Who serves on a local board of health?
The membership of local boards of health varies depending on the type of local public health agency. In general, board members represent county commissioners, professionals with expertise in health care or public health (including physicians, pharmacists, veterinarians, and professional engineers, among others), and the general public. A consolidated human services board also includes members who are consumers of human services, and a public health authority board includes a hospital administrator. The number of board members may be as few as seven for a public health authority board, or as many as 25 for a consolidated human services board. The composition of board membership also varies by type of board.
In some counties, the board of county commissioners serves as the board of health. If a county provides public health services through a county health department or a consolidated human services agency, the board of county commissioners may adopt a resolution directly assuming the powers, responsibilities, and duties of the county board of health or consolidated human services board – an action that has the effect of abolishing the appointed board.[1] A board of county commissioners that takes this action must appoint an advisory committee on health that includes the same membership as a county board of health.[2]
It is possible for a board of commissioners to assume the powers and duties of a board of health for a county that provides public health services through a district health department or a public health authority, but the commissioners must first dissolve or withdraw from the district or authority.[3] After dissolving the district or authority, the commissioners could create either a county health department or a consolidated human services agency to provide public health services within the county, and then assume the powers and duties of the agency’s board.
A table showing board of health membership by agency type is available on the attached document. For more information about board of health members, see questions 4 through 9.
[1] G.S. 153A-77(a). A board of county commissioners that wishes to assume the powers and duties of a local board must hold a public hearing after providing 30 days’ notice of the hearing and intended action, and then adopt a resolution formally assuming the powers and duties of the board.
[2] The requirement for an advisory committee on health applies only to counties that abolish their health boards after January 1, 2012. This amounts to an exception for Mecklenburg county, which abolished its boards (a county board of health, and subsequently a consolidated human services board) before that date.
[3] Withdrawal or dissolution requires an audit and distribution of funds, and may occur only at the end of a fiscal year. For details, see G.S. 130A-38 (withdrawal from or dissolution of a district health department); 130A-45.2 (withdrawal from or dissolution of a public health authority).
