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MINUTES <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH <br />April 21, 2010 <br />Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 11 April 21, 2010 <br />Chris Harlan said that was because the department works with vulnerable <br />populations who have a difficult time getting to the Commissioner’s meetings <br />and are not confident with speaking in a public forum. Jessica Lee stated that <br />not enough Board of Health members had come forward to speak on behalf of <br />public health in past years, whereas the schools have been able to garner <br />support from the parents and teachers in much larger numbers, to the point that <br />if only one Board of Health members speaks versus ten or more from the schools, <br />it is the school’s messages that Commissioners remember. Chris Harlan stated <br />that she had been to budget hearings numerous times and she resents coming <br />to the Commissioners and having to beg for health department funding. She felt <br />that the need should be obvious. <br /> <br />Wayne Sherman stated that there was another risk that we would face and that <br />would be potential retirees; two are known at this time. Those positions <br />according to the County Manager will be eliminated, which means the rest of <br />the staff will have to take on additional responsibilities. These two positions are <br />critical to the department to be able to function effectively. <br /> <br />Mike Carstens said that we need to take a close look at priorities and questioned <br />how many mandated services we can trim. <br /> <br />Steve Yuhasz said the county is also looking at support of outside agency funding <br />and duplication of effort and effectiveness. All the public health issues are <br />important. He pointed out that Orange County is two ambulances short and <br />current response time is 17 minutes, which needs to be cut down to 12. <br /> <br />Chris Harlan said that she is not talking about ambulances; she is referring to the <br />art councils, parks and the libraries. Those things are what are nice in life and <br />they are valuable, but when times are tough you come down to what is needed <br />to support life and the other things are what can go for now. <br /> <br />Steve Yuhasz said the Board needed make sure to tell the County Commissioners <br />that. <br /> <br />Christopher Cooke asked if county employees were prohibited from attending <br />budget meetings and advocating for the budget. This was affirmed by the <br />Chair. <br /> <br />The Chair asked for the Board to decide what action they would agree to <br />support and called for a motion. <br /> <br />Tony Whitaker asked if we had a sense for whether other departments were <br />experiencing an increase in demand for services. It is clear that our demand for <br />services is increasing while we are being asked to cut our budget. Wayne <br />Sherman said that Social Services is also experiencing an increase in demand for <br />services. Tom Konsler stated that to his knowledge planning and inspections was <br />not experiencing an increase in demand for services and there may be others as <br />well. Tony Whitaker asked if we were unique in experiencing an increase in <br />demand. Wayne Sherman stated that being a safety net provider in times of