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Plympton Board of Health votes to reject warrant article that would abolish its administrative assistant
Summary
The Plympton Board of Health unanimously approved a motion May 5 to post a letter rejecting Town Meeting Warrant Article 19, which would eliminate the board's administrative assistant position; members cited board autonomy, confidentiality and potential costs and said the article will appear on the BOH agenda May 12.
The Plympton Board of Health voted 3-0 on May 5 to post a letter on its website rejecting Town Meeting Warrant Article 19, which would abolish the board's administrative assistant position and shift hiring authority away from the board.
Town Counsel had responded to the board's request for clarification, the members said, advising that boards of health traditionally select and appoint their own staff but that the Board of Selectmen could pursue special legislation through the Home Rule process to change that arrangement. The board said that approach would amount to a new, untested structure of town government and could expose the town to legal and administrative cost.
"I firmly believe that the Board of Health needs to be the hiring authority for the Board of Health. We know what knowledge and expertise is needed," said Art Morin Jr., the board clerk, explaining the board's position that personnel decisions require subject-matter knowledge the selectmen may not have. Vice Chair Jared Anderson warned that the change would be costly: "This is an untested form of government that the town is going to have to defend which will cost the taxpayers." Administrative Assistant Cathleen Ferguson raised confidentiality concerns, saying staff handle protected medical records and confidential property investigations and that transferring supervisory authority could compromise those processes.
Board members cited past public-health investigations as reasons to preserve BOH autonomy, including work on mold in the Old Town House, recurring mold in the town house basement and an earlier mold matter at the Dennett. They said an independent hiring process helps ensure impartial investigations of town buildings and other public-health concerns.
The board discussed whether the warrant article singles out the BOH or would apply uniformly across elected boards; members said equal-treatment requirements would need to be observed and noted previous, unsuccessful attempts by the selectmen to alter positions through the warrant process. The board read a letter it had sent to the selectmen requesting clarification about Article 19 and voted to make that letter and a statement rejecting the article public on the Board of Health webpage.
A motion to post the letter and statement passed unanimously, 3-0. The board then voted 3-0 to adjourn at 6:14 p.m. The selectmen's earlier question about food at Mr. Morin was acknowledged and will be placed on the BOH's May 12 agenda for further consideration; the transcript did not provide additional detail about that item.
The board meeting began at 5:39 p.m. and was attended by Chair Brad Cronin, Vice Chair Jared Anderson, Clerk Art Morin Jr., and Administrative Assistant Cathleen Ferguson; Health Agent Kevin Forgue was absent. The BOH will revisit the matter on its May 12 meeting agenda.
