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Date: 4/20/2022
WESTFIELD — The state wants Westfield to lead regional public health efforts, but city officials oppose losing any local control.
Health Director Joseph Rouse told his Board of Health last week that he could not recommend playing the role of host community in a multi-town effort.
“For the last 20 years, the state has been trying to regionalize the local boards of health. I have always resisted that,” said Rouse.
He later added that “Westfield was chosen to be the host community and the grant and fiduciary agent, to which I said no.”
He said he doesn’t oppose shared services agreements in general, but Westfield should not be the host community. The other communities on the grant thus far are West Springfield, Southwick, Granville and Montgomery. If Westfield opted to be the host agency, the Health Department would have received 15 percent of a share of $300,000. It would also mean having to hire additional Health Department staff, and allowing non-city employees to conduct Health Department business in Westfield.
“I can’t have people who don’t work for me come into this city and do regulatory activities. If we can’t handle it, we get more people, we don’t go outside of the borders to bring other people in to do our dirty work, so to speak,” said Rouse.
Rouse said Westfield was offered the lead role because it is the biggest community out of the five. There is also a minimum of five communities needed for the agreement to be valid, and Westfield not participating at all might mean the whole thing falls apart for the other four towns.
“In theory, we could sign the line to say we are part of this, but we are not going to call in the resources of whatever that grant agency is,” said Rouse. “I am certainly not going to be their supervisor, I have enough issues of my own. Westfield signing on is at the plea of the state, because if we don’t, the small communities may not be able to get those services.”
Rouse said during the Board of Health meeting on April 13 that there was a chance that Westfield could roll its services into Southwick’s already existing shared services grant. He said later that week that he learned that would not be possible.
“Now if we are to proceed we have to find a host agency and fiduciary agent, which I still contend is something Westfield wouldn’t be able to take on at this point,” said Rouse.
Board of Health member Stan Strzempko said that the state pressuring Westfield to be the host agency felt like “extortion.”
Rouse said the agreement favors the smaller communities at a cost to larger communities like Westfield.
During public comment in the April 13 meeting, Westfield residents Jessica Britton, Grabirella Michaliszyn, and Katrina Ripka each voiced similar concerns to Rouse over the shared services agreement.
“Our needs are a lot different than the needs of other cities and towns,” said Michaliszyn.