Even before a fully developed proposal has been released, lawmakers are resisting any effort to consolidate the state’s 72 local public health agencies into as few as nine regional districts.

Four bills are pending in the General Assembly’s Public Health Committee, all which would allow towns to keep their current structure for their public health services.

Locally, most towns are either part of the Uncas Health District or Ledge Light Health District, although a few towns, such as Stonington and Lyme, have their own part-time health departments.

The four bills were introduced in response to a proposal advanced by state Public Health Commissioner Dr. Raul Pino this winter to consolidate the health agencies and fund them through a per capita cost levied against municipal budgets. In meetings with municipal officials, Pino has argued that consolidation is needed to improve efficiency and deliver better services statewide.

State Rep. Holly Cheeseman, R-East Lyme, the sponsor of one of the four bills, is among those who believe the current system is working well and should be preserved. She said that after talking with Salem First Selectman Kevin Lyden and East Lyme First Selectman Mark Nickerson, she learned that both towns are happy with their current services and don’t want to change. Salem recently joined the nine-town Uncas Health District, and East Lyme is one of six towns served by the Ledge Light Health District.

“It seemed to me that this is a solution in search of a problem,” she said Thursday. “Maybe we’re just getting an incredibly good bang for our buck now.”

She believes the towns would end up spending more if services were provided by a larger district.

Maura Downes, spokeswoman for the Public Health Department, said Commissioner Pino is having ongoing discussions with local officials and lawmakers about his draft proposal, and that it is still being revised based on the feedback he has received.

“We will continue to meet with local and state officials to address their concerns and craft a proposal that provides all Connecticut residents with local access to full-time public health services in an effective, cost-efficient manner and allows the state and its local health partners to better address our health disparities,” she said.

State Sen. Paul Doyle, D-Wethersfield, has sponsored two of the four bills to maintain the current system. Co-sponsor of the bills was Rep. Christine Carpino, R-Cromwell.

Doyle said towns that are satisfied with their current structure should not be forced into a larger regional district.

“I support the carrot versus the stick,” he said. Towns can be offered incentives to regionalize health services, he said, but should not be mandated to do so.

He said he submitted the bills in anticipation of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s fiscal 2018 budget proposal, which is slated to be presented on Feb. 8. There is speculation it will include a line item for consolidated public health agencies.

“This has alarmed a lot of people,” Doyle said.

Carpino said the current proposal to regionalize would result in increased costs and reduction in local control for her community. 

"Presently, if certain health districts are interested in entering a partnership, then they can voluntarily share services," she said.

Rep. Pam Staneski, R-Milford, also submitted a bill that would allow towns to keep their current health agencies intact.

Staneski said the “one size fits all” approach being advocated by the state health department’s proposal would mean loss of local control, higher costs and fewer services that individual communities value. Milford, for example, has its own health department that provides oral care screening and housing services she fears would be lost in a regional agency.

j.benson@theday.com