Board weighs higher pay for health officer

Spokane Regional Health District officials are considering a pay increase of up to 16 percent as they begin searching for a replacement for fired health officer Dr. Kim Thorburn.

A draft job description set for review today recommends a salary range of $130,000 to $145,000 annually, up from the $125,000 Thorburn earned.

That’s less than the salaries paid at smaller agencies such as the Benton-Franklin Health District, where Dr. Larry Jecha, Spokane’s interim health officer, earns about $147,500 annually. And it’s less than the similarly sized Snohomish Health District, where Dr. Gary Goldbaum earns $162,000 a year.

Salary could influence the kind of candidates who seek the job vacated after more than nine years by Thorburn, who was the lowest-paid full-time health officer in the state.

“You won’t get the very best candidates,” said Goldbaum, who was hired in February to replace longtime health officer Dr. Ward Hinds, who retired. “I think they should offer a salary comparable to mine.”

In fact, Goldbaum was that health district’s second choice; an earlier selection backed out last fall because he got a better financial offer from a health agency in California.

Salary is only one consideration, however, for Spokane health district board members as they choose the next leader of the $23 million agency that oversees 250 employees – and the region’s public health.

The proposed job description includes expected requirements for the post: a medical degree and a master’s degree in public health; five years of experience in medicine and public health; and at least one year as a local or state health officer with supervisory duties.

But the draft proposal makes no special reference to communication skills that board members said were at the heart of Thorburn’s dismissal last fall.

It calls for the ability to “maintain effective working relationships” and to “gain cooperation through discussion and persuasion.” It notes that the health officer works at the direction of the board of health.

The board will have to address the communication question, said member Rob Crow, who hadn’t yet reviewed the draft description on Wednesday.

“I would think on the basis of past history we would,” Crow said. “I think any candidate worth their salt will be aware of the recent circumstances.”

Board member Todd Mielke said Wednesday he was still weighing the best way to target communication concerns.

“One of the things I’m still considering is how much of that do you specify in the job specs, and how much do you specify in the interview process?” he said.

Goldbaum, the new health officer in Snohomish County, said he wasn’t familiar with the specific circumstances that led to Thorburn’s dismissal but noted that any job applicant would want to learn more.

“I would be concerned that the perception was that the communication wasn’t good,” he said. “If I were a candidate for this job, I’d want to talk to the board about what really happened.”

Board members also will decide whether to spend up to $35,000 on a search that uses in-house staff or whether to employ a professional search firm at a cost of up to $56,000.

Under state law, the health officer is charged with preventing or containing the spread of disease. That includes the authority to quarantine or detain people whose conditions threaten public health.