One of the first orders of business in January is for the Board of Health to elect a Chair and Vice Chair. Section II(C) of the Board Rules of Procedure states: “The Board will elect a Chair and a Vice Chair by a majority of the voting members in January of each year. The Chair and Vice Chair will serve for a period of one year. Provided, however, if the Chair and/or Vice Chair are willing to continue to serve in such capacity, they may be elected to a second consecutive one-year term.” Also, Section III(A)(3) provides further guidance in selection of a Chair and Vice Chair:

3. Chair and Vice Chair Selection Guidelines:

The Chair of the Board must exhibit leadership ability and provide direction to the Health Officer and Health District staff. When selecting a Chair, the Board should identify someone who is actively engaged and concerned with the issues of the Health District. The Chair may be called on to go to county and city governing bodies to support Health District concerns and issues. The person selected for this leadership position should be someone who has the time, energy, and savvy to work throughout the county to represent the concerns of the Board and the Health District. Given the responsibilities of the Vice Chair to perform the responsibilities of the Chair in his/her absence and otherwise support the Chair, the Board should consider similar qualities in selecting a Vice Chair.

In selecting members for the Chair and Vice Chair positions, the Board will consider the mix of representation from member jurisdictions in its leadership positions and will consider rotating the positions among the member jurisdictions.  While not required, the Chair is encouraged to serve two consecutive terms and the Vice Chair is encouraged to seek the Chair position.

The floor will be opened to Board members to place a nomination for their nominee or nominees for Board Chair, then Vice Chair. Election of Chair and Vice Chair will be made by roll-call vote of the full Board.