City Council Annoyed With County Health Department, But Will Stick With It

Monrovia is not going to create its own health department; it's sticking with the County Health Department, which is not to say it is happy with the County Health Department, or more particularly with its decision to ban outdoor dining at restaurants.

At the Tuesday City Council meeting Mayor Tom said it seems the County Health Department is making decisions based not on science but “on a whim.” He said it is as if the Highway Patrol said there were too many accidents so they were shutting down all the freeways. Nevertheless, he said, the city has no intention of going it alone.

Anders Corey, a representative of Supervisor Kathryn Barger - said he believes County Health based its no-outdoor-dining decision on a “hunch.”

City Attorney Craig Steele said that even if the city wanted to create its own health department, it couldn't go into effect before July 1 of 2021 at the earliest. Steele suggested the best way forward would simply be political pressure. 

- Brad Haugaard