The Mount Vernon City Council has been requested to allocate an additional $25,000 annually in its contract with Knox Public Health to fully fund a full-time sanitarian.
"We really need to get to the point with this contract that it's covering for one of these employees that are out, I would argue, daily within the jurisdiction of the city. It's something that I brought forward to the administration three years ago. I said this contract really needs to get to the point where it's covering one of those staff members at its full package," Knox Health Commissioner Zach Green told the council, according to a video of its Sept. 22 meeting.
According to the video, Mount Vernon Safety-Service Director Tanner Salyers said that the current contract allocates approximately $67,000 annually to Knox Public Health. The proposed extension would increase this amount to $93,000 by 2026 and further raise it to $98,663 by 2028. The original agreement between the city and Knox Public Health was established in 1983, forming a combined health district for both the county and city.
Salyers also mentioned that Knox Public Health collaborates with the city on various matters including code enforcement, utilities projects, probation services, law enforcement, and other agencies.
Green highlighted that combining the districts was beneficial as it avoids service duplication. He noted that if Mount Vernon were to establish its own health district, it would require hiring a health commissioner, an environmental health director, and a director of nursing. These positions alone would not offer substantial services compared to funding Knox Public Health, which Green described as a wise return on investment.
