Commissioners ask staff to research splitting Health and Human Services advisory committee into separate public-health and human-services boards
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Summary
Winona County commissioners discussed returning to separate advisory committees for public health and human services after board members and former advisory members said public health gets short shrift when committees are combined. The board asked staff to gather statutory details and report back before making a final change.
Winona County commissioners discussed whether to split the county’s combined Health and Human Services advisory committee into two separate citizen advisory bodies — one focused exclusively on public health and the other on human services.
Commissioners and community members said the combined committee often places public-health topics at the end of the agenda, leaving insufficient time and attention for health issues such as well testing, immunizations, and local public-health campaigns. Several commissioners said long-term leadership turnover in the HHS department had reduced the committee’s effectiveness, and at least one former advisory member confirmed they felt public-health items “didn’t rise to the top” when combined with human-services topics.
Board members discussed alternatives short of a split, including setting a recurring agenda “hard stop” for time devoted to public health or increasing staff support and clearer leadership to generate measurable goals for the advisory group. County staff noted that structural changes might require a revised resolution or possibly an ordinance; staff were asked to research statutory requirements and bring back details on whether an ordinance or resolution would be required to change the committee structure.
The board did not adopt an immediate structural change; instead, commissioners asked staff to gather and report statutory language, the packet’s historical documents about prior committee structures and resolutions, and any other procedural steps required to return to separate committees.
Ending: Staff will return with a short legal and procedural memo summarizing what changes (resolution/ordinance) would be required, a recommended transition timeline, and suggested membership/leadership steps to improve committee performance.