Three Portage County health departments are considering a potential merger, one of several steps toward regionalization already underway there.
Ideastream's Rick Jackson reports.
The Mayor of Ravenna has not previously been one of the outspoken leaders on regionalization, but Joe Bica, Jr says he is in favor of making decisions that make sense... and he thinks joining his city's health department with those of Portage County and the city of Kent seems logical, could be cost-effective, and is certainly worth the effort to study.
JOE BICA - Ravenna Mayor
"It really makes sense not to duplicate these services because these communities.. we're all so very small... to be able to share these services is such a significant cost savings, when it comes these large infrastructures like dispatch, fire, fueling... things like that."
An independent study by Kent State University's College of Public Health will take a year to examine the pros and cons.
Bica says even if consolidation is not the final answer - the research will provide valuable information.
MAYOR JOE BICA:
"It gives the steering committee an opportunity to look at basically a ground up level of reinventing public health for Portage County. Really looking at identifying what we could do to be very proactive in public health."
Consolidation is not new to Ravenna. It's been handling fire dispatch for eight towns since August, and is currently well into talks with Ravenna Township about a joint fire department, and with the city schools and county depot systems, about operating a single fueling station.
Bica says there is strong public support for the potential mergers, but he still sees reluctance from some local governments, whom he called territorial, when looking at regional collaborative efforts. But Bica feels that municipalities which DO make collaborative efforts, could eventually be rewarded by the state, for their cost-saving efforts.
Rick Jackson, 90.3.
