It’s a proposal to split the responsibilities of administering public health in St. Clair County between two appointed officials. County commissioners will discuss the findings of a committee that was formed earlier this year to review the contract of Dr. Annette Mercatante which is up for renewal this summer. Commissioners are proposing splitting her duties into a full time health officer position charged with administering public health services and a part time medical officer that would provide medical guidance.
The annual salary of the new public health officer would be approximately $120,000 and the medical officer’s salary would be about $102,000 annually. The proposal would cost the county approximately $28,000 annually more then the current agreement with Mercatante. The discussions about her contract comes after commissioners unsuccessfully tried to censure Mercatante for her school mask orders two weeks ago. Tonight’s meeting will take place at 2pm – moved up from 6pm – and will take place at the Blue Water Convention Center.
