COVID-19 has some Phoenix leaders pushing for a new public health adviser position.

At the height of lockdowns and high community spread, Phoenix hired a public health consultant to provide guidance and review city policies.

During a city subcommittee meeting, Councilwoman Betty Guardado said having a full-time adviser is long overdue.

“Some of us were six months on the job and we were making decisions that I think would’ve been a lot easier if we would have had an office in place or someone in place to help guide us. It would have avoided a lot of headaches as we were trying to get through the pandemic,” she said.

The adviser’s primary role would be as a resource coordinator, providing advice and assistance to city leaders and serve as a liaison to the community.

State law requires counties to serve as local health boards with the authority to provide public health services. According to a city report, state law allows Phoenix to “provide services to its residents beyond the county's basic level of service and may use any combination of internal municipal departments or any other provider, including an intergovernmental agreement with a county for the provision of those services.”

Later this month, the full council will be asked to vote on the position. 

• Public Health adviser role and responsibilities
• Assistant to the city manager job classification
• Provide advice and assistance to city leadership
• Work with designated departments toward public health objectives
• Implement approved public health programs
• Brief city manager on matters of concern and present program proposals for approval and submission to the city council.
• Serve as a liaison to the public health community
• Identify public health resources and match with city needs to achieve the city’s goals and objectives in public health and improve the well-being of the community