Health Officials to Draft Agreement by June on Department Merger

The prospect of consolidating the with the North Shore Health Department could be a done deal by June.

The Shorewood Village Board approved the concept of consolidating with the North Shore Health Department on Monday and village staff will now work on an agreement with six other North Shore communities.

Trustee Patrick Linnane has been and said Shorewood wouldn't experience a large financial relief as a result of consolidation but there are some advantages that make a merger worthwhile.

"What we are going to be able to do is have a broader financial base which will help us establish a firmer platform," Linnane said.

Linnane added a merged health department would able to compete for more grants as it would serve a larger population base. He said the move would allow for more staff, but what is important is it would allow some health staff to develop specific expertise, which is something the health department can't do currently.

"We really need to have the ability to have people that have specific focus on certain types of public health services," Linnane said.

Meanwhile, the Whitefish Bay Village Board unanimously voted to move forward with the merger Monday. And its resolution also directed Village Manager Patrick DeGrave to work out the details of an intergovernmental agreement with other villages.

DeGrave said the budgeted amount is pretty close to what the village already pays, but it will allow a greater service availability.

“We will see a greater availability of staff,” he said. “If there were an emergency or an outbreak of some kind, then we would have wider resources to access across the entire North Shore.”

The North Shore Health Department serves the city of Glendale and villages of Bayside, Brown Deer, Fox Point and River Hills.

The move comes after months of analysis by the Shorewood/Whitefish Bay Health Department. It .

Officials have said they hope for a 2012 implementation.