St. Joseph County board starts seeking health officer, again, offering $200,000 or more

SOUTH BEND — With a job posting on April 14, the St. Joseph County Board of Health has begun the search for its next health officer, offering a salary of between $200,000 and $250,000.

That compares with the $140,000 salary paid to Dr. Bob Einterz, the prior health officer who retired at the end of March.

At Wednesday’s meeting, board President John Linn said there weren't any candidates so far to head the county health department. The board knows it must hire a health officer before Dr. Joseph Cerbin, who began the role April 1, leaves as promised at the end of four months. The recently retired physician has said he plans to move out of state.

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Board member Heidi Beidinger was surprised by the high salary range and asked how that was decided.

Board attorney Marcel Lebbin responded that, well before the board members interviewed Dr. Cerbin for the job, "We had a meeting with … physicians in the community” to ask what salary range it would take to attract good candidates.

“It comes from physicians in the community,” Lebbin said.

“We think that’s what it would take to get a full-time health officer,” Linn said.

Beidinger questioned where the extra money would come from to pay the higher salary. There wasn’t a clear answer. Separately, in the finance committee’s report, Linn said the budget for the coming year would come through Dr. Cerbin to the full board meeting in May. The board moved that meeting from May 17 to May 24 because of a scheduling conflict.

The board’s personnel committee had met April 12 to discuss the search. In that meeting, Linn noted that the schedule currently calls for a final decision by the board meeting on July 19.

In discussing whether the job would be part time or full time, committee members generally agreed they’d be open to either one, depending on the strength of the candidate. Einterz worked part time alongside a part-time deputy, Dr. Mark Fox, who’s still in that role. The job becomes full time after 37.5 hours, Lebbin said. Einterz has said that he had worked in excess of that.

Linn also said that personnel committee members would interview candidates for the job in executive session until a final candidate is brought to the full board. Prior to that, he and Lebbin said, finalists’ names wouldn’t be available to the public. Part of the reasoning, committee members said, was to avoid alerting the candidates’ current employers.

The Tribune asked the office of the Indiana Public Access Counselor Luke Britt if that abides by Indiana’s Open Door Law. He concluded that interviews for a county health officer may be held in executive session in accordance with Indiana Code section 5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(5). Part of the issue has to do with how the state's Open Door Law legally views the position — as an employee or as a public official.

“In the PAC’s view, a county health officer — for purposes of the Open Door Law — is an employee; and thus, the law authorizes interviews in executive session,” Deputy Public Access Counselor Kris Cundiff said after conferring with Britt.

Also, Cundiff said, a public agency like the health department has the discretion to withhold the files of applicants for public jobs, in accordance with the Access to Public Records Act, per Indiana Code 5-14-3-4(b)(8).

South Bend Tribune reporter Joseph Dits can be reached at 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Health officer sought before Dr. Cerbin quits St. Joseph County