(A) The Municipal Board of Health shall:
(1) Provide the following basic public health services and programs in accordance with state public health performance-based standards:
(a) Community health promotion including assessing and reporting community health needs to improve health status, facilitating community partnerships including identifying the community’s priority health needs, mobilization of a community around identified priorities and monitoring the progress of community health education services;
(b) Environmental health protection, including the promoting and maintaining of clean and safe air, water, food and facilities and the administering of public health laws as specified by the Commissioner as to general sanitation, the sanitation of public drinking water, sewage and wastewater, food and milk, and the sanitation of housing, institutions and recreation; and
(c) Communicable or reportable disease prevention and control, including disease surveillance, case investigation and follow-up, outbreak investigation, response to epidemics, and prevention and control of rabies, sexually transmitted diseases, vaccine preventable diseases, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other communicable and reportable diseases.
(2) Appoint a City Health Officer to serve at the will and pleasure of the Municipal Board of Health with approval of the Commissioner;
(3) Submit a general plan of operation to the Commissioner for approval. This program plan shall be submitted annually and comply with provisions of the Municipal Board of Health standards administrative rule;
(4) Provide equipment and facilities for the City Health Department that are in compliance with federal and state law;
(5) Permit the Commissioner to act by and through it, as needed; provided, that the Commissioner may enforce all municipal ordinances of the Board’s service area relating to public health, and the rules and orders of the Municipal Board of Health within the service area of the Municipal Board of Health; provided however, that the Commissioner may enforce the laws, rules and orders when, in the opinion of the Commissioner, a public health emergency exists or when the Municipal Board of Health fails or refuses to enforce public health laws and rules necessary to prevent and control the spread of a communicable or reportable disease dangerous to the public health;
(6) Deposit all moneys and collected fees into a city account designated for Municipal Board of Health purposes;
(7) Submit vouchers or other instruments approved by the Municipal Board of Health and signed by the City Health Officer or designated representative to the City Treasurer for payment of necessary and reasonable expenditures from the city public health funds;
(8) Participate in audits, be in compliance with tax procedures required by the state and annually develop a budget for the next fiscal year;
(9) Perform public health duties assigned by city ordinance consistent with state public health laws; and
(10) Enforce the public health laws of this state and any other laws of this state applicable to the Municipal Board of Health.
(B) The Municipal Board of Health may:
(1) Provide primary care services, clinical and categorical programs and enhanced public health services;
(2) Employ or contract with any technical, administrative, clerical or other persons, to serve as needed and at the will and pleasure of the Municipal Board of Health. Staff and any contractors providing services to the Municipal Board of Health shall comply with applicable state certification and licensure requirements. Eligible staff employed by the Municipal Board of Health shall be covered by the rules of the division of personnel under W. Va. Code Art. 16-2; however, the Municipal Board of Health may, in the alternative and with the consent and approval of the City Council, establish and adopt a merit system for its eligible employees. The merit system may be similar to the state merit system and may be established by the Municipal Board of Health by its order, subject to the approval of the City Council, adopting and making applicable to the Municipal Board of Health, all or any portion of any order, rule, standard or compensation rate in effect in the state merit system as may be desired and as is properly applicable;
(3) Adopt and promulgate, and from time to time amend, rules consistent with state public health laws and the rules of the Department that are necessary and proper for the protection of the general health of the city and the prevention of the introduction, propagation and spread of disease. All rules shall be filed with the City Recorder and shall be kept by the recording officer in a separate book as public records;
(4) Accept, receive and receipt for money or property from any federal, state or local governmental agency, from any other public source or from any private source, to be used for public health purposes or for the establishment or construction of public health facilities;
(5) Assess, charge and collect fees for permits and licenses for the provision of public health services in accordance with state law;
(6) Assess, charge and collect fees for services provided by the City Health Department; provided, that fees for services shall be submitted to and approved by the Commissioner;
(7) Contract for payment with any municipality, Kanawha County or Putnam County, or the board of education for Kanawha County or Putnam County for the provision of health services or for the use of public health facilities. Any contract shall be in writing and permit provision of services or use of facilities for a period not to exceed one fiscal year. The written contract may include provisions for annual renewal by agreement of the parties; and
(8) Retain and make available child safety car seats, collect rental and security deposit fees for the expenses of retaining and making available child safety car seats, and conduct public education activities concerning the use and preventing the misuse of child safety car seats; provided, that this division (B)(8) is not intended to conflict with the provisions of W. Va. Code 17C-15-46.
(C) The Municipal Board of Health is charged with protecting the health and safety, as well as promoting the interests of the citizens of the city and state. All state funds appropriated by the Legislature for the benefit of local boards of health shall be used for provision of basic public health services.
(Ord. 11-1, passed 1-4-2011)