Serve the public: Board of Health is right about change in department's hours

The Wayne County Board of Health is right.

The Health Department's mission is not the same as that of a landfill -- and it should not be operated in the same manner.

So, bravo to the board members for saying that something needs to be done about the restricted hours that health professionals and health department staff say are not really serving the needs of the public.

That is not to say that the county is blatantly ignoring the needs of the community -- the four-day workweek was an experiment and everyone knew there were going to be some challenges that went along with it.

So now we know. The Health Department's hours need to be examined -- and we feel certain action will be taken to make that analysis a reality.

And, while we are at it, there is another factor to consider with regard to the county commission's plan to continue to save money on utilities and other costs by going to a four-day workweek.

It is never going to be completely fair for every employee -- ever. If one department is not the same as another, then its employees cannot necessarily have the same four-day workweek as everybody else.

And the same is true when a holiday falls into the mix -- the service to the public is much more important than making sure everyone has the same days off.

There is not a business in Wayne County that is not trying to manage staying open with the cost of doing business -- and the consequences of that are that you do what you have to do to get the job done, fair or not.

And that is just how it goes -- at least for now.

Published in Editorials on October 22, 2009 10:38 AM