SWAMPSCOTT — The town is exploring ways to continue to fund the public health nurse position after talks of it previously being cut from the annual town budget.
Interim Town Administrator and Director of the Department of Public Works Gino Cresta explained that the town is working to extend the contract.
“With the budget being so tight, we’ve been contemplating the removal of a couple of positions, and the public health nurse was one of the positions that was being considered for removal,” Cresta said. “We’re reconsidering that right now.”
Cresta added that he’s not sure “what our other options are, but we’d like to extend the position for at least two more months, until we figure out if we can make it financially feasible to retain the position.”
Select Board member Danielle Leonard said the town is “considering all of our options” to fund the position.
“Swampscott is carefully considering all of our options to maintain the public health nurse position in a way that serves our residents effectively, while also being mindful of our budget situation — we’re trying to check a lot of boxes,” Leonard said. “The position didn’t exist prior to COVID-19… And while it’s a very important position, there are also a lot of other important positions. We’re doing all we can to maintain that level of service in a way that will serve our 15,000 residents.”
