Tacoma Asks County Council To Meet Before Dissolving Health Dept

TACOMA, WA — The City of Tacoma is asking the Pierce County Council to take a step back and meet with city leaders before a pivotal vote later this month which will determine the fate of the county health department.

The proposal in question, Proposed Ordinance No. 2020-136, recently passed the Pierce County's Rules and Operations Committee and is headed to the full Pierce County Council for a vote on Dec. 15. If passed, it would end the current partnership with the City of Tacoma which created and supports the Tacoma - Pierce County Health Department, dissolving the current health department and creating a new department run exclusively by the county.

The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department has a unique structure compared to most county health departments. Like the Seattle - King County Health Department, the department is jointly run by county and city leadership: TPCHD is led by a board of health with members from both Tacoma City Council, the Pierce County Council, the Pierce County Medical Society and representatives from other towns. But if the proposal passes Pierce County Council, the health department would be dissolved and rebuilt, replaced by one with all 7 members of the Pierce County Council on the board of health.

Supporters, like Pierce County Council Member and proposal sponsor Pam Roach, say the move would wrest control of the department away from Tacoma, which they say has been over prioritized at the expense of other communities in Pierce County with smaller voices.

Opponents, on the other hand, are asking why now? Why dissolve the health department in the middle of a raging pandemic? Others have raised concerns that the move is a power grab, a dramatic restructuring of a county department just two weeks before Pierce County Council switches from a Republican- majority to a Democrat-majority council.

"That right there, from my perspective, casts a dark shadow on the legitimacy and integrity of what they're trying to propose," said Tacoma Council Member Lillian Hunter at Tuesday night's council meeting.

Thus far the proposal has advanced on largely partisan lines, supported by Republican council members like Roach and Doug Richardson, and opposed by Democratic members like Derek Young.

To try and parse why the move is happening now, and to push the council to take a step back and reconsider the proposal, Tuesday night Tacoma City Council unanimously voted in favor of a resolution publicly opposing the dissolution of the health department, and inviting the Pierce County Council to enter a new discussion with them about public health services.

"If this is something they want to do, we are open for discussion, and we should do that after the pandemic crisis," said Council Member Catherine Ushka during the resolution's introduction.

Tacoma city leaders noted during their discussion that they had first heard of the resolution just last week, and raised concerns that a rushed vote would leave too many questions unanswered.

"Normally when you want to break up with a partner you at least talk to them first," said Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards. "My biggest issue at this point is that we have not had that conversation."

Woodards and others said they'd be willing to consider the dissolution of the health department in the future. Some council members even agreed that it may be beneficial for the county and city to part ways, but all said that it was not an appropriate move to make in the middle of the pandemic.

"All efforts right now need to be dedicated to the health and safety and saving lives of the people of Pierce County," said Council Member Kristina Walker.

Their concerns echoed those shared by the health department itself. Before Tacoma's resolution vote Tuesday, TPCHD Director of Health Anthony L-T Chen issued a statement thanking the community for their outpouring of support since the dissolution proposal was introduced.

"The widespread outpouring of support for our agency in the last week is humbling. Board of Health members, business and political leaders and residents from all corners of our county recognize the good work of the dedicated people at Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department," said Chen. "It’s more important than ever that all of us unite behind public health."

Chen goes on to defend the department as a nimble agency that has done all it can to contain the pandemic.

"COVID-19 is the biggest health challenge we have faced in a century," Chen said. "I’m proud of our response to it and to our continued commitment to all aspects of public health. Distracting our community with a needless political battle right now is a disservice to the people we all serve."

Finally, he touched on the economic impacts a dissolution might have. If dissolved, the new health department would lose $1.17 million provided annually by the City of Tacoma, but Chen argues that it may end up costing even more.

"While much of the focus has been on City of Tacoma’s annual contribution of $1.17 million, other funding losses would likely follow if we were to lose our standing as an independent public health department," writes Chen. "We may become less attractive for grants for innovative efforts that Department of Health, Ecology, CDC, FDA the Washington State Legislature and private funders have supported from water quality and food safety improvements to potentially preventable hospitalizations. We don’t know how funding losses could affect the jobs of our dedicated employees. "

Read Chen's full statement on the Tacoma - Pierce County Health Department's website.