01-08-1992 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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2. Merge Portions of the City's Environmental Services Division with the County's Environmental Health Division. This would involve merging the City's and County's Environmental Services functions dealing with food and beverage facilities, lodging, swimming pools, and environmental education. The City's animal control and housing inspection functions would remain with the City; the City's Public Works Department would continue to coordinate its solid waste management issues. The County's hazardous waste program is already a County -wide program. The City's licensing function was added to Public Health as part of the City's 1992 budget and would need to be reviewed as part of the Environmental Health portion of the merger. There would be no impact on the County tax levy because the merged services would be fully funded by license fees. The County's ordinances would be used to carry out licensing and inspection activities. All of the City's environmental services would be shifted to the County, then existing City environmental codes would have to be adopted by the County. Since some of the County's license fees are higher than the City's, there would be an impact on some licensees, specifically restaurants. Since the housing inspection and animal control functions would remain with St. Paul, the City could continue enforcement of the City's ordinances in these areas and other areas such as application of lawn fertilizers, lead abatement and other City - specific ordinances. The City's Environmental Services staff are currently housed in leased space on University Avenue. The County would take over the payment of that lease and, over the long term, would reassess the continuation of that specific lease. There is little, if any, duplication of services in the area of Environmental Health /Services. Therefore, the only cost savings realized would be in the possible reduction of administrative staff. City staff would become County employees. Primary constraint involves personnel issues. 3. Merge the City's Community Nursing and Health Education Functions into the County's Public Health Nursing and Health Education Division. This would include the City's Lead Poisoning Intervention, Well Child, Health Education Services and Infant Mortality Initiative. It would not include the City's Day Care Licensing function, which would remain with St. Paul in order to allow the City to continue enforcement of its ordinances. 2 Page 21