A committee recommendation is suggesting dissolution of the Ford-Iroquois Public Health Department be studied.

Members of the Ford and Iroquois county boards agreed to send a recommendation to both boards, plus the bi-county board of health. The recommendation is to look into the advantages of dissolving the two-county department.

The six-member health department oversight committee expects both county boards and the health board to discuss the issue and make their own recommendations by mid-October.

According to State statute,laws governing multi-county health departments says any health department may be discontinued either "by resolution of the county board or county boards" if it was established by a resolution. The Ford-Iroquois Public Health Department was established in 1980 by a resolution approved by both county boards.

On a similar note, any county may withdraw from a consolidated health department by a majority vote of the county board of the withdrawing county, or through a referendum, according to the statute. The effective date of withdrawal is June 30 following completion of withdrawal agreements, the statute says.

94.1 FM, WGFA