Two years’ worth of study that started with the question of whether New Hanover County should merge its health and social services departments came to a close earlier this month, when the result of that effort—an action plan to improve collaboration between the two departments—was presented to commissioners.
But the plan, which details steps the county should take to address service overlaps and overall efficiency, prompted one commissioner to balk, dismissing it as “just another layer of bureaucracy.”
Commissioner Jonathan Barfield, who has advocated merging the departments into a consolidated human services agency—in part to satisfy requirements that would give the county manager direct oversight and authority over both—responded critically to the plan that a study group presented after many months of meetings over the past two years.
At the board’s meeting last week, Barfield acknowledged the effort put into developing the plan but questioned its effect.
“I thank all those who participated, but to me it sounds like a bunch of bureaucracy,” Barfield said. “It’s just more levels and layers of more things to do and more meetings to have to accomplish something.”
The plan, which was endorsed by the group of health and social services administrators and board members, provides a list of near-term and ongoing steps recommended to be taken to streamline services, improve communication and coordinate programs, integrate services, and achieve other goals that were identified when the group recommended against a full consolidation in favor of what it called a “functional collaboration” approach.
County Manager Chris Coudriet initially recommended against that, contending that state statutes did not allow for such a model as the group had recommended. But pushback from the group and others involved in the process prompted Coudriet to reconsider his merger recommendation, advising instead further study that resulted in the action plan presented last week.
Related story: New Hanover health-DSS discussion heads into second year
Merging the departments was seen as a way for the county to ensure oversight and authority over employees in both departments, as some are currently subject to state personnel policies instead of county policies. Specifically, a merger would have brought the department director under the hire-and-fire authority of the county manager, the same as other department directors.
Coudriet said the process of looking at both departments would also allow for improvements in customer service, by reducing potential overlaps and consolidating costs. But Barfield has said he initiated the process after serving on both departments’ boards and seeing what he viewed as a lack of accountability.
Barfield has said merging the departments would prevent a situation like one that occurred in 2012, when the county settled a lawsuit brought by dismissed animal control director Jean McNeil, whose department at the time was under the health department, for $120,000. Barfield said that lawsuit was brought in accordance with the State Personnel Act.
At last week’s meeting, Barfield, who represents commissioners on the DSS board, said such goals were broadened since the county started the process two years ago. The action plan presented to the board does not accomplish those goals, Barfield contended.
“My main concern was having a department of social services and a department of health who have employees that, while they’re paid by the citizens of our county, the taxpayers here—there’s no direct oversight by our county manager, which means that we can’t direct, really, what those employees do. They answer to their health director or the DSS director,” Barfield said.
“If I’m a business owner, if I’m paying someone’s salary, I should have the ability to direct how those dollars are being utilized,” he said, “and have oversight over those employees that are working for me as well, which our county manager does not. …My main concern is protecting the taxpayers of our community, saving resources and combining, but also giving our county manager the ability to have oversight over salaries that county taxpayers are paying for.”
Barfield said he understood the board had directed the group “to go down this road,” but he said could not “in good conscience” support the group’s recommendation.
“I thank those that have put their work into it, but I truly believe that we have the ability to streamline this process, save money in the process. If you really want to do lean, let’s get lean,” Barfield said, “and we can make those things happen and give our county manager the discretion to figure out what he needs to do within his organization.”
Vice Chairwoman Beth Dawson, who represents commissioners on the health board, noted the board’s previous vote against merging as well and led the rest of the board in adopting the plan. Barfield voted against her motion, which passed 3-1, with Commissioner Brian Berger absent.
Related story: County steps away from consolidation approach, continues discussion on health-DSS
“This board took action not to go forward with a full consolidation several months ago, and that’s what spurred this study group and this task force and these many months of hard work,” Dawson said. “I think that the action plan being brought forward today is a good start. I think we should proceed cautiously yet thoroughly, and always keep in mind, as I know this group did, the citizens who are the ones who will receive the end result of the service that we are able to provide in an efficient manner.”
Coudriet said the action steps outlined in the plan—such as holding joint meetings of the departments’ boards biannually, encouraging staff-level interaction across both departments and exploring the potential for a shared scheduling and call center—would be taken over time in accordance with the plan. He also thanked the group’s members and Beth Schrader, the county’s strategy and policy manager who led the group’s discussions, for their efforts.
Noting the administrators and board members sitting behind Schrader, Coudriet told commissioners: “I’m sure everybody behind Beth will agree it was a painful process, but we came a long way and made real progress in taking ‘Health’ and ‘Social Services’ and converting those to little h’s and little s’s—that it’s not about the department; it’s about the service delivery to the unique, individual client.”
Related stories:
- Review of human services, merger options gets underway
- Consolidation recommended for health, social services departments; New Hanover board to hear presentation
- New Hanover health board responds to county’s proposed merger of health, social services departments
- New Hanover resumes health-DSS discussion, this time without consolidation option
Jonathan Spiers is a reporter for Port City Daily. He can be reached at (910) 772-6313 or [email protected]. On Twitter: @jrspiers
