If St. Joseph County commissioners Tuesday night approve the new health officer’s contract, they’ll create the highest publicly paid annual salary in the county.
New county Health Officer Dr. Diana Purushotham (Puh ROOSH thum) will be paid $250,000 a year. The next highest-paid public employee in the county is Sheriff Bill Redman, who was paid $161,000 last year.
The largest city of South Bend annual salary? That’s the public works director at $132,000, to be almost doubled by Purushotham’s pay. Biggest salary in Mishawaka? The electric department superintendent at about $100,000.
The county had paid Purushotham’s predecessor, Dr. Robert Einterz, $140,000.
Commissioners are eliminating the deputy health officer position, which pays $50,000. So the county would spend $250,000 next year on the health department’s leadership, up from $190,000 that it paid last year between Einterz and Deputy Health Officer Dr. Mark Fox.
Republican county council members have said the salary increase is needed to compete with what starting physicians are now being paid. The health department also will greatly expand its scope under Indiana’s new public health expansion starting next year.
