In Citizen Sentinels unpacking series, we will be taking a close look at some governmental bodies in Clermont. Some are paid, some volunteer.
Next, we focus on the Clermont County Board of Health. Why? Just who are these guys? They are the only oversight of the CC Public Health Department. We have already stated this in Unpacking the CCPH Part 1 - General Finance.
The Clermont County BOH is composed of five volunteers, who serve a 5-year term. Bless their hearts, these folks are truly civic minded. Each month they review cases of septic issues, restaurant issues, public health nuisances, etc. And for all their time, effort and expertise, they are paid a pittance, a mere $80 per meeting. The Health Commissioner, HC Julienne Nesbit, acts as secretary of the Board. Current board members are Dennis Brown, Dr. Janet Rickabaugh, Steve Meadors, Trevor Seal and Dr. Brian Treon.
According to the ORC, the BOH acts as the governing body for the CCPH, setting local health policies, enacting rules, and adopting regulations to protect community health and safety. In 1919, in response to the 1918 influenza pandemic, Ohio passed the Hughes-Griswold Act which mandated the creation of a community Board of Health.
The BOH hires/fires the CCPH Health Commissioner and negotiates their salary contract. Unlike the County Commissioners, the CC Health Commissioner is not an elected position and is only answerable to the five-member BOH. Ohio Revised Code 3709.11 defines the requirements for a person to be appointed as Health Commissioner. There is no way for the public to remove a Health Commissioner. No elections, no being on the ballot. You must go through the BOH. The position of Health Commissioner is completely insulated from the public. This point will be of importance in another “Unpacking the CCPH” article regarding the past Covid pandemic.
Now let’s meet the BOH.
President, Dennis Brown 2022-2027. Not much info on him. A mystery man.
Vice President, Dr. Janet Fraley Rickabaugh, 2023 – 2028. Dr. Rickabaugh has an enormously qualified resume, with various levels of degrees in chemistry, environmental engineering and philosophy. She is also an associate professor at Wright State University in Dayton, OH. Dr. Rickabaugh has been on the Board FOREVER. And her maiden name, Fraley, it seems somehow so familiar...
As an aside, HC Nesbit is also an associate professor at Wright State University. It’s like the chicken and the egg, who came first? Or maybe it is just a coincidence.
Member Steve Meadors 2024 – 2029. Mr. Meadors is the owner of Steve Meadors Excavating, Blanchester, Clermont County.
Member Trevor Seal 2025 – 2030. Mr. Seal is affiliated with Park National Bank. He is a banking professional, a younger man, and undoubtably has a family.
Member Dr. Brian Treon. 2026 – 2031. Dr. Treon’s name should be familiar. He is Clermont County’s Coroner. He was appointed as Coroner in 2002 and has run unopposed on the ballot for over 20 years. Dr. Treon has many irons in the fire. He is also an Emergency Medicine Specialist Physician with practices located at Bethesda North in Montgomery and TriHealth - McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital, Oxford Ohio.
These 5 individuals are the complete oversight of the 5.2 million budget CCPH. Except for Mr. Brown, for whom no internet information was easily available, each of the BOH members sounds busy. You have one Doctor who is an adjunct professor, an owner of a private company, a banking exec who is younger and probably has a family, and another Dr. who works at 2 hospitals and is the Clermont County Coroner.
So, what should you expect if you want to attend a CC BOH meeting? For starters, unless you are retired or work an early shift, plan to take the afternoon off work. Meetings are the 2nd Wednesday of the month, 3:30 pm. Now, prior to 2023, the Wednesday meetings were held at 6:30 pm. This had been the meeting date/time for decades. But why change the meeting time?
Here is a possible answer. After the Covid pandemic, with the introduction of the Covid-19 vaccine and attempted government mandates, there were citizens who began attending the BOH meetings, presenting their concerns to the HC and the BOH during meeting public participation. So, according to the March 2023 BOH minutes, HC Nesbit petitioned the BOH to move the meeting time from 6:30 (when people can attend) to 3:30 (when most working folks cannot). The Board granted the time change.
In this CitSen’s opinion the 3:30pm time is a violation of the Ohio Sunshine Laws, which state that public meetings need to be held when much of the public can attend. But that’s going down another rabbit hole, perhaps to be tackled later.
And how long are you allowed to speak during the public participation portion of the BOH meeting? Two minutes. TWO minutes. Better talk fast, like a chipmunk. Prior to 2023 it was 5 minutes.
We have unpacked the BOH, their meetings and meeting rules. So, the biggest question looming is, if they only meet once a month for 1 to 2 hours, when are they supposed to conduct their oversight of the CCPH?
Or do they just let the Health Commissioner oversee the whole show and rubber stamp her recommendations?
Photo courtesy of the Internet.