Galveston County commissioners voted Monday to strip the Health District that serves League City of control over its own back office, betting the move will save at least $500,000 a year.
Commissioners approved a shared-services agreement 5-0 on Monday, Sept. 14, giving the county administrative control of the Health District's back-office operations, Click2Houston reported. The deal is not final. The United Board of Health must still vote at a special meeting at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 18, at the Mid-County Annex boardroom, 9850-A Emmett F. Lowry Expressway in Texas City. If approved, the agreement would take effect Sept. 24.
County Judge Mark Henry and Commissioners Darrell Apffel, Joe Giusti, Hank Dugie and Robin Armstrong all voted in favor. The Health District serves all of Galveston County, including League City, and also manages Coastal Health & Wellness and the Galveston Area Ambulance Authority.
What the county takes over
Under the agreement, the county would absorb payroll, accounting, HR, purchasing, IT, cybersecurity, facilities management and investment oversight from the Health District, according to the Galveston County Daily News. The county budgeted $27,133 to create new positions on its side, including $19,806 in salaries.
County documents state that positions "that duplicate existing County roles, create unnecessary overlap, or do not support the administrative functions transferred under this Agreement may be eliminated without replacement," ABC13 reported. Commissioner Dugie could not say how many employees would be affected. He noted some positions slated for elimination are already vacant.
Employees who move to county payroll would fall under county benefit and leave policies. How accrued sick time, vacation and other benefits carry over has not been publicly detailed. Commissioner Armstrong, a physician, told ABC13 the county's retirement pension plan is better than the Health District's and predicted the savings would fund expanded services.
"We can't drop the tax rate to the no-new-revenue rate for 16 years straight without finding efficiencies," Commissioner Dugie said at Monday's meeting. "We're expecting at least half a million dollars in savings from this change."
One person spoke against the vote
Kenneth Williams, a former Galveston County sheriff's deputy, was the only person to address commissioners during public comment. He called the agreement "a major shift in administrative and financial control" and said residents had not been given a clear explanation of what it means. He urged commissioners to table the vote.
Williams said several Health District employees had privately expressed fears about losing their jobs but were afraid of retaliation if they spoke publicly, the Galveston County Daily News reported.
ABC13 reported the Health District did not respond to a request for comment.
Commissioner Dugie told ABC13 that federal funding to the Health District would not be affected.
Timing
The vote comes weeks before Health District CEO Dr. Philip Keiser's scheduled retirement Oct. 1. Keiser also serves as the county's Local Health Authority.
County Auditor Sergio Cruz resigned Saturday, Sept. 12, as chair of the Coastal Health & Wellness Governing Board, citing a desire to avoid a conflict of interest ahead of the vote.
The United Board of Health, which must approve the agreement for it to take effect, is chaired by Tyler Drummond, County Judge Henry's chief of staff. Two other board members were appointed directly by commissioners.
