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Public Health director appointment inches forward
Board of health announces salary as it formally offers Jenifer Roberts the job
WASHINGTON — Washington County board of health members took the next step to appoint Jenifer Roberts as public health director last week, when the group voted to formally extend the job offer in a brief meeting.
Thursday’s move came after the department “initiated” a background check on Roberts, according to Board of Health Chair Andrea Leyden. The motion set Roberts’ start date on June 27, rather than July 1 as previously planned.
“That is the beginning of a payroll, so I want to start her on that payroll cycle,” said Leyden, who made the motion for the employment offer.
The salary for Roberts will start at $81,000, and step up to $85,000 after 90 days, “upon completion of a transition plan,” according to board members.
With Roberts expected to agree to the terms, board of health members plan to approve her change request — a document making her position official — at another meeting on June 27. After that, the change request goes to the Washington County Board of Supervisors for acknowledgment, a record-keeping formality that can happen after Roberts starts in the leadership role.
The proposed salary falls squarely in the middle of the range officials expected to spend on a new administrator for the public health department. A posting for the position several months ago advertised a starting salary of $75-$95,000, a $5,000 increase over the maximum offer for the same opening in 2021. Board of health members at the time said they hoped to account for inflation, despite countywide budgetary concerns.
All said, Roberts appears on track to, by month’s end, lead the agency tasked with disease surveillance, maternal health care programs and certain emergency response preparations, among other initiatives aimed at improving community well-being.
“I feel like the past administrators that I have worked with really brought public health into the light,” Roberts said last month, after the board recommended her hire. “I just want to continue making public health as great as it can be. We have a really great team and I’m excited to work with them and see what ideas they have.”
Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com
