Board votes against hiring health officer candidate

Expressing concerns about a lack of experience, the Flathead City-County Board of Health on Tuesday recommended against hiring the sole candidate for county health officer.

The board voted 4-2 in favor of continuing the candidate search that has been ongoing for more than two years. Applicant Michael Chambers was the first candidate to make it to the public interview process since the search for a full-time health officer began.

Voting against the hiring recommendation were Ardis Larsen, Don Barnhart, Jessica Malberg-Fiftal and Rod Kuntz. Dr. Pete Heyboer and board chair Roger Noble voted in support of the recommendation. Board member Ronalee Skees was not in attendance, and commissioner Pam Holmquist abstained from voting since she will vote on the hiring recommendation with the full commission.

However, there was some ambiguity during the meeting about whether the board recommendation to not hire the applicant will move to the county commission for consideration. County Administrator Pete Melnick said Wednesday that the county commissioners were awaiting a legal analysis of House Bill 121 to determine if it is appropriate to move forward with a vote. The bill, approved during the 2021 legislative session, gives local governing bodies, usually counties, the authority to hire health officers, among other public health powers.

Chambers had traveled to Kalispell last month for two days of public interviews with the Board of Health and the county commissioners. Chambers currently serves as administrator for the Macon County Health Department in Missouri. He holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in business administration and health care management.

During the interview process, Chambers noted his lack of experience in environmental health and with other tasks required of the job, but assured the board he was a quick learner.

“This is a big step up for him,” board member Heyboer said at Tuesday’s meeting.

“He seems to me to be accepting of that challenge though.”

Barnhart, however, said it would be “more than a step up” for Chambers, who currently oversees 14 employees in his administrator role in Macon County. There are about 67 full-time employees at the Flathead County Health Department, which operates with a $1.5 million budget.

“It seems like we’re moving away from what we have had as a health officer,” Barnhart added.

Kuntz said he saw some red flags during the interviews, particularly when Chambers described the opportunity as a lateral move.

“Yes, we need an administrator here, but more than that we need a leader,” Kuntz said.

Kuntz added that as the community transitions out of the Covid-19 pandemic, it will be critical to hire someone with a vision forward, “and I did not see that,” he said.

Still, Heyboer questioned whether the county can attract a candidate who “ticks all the boxes” given the area’s red-hot housing market and salary listed at $125,000.

“How many boxes do we need to say yes?” Heyboer asked. “Does he have enough to be a reasonable candidate?”

Board chair Noble described Chambers as a viable candidate who met the qualifications advertised for. Montana law requires that a health officer holds a master’s in public health, be a physician or have equivalent experience and education.

“I think he has some limitations, but he’s willing to accept the challenge,” Noble said.

It was noted that the recruiting agency helping with the candidate search is under contract to go out a second time if the first applicant isn’t hired.

The county is aiming to fill the role by June, when Interim Health Officer Joe Russell’s most recent contract expires.