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Bridgewater withdraws from Halifax public health grant; town to lose grant-funded food inspector and cut hours
Summary
The town’s health agent said Bridgewater is withdrawing from the Halifax Public Health Excellence Grant because of budget cuts; the loss ends a shared food inspector position, will increase the agent’s inspection workload, and lead to reduced office hours (agent 35 hours M–Th, admin 20 hours/week).
Bridgewater’s public health agent told the Board of Health the town is withdrawing from the Halifax Public Health Excellence Grant amid budget cuts, removing grant-funded inspection capacity and prompting a reallocation of duties among neighboring towns’ agents.
"We are no longer eligible due to budget cuts. So, we are withdrawing from that based on the budget cuts," Eric said, adding that East Bridgewater and West Bridgewater agents have arranged to cover for one another—providing no-cost mutual coverage for vacations and sick time.
Nut graf: The withdrawal ends a shared, grant-funded food inspector role the town relied on; the agent said that will increase his inspection workload and reduce the office’s capacity to respond quickly to public inquiries.
Eric outlined specific staffing and hours: the agent will work 35 hours per week (Monday–Thursday) starting July, and the administrative assistant will work 20 hours per week. He said he is exploring occasional Friday coverage to process septic plans and phone requests but noted limited availability and asked the public to be patient with response times.
The agent invited board members to visit the office and to join scheduled food and Title V (septic) inspections to better understand operational burdens. Several participants, including one who identified himself as Joe, described relevant professional experience (Joe said he has been a pharmacist for 49 years and recently retired) and offered to assist or observe inspections.
The board tentatively scheduled an update for July 22 at 3:30 p.m. and discussed holding an in-person meeting in October. The meeting adjourned at 3:44 p.m.
No formal personnel actions or funding rescissions were taken at the meeting; the agent described operational changes that will take effect as a result of the grant withdrawal.
