Health Dept. Wants Part-Time Help

The Westborough Health Department is going “about a year between a lot of inspections” due to the department staffing level, Director of Public Health Paul McNulty said Tuesday night.

The board of health then voted to pursue funding to add a part-time employee, the first staffing increase since 1983, McNulty said. The employee is needed now for food inspections, but wouldn’t be limited, he said.

The department has a “risk-based inspection program, where less-risk prone places, we don’t do as often,” he said.

“When it was seven, eight  months, it wasn’t too bad. But now that it’s a year, there’s just more and more violations in each place. They get into some really bad habits. We really should be in there once every six months,” he said.

McNulty said a staffing increase request would need review by Town Manager Jim Malloy, the advisory finance committee and the personnel board.

If the review began now, “the October town meeting, we might be able to get some money,” or could be handled at the March 2014 annual town meeting, McNulty said.

“I think it’s going to be pretty difficult, if not next to impossible, to get a full-time person,” he said.

McNulty said that “for about $15,000, we can get a person for about 16 hours per week.”

McNulty said that Westborough has changed a tremendous amount” since 1983, including in regulations. Tanning booths weren’t inspected 30 years ago, for example, he said.

Westborough had about 100 food service permits in 1983, and now has about 180, he said.