After previously creating a new Continuum of Care department at Gracedale Nursing Home, job descriptions and salary ranges now exist for the two key positions that will head the new department. Over several votes at its June 18 meeting, Northampton County Council approved job descriptions and personnel request resolutions that set starting salaries for both the director and deputy director positions proposed under the plan.

Previously, county council voted 5-4 to create the new department, which would take on oversight of Gracedale Nursing Home in Upper Nazareth Township from the county’s Human Services Department and serve as the county’s integrated care and planning hub for the facility.

Council remained divided during its discussions on the June 18 agenda items.

After approving the job description for the director position unanimously, council debated the deputy director job position, which has changed several times, according to councilmembers.

“I did see a lot of overlap between the deputy director position and the communications manager position that we established back in January,” Councilman Jason Boulette said. “I did look over the revised job description that was submitted to us prior to the council meeting. I do see a number of improvements and an additional fiscal component that I think makes this much stronger. I do appreciate the administration for addressing some of my concerns.”

Council approved the deputy director job description by a vote of 6-3. Councilmembers Lori Vargo Heffner, David Holland and Nadeem Qayyum voted in opposition.

Debate continued when looking at the accompanying salary resolutions for the two positions.

The county should give thought to resolving Gracedale’s provisional license status before moving forward with the continuum of care plan, Holland said.

“If we do not resolve our noncompliance status, we are not going to have to worry about the continuum of care because we will not be able to have the license to do so,” Holland said. “In a provisional license status, every day that goes by that we are not in compliance, there are remedies that are available to the Department of Health, which they have not instituted yet, but they certainly could.”

According to Holland, the Department of Health could deny new admissions or deny payment, making Gracedale unable to carry out its mission.

However, these hypothetical situations did not apply to the issue at hand, which was approving a salary for a created position that has not yet been filled, said Ken Kraft, council president.

“I kind of think the glass is half full, not half empty,” Kraft said. “This is a tool in the toolbox that they want to use, and all we are talking about is the salary for the position that we just created, not this other stuff.”

Holland countered that his concern deals with timing.

“I think we need to focus on getting the facility back into compliance before we talk about approving positions to expand the services at Gracedale, which I think is a great idea, but the timing of it is not good,” Holland said.

During her report, Tara Zrinski, county executive, said Gracedale completed its annual licensing survey with the state’s Department of Health in early May and received what she called “positive feedback.”

According to Zrinski, the number of total citations dropped from 14 to four. Additionally, none of the four caused harm to residents or reflected a failure to provide care or resulted in adverse outcomes, she said.

“Over the past six months, Gracedale has implemented substantial quality improvement reforms,” Zrinski explained, stating Gracedale’s citation figure was below state and national averages.

However, she acknowledged two additional citations recently that resulted in another six-month provisional license.

“We have also taken significant corrective actions beyond those required by the state,” Zrinski said. “A provisional 2 license is serious, and we are treating it as such. The deficiencies cited were tied to legacy issues that we have already taken steps to correct, and the systems now in place are stronger, more structured and more accountable than they were a year ago.”

The vote on the salary resolution for the director position passed by a 5-4 vote, with Holland, Qayyum, Vargo Heffner and Theresa Fadem voting in opposition. The salary resolution for the deputy director position passed by an identical 5-4 vote, with the same four council members voting in opposition.

Also at the county council’s June 18 meeting, Northampton County approved the appointment of Deborah Watlington as the county’s new director of fiscal affairs. However, council members found themselves divided over Watlington’s salary.

Vargo Heffner said she supported the hire but had issues with the salary listed in the resolution, which was $125,108, not including benefits. She proposed an amendment to reduce the salary back “to the original $109,632.”

That amendment passed 5-4, with Councilmembers Kraft, Boulette, Kelly Keegan and Jeff Warren voting against the amendment.

Northampton County Council also moved forward with the initial appointments to the county’s Human Relations Commission.

The new commission will enforce the human relations ordinance, which covers nondiscrimination requirements for employment, housing, education, healthcare and public accommodations. Under the ordinance, “it shall be unlawful for any person to engage in discrimination against any person on the basis of a protected class in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodation, access to educational institutions or provision of healthcare.”

Council appointed two individuals to one-year terms, four individuals to two-year terms and six individuals to three-year terms. Council approved the appointments by an 8-0 vote, with Qayuum abstaining. He expressed concerns over whether the appointments were diverse enough in properly reflected protected classes.

In other news from the June 18 meeting, Kenneth Nasatka, of Northampton, was reappointed to the Workforce Board Lehigh Valley; a pay grade upgrade for a full-time deputy elections registrar was approved; Palmetto Posting Inc. was approved to handle personal service requirements related to notifications of delinquent tax sales; and council approved a resolution in support of LGBTQ+ Pride Month.

Council also approved a grant amendment request resolution for the Unangst Tree Farms project. The amendment allows for an additional $35,000 in existing Agriculture Conservation Assistant Program grant funds to go toward completing the project.

Additionally, council approved contract resolutions with Computing Technologies LLC, of Bethlehem, in the amount of $141,302.66 for SIEM and managed cybersecurity services; County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania for property and liability insurance in the amount of $972,186; Easton Coach Company, of Bethlehem, to provide temporary shuttle services associated with the Government Center parking garage project in the amount of $120,960 over 16 months; and Kleinfelder Inc., of Bethlehem, for construction testing and special inspection services for the government center parking deck replacement project in the total amount of $200,000 over a two-year contract.