental Health staff and industry stakeholders, the Board of Supervisors approved code changes that fold Environmental Health functions more tightly into Public Health and create an executive deputy role; staff urged delay and warned of service, legal and fee‑accounting risks.
Santa Clara County supervisors on June 2 adopted code amendments to restructure Environmental Health under the department director for public health, replacing a stand‑alone departmental director with an executive/deputy director post embedded in the health department. The action followed extended public testimony from Environmental Health inspectors, program managers and the department director.
Environmental Health staff strongly urged the board to delay the change and retain a full‑time director dedicated to Environmental Health. Speakers cited the branch’s role in food‑safety inspections, hazardous‑materials responses, permitting and emergency event planning, and warned that moving oversight without fuller process could raise legal and fee‑accounting risks. "Removing this full‑time position and placing it with a part‑time position will impact the quality of services we provide to the public," one steward told the board during public comment.
County leadership said the restructuring is intended to improve cross‑departmental collaboration, align public‑health and environmental‑health science and provide additional executive‑level supports (for communications, data and policy) while preserving existing fee accounting and compliance obligations. Staff said the change broadens the recruitment pool for executive leadership and will require strict fiscal tracking to ensure fee revenues remain dedicated to fee‑supported activities.
After debate and a request for additional operational reporting, the board adopted the ordinance on second reading. The measure passed on roll call; the board directed staff to report back with operational updates, including progress on Environmental Health’s planned information‑technology upgrade and other implementation steps by the end of the calendar year.
