Amador County - Amador County Supervisors delayed approval Tuesday of an amended agreement with Public Health Officer Dr. Robert Hartmann, pending further specifications on grant funding and a comparison to the PHO contract for Calaveras County.
Chairman Brian Oneto, who signed and approved the third amendment to an original agreement with Hartmann from July 2009 during closed session, said he had “second thoughts” and asked to add the item to the regular agenda for full board discussion and approval.
The contract states Hartmann’s hours as PHO would change to 20 hours a week at $103 an hour for a total compensation of $8,240 a month.
Supervisors questioned the need for an increase from 7.5 hours per week as stated in the previous amended contract. They asked about on-call hours, which Hartmann said make up a large part of his duties.
Hartmann said a number of factors, most notably the current whooping cough epidemic, have increased his hours significantly.
Kristin Bengyel, Amador County Health Services Director, said California currently has the most whooping cough cases “in 60 years,” and the county also dealt with three times the average number of rattlesnake victims last summer.
Hartmann said part of the on-call issue is because “some of the other people who could potentially take calls here are union members.”
He said what changed his job the most were the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. “Before then we didn’t have concerns about communicable diseases, bioterrorism, or small pox,” he said. “Now there is significant instruction from (the government) to be prepared locally.”
Hartmann said he also spends “a significant amount of time” dealing with issues and cases at Mule Creek State Prison. He said there have been a number of “disease breakouts” there, and “if (the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation) reimbursed us, it would be for a significant amount.”
Finally he said more work is necessary on his part because his department is “down on positions.”
Oneto asked if there was a “guarantee as far as getting emergency preparedness funds,” which pay for a large portion of health related services in the county. Bengyel said “there is no guarantee in any of the budget pictures occurring at the state level.”
Supervisors Richard Forster and Louis Boitano both questioned why Calaveras County’s PHO can manage with only 12 on-call hours a week. Hartmann was unsure.
Oneto said “we’re not questioning your integrity or ability – just the price.”
Forster motioned to continue approval of the contract to a later agenda and asked staff to acquire a copy of Calaveras County’s PHO contract and more specifics on state emergency funding. The motion was approved 5-0. Story by
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