Galveston County's plan to absorb nine Health District administrative functions faces its final vote Thursday, Sept. 17. The deal affects the Health District that serves League City and surrounding communities.

County commissioners voted 5-0 on Monday, Sept. 14, to approve the interlocal agreement, as we reported Sept. 15. The United Board of Health's vote is the last required step before the agreement takes effect Sept. 24.

The board is chaired by Tyler Drummond, chief of staff to County Judge Mark Henry, according to the Galveston County Daily News.

Under the agreement, accounting, budgeting, payroll, human resources, purchasing, information technology, cybersecurity, facilities and investment management would shift from the Health District to county government. Officials project the move will save at least $500,000 a year, KGTX 7 reported.

The savings come with a trade-off for some employees. The agreement states that positions duplicating county roles or creating "unnecessary overlap" may be eliminated without replacement, according to ABC13. Precinct 3 Commissioner Hank Dugie, a former League City Council member, told ABC13 he could not say how many workers could be affected. Some positions slated for elimination are already vacant, he said.

Dugie also said federal funding to the Health District would not be impacted.

Former Galveston County sheriff's deputy Kenneth Williams, the only public commenter at Monday's commissioners meeting, asked officials to table the vote. Williams said several Health District employees had privately raised fears about losing their jobs but were afraid of retaliation if they spoke publicly.

"If they plan on saving wages, they've got to cut something," Williams told ABC13. "I just hope they don't cut the services that these folks rely on."

Precinct 4 Commissioner Robin Armstrong said in a statement to ABC13 that the county's retirement pension plan is better than the Health District's and predicted the change would lead to increased services.

Employees who transfer to county positions would become subject to county employment, leave and benefits policies. How accrued vacation, sick leave and other benefits carry over has not been publicly detailed.

The county would assume salary, technology, equipment and overhead costs for the transferred services. In return, its annual contributions to the Health District and Coastal Health & Wellness would be reduced by the value of those services. The county auditor would recalculate the offset each year.

County Auditor Sergio Cruz resigned Sunday, Sept. 13, as chair of the Coastal Health & Wellness Governing Board, citing a potential conflict of interest. Health District CEO Dr. Philip Keiser is scheduled to retire Oct. 1.

The United Board of Health meets at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, in the boardroom of the Mid-County Annex, 9850-A Emmett F. Lowry Expressway.