Belmont To Share Sealer Position With Arlington

The town took another step toward its goal of regionalizing services by entering an agreement with Arlington for a shared Sealer of Weights and Measures.

At its Monday, Aug. 16 meeting, the Board of Selectmen approved the recommendation made by Board of Health Director Stefan Russakow to combine the position for the two towns.

For the past few years, Russakow said, the health departments in Arlington and Belmont have discussed combining the position for the two municipalities. Given that the position has been vacant in Belmont, he said, the time seems right to share sealer's duties in both towns.

Finalization of the shared position has benefits for Belmont, Russakow said. It will save the town between $1,000 and $2,000 a year.

"While that's not a huge amount of money, it is a minor savings and a step in the right direction toward regionalization of services," he said.

The agreement is for one year and is renewable. Belmont will adopt the Arlington fee structure that, according to Russakow, will have minimal financial impact on Belmont business owners.

Under the agreement, Belmont will pay Arlington a flat fee of $2,000 to perform to cover all of the town's Sealer of Weights and Measures services for fiscal year 2011.

Members of the board applauded Russakow for his efforts to promote regionalization and readily approved the agreement.  

When he served as the assistant director of the Board of Health, Russakow said, he performed the duties of the Sealer of Weights and Measures as did his predecessors. It took time away from his other responsibilities and he and former director Donna Moultrup discussed the possibility of regionalizing the position.

In fact, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council has directed a project that will assist Belmont, Arlington and Lexington in examining options for regionalization of Board of Health services, according to the council.

The project, directed by the three towns' health directors, involved creating a model to deliver health services jointly to all three communities, without organizing a Regional Health District, but still allowing for joint management and support of the health department.

MAPC created a memorandum of understanding, budget and organizational model designed to allow all three communities maintain their independent statutory authorities, while also allowing collaboration on the delivery of health department services. This plan is still under discussion.