Board Terminates Health Commissioner
The Geauga County Health District Board of Health voted 3-0 to terminate the contract of Health Commissioner Robert Weisdack July 12.
The Geauga County Health District Board of Health voted 3-0 to terminate the contract of Health Commissioner Robert Weisdack July 12.
Board members Catherine Whitright and Richard Piraino and Board President David Gragg voted for the termination. Board members Jonathan Wyndbrandt and Christina Livers were not present.
Weisdack, who last reached a contract with the board in December of 2017, was placed on administrative leave for 30 days until the termination of the contract, due to the contract’s opt-out clause.
Effective immediately, David Sage will serve as interim health commissioner, according to the resolution. Sage was previously the environmental health director.
“The Board of Health is very appreciative of Mr. Weisdack’s many years of service to the health district and community,” wrote Gragg in a statement.
A call to Weisdack’s last known cell phone number was not returned as of deadline.
The health district has been in the news since 2017.
In 2017, two former longtime county food inspectors pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of tampering with records.
Investigators had found the inspectors routinely falsified daily inspection reports, claiming to have completed more inspections than they actually did and to have spent more time inspecting retail food establishments than they actually spent.
Those details can be found here.
In March, an ex-health district employee filed a federal lawsuit where Weisdack and members of the board were listed as defendants.
The complaint alleged a health district office culture rife with bullying and wage discrimination, including claims the ex-employee was demoted and her position eliminated after she filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
You can read all the details here.
In an unrelated case, Geauga County Prosecutor’s Office investigators executed a search warrant March 14 at Building 8 of the county office complex at 470 Center St. in Chardon.
Building 8 houses the offices of the Geauga County Health District.
Prosecutor Jim Flaiz has declined comment on the pending investigation.
You can read those details here.
