Galveston County commissioners voted unanimously Monday to hand administrative control of the Galveston County Health District over to the county, a move officials say will save taxpayers at least $500,000 a year.
The Galveston County Commissioners Court approved the shared-services, or interlocal, agreement 5-0 during its regular meeting. Under the agreement, the county will take over administrative functions currently handled by the Health District, including accounting, information technology, and human resources.
County officials said the goal is to reduce duplication and cut costs while keeping health services intact. Commissioner Hank Dugie said the change is expected to save taxpayers roughly $500,000 annually. Agreement documents indicate that positions duplicating existing county roles or unrelated to the transferred administrative functions could be eliminated as the two operations consolidate, though officials maintain the change will not affect direct services to residents. One commissioner said during the meeting that the county intends to keep providing the same services while working to improve their quality.
The health district, which oversees Coastal Health & Wellness and the Galveston Area Ambulance Authority, reported reaching tens of thousands of county residents two years ago through health visits, vaccinations, and ambulance services, according to Health District records.
Under the agreement, the county will absorb costs tied to the transferred functions, including salaries, technology, and overhead, while reducing its annual contributions to the health district and Coastal Health & Wellness by an equivalent amount.
The measure was placed on Monday’s consent agenda, a format typically used to approve multiple items together without individual discussion. That drew criticism from at least one resident. Kenneth Williams, a former county employee, asked commissioners to delay the vote and give the public a fuller explanation before moving forward. “I’m asking you to please table it. Explain it fully to the people,” Williams told commissioners. He has said several health district employees privately raised concerns to him about possible job losses but were reluctant to speak publicly for fear of retaliation.
Commissioners moved forward with the vote despite Williams’ objection.
Monday’s action does not finalize the agreement. It still requires approval from the Galveston County United Board of Health, the governing body that oversees the health district under its own interlocal agreement with member governments. That board, chaired by Tyler Drummond, chief of staff to County Judge Mark Henry, is scheduled to vote Thursday. If approved, the agreement would take effect Sept. 24.
Henry and several commissioners have cited tax reduction and consolidation of county government as priorities of their administration.
Texas counties structure local public health departments in different ways. Some, including Harris County, run their public health department directly as a county agency. Others, like Galveston County, rely on an independent health district jointly governed by the county and participating cities through an interlocal board. Monday’s vote does not change that underlying governance structure, but it does shift more of the health district’s back-office operations under direct county administration.
