Full Time Sanitarian to Assist in Food Inspections & Then Some

Trumbull Monroe Health District Dir. Patrice Sulik has not asked to promote a part-time sanitarian to full-time in the past due to tough economic times. However, she says her staff has fallen behind in food inspections and has a higher number of construction plans to review, in addition to dealing with outbreaks of foodborne illnesses and major storms with power outages over the past few years.

The main driver in this year's budget proposal is . The move will give the district three full-timers to tackle its workload.

Trumbull had approved the district's budget it shares with Monroe, and Monroe's first selectman and Town Council had also approved it before it came before the Board of Finance at a budget workshop earlier this week.

After listening to Sulik's reasons for the request, the Board of Finance decided to approve the budget as is. Monroe's share is $163,895 for a $20,565 increase.

With storm patterns bringing hurricanes and blizzards to the region of late, Sulik says she anticipates at least one major storm per year.

"The primary goal is to get rid of food out of refrigeration for long periods of time which, believe it or not, many restaurants are willing to prepare and serve," she said of the inspections sanitarians make before food establishments can reopen after prolonged power outages.

Sulik said her department is behind in its state-mandated inspections of restaurants in the two towns because of reviews for building permits for things like decks, garages and new businesses.

"We've had foodborne illnesses in the community, but Connecticut is one of the strictest states in preventing districts from reporting it because of health privacy laws," Sulik said.

One of the places that made customers sick had not been inspected in 20 years, she added of the potential for legal liability from missed a inspection. Sulik said no lawsuit was filed.

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