Harrisburg did not pay for the certification of its recently-resigned health officer, according to David Patton, the deputy director in the city’s codes office.
After his hire, in March of 2012, Johnson took and passed the state Board of Health exam, which does not involve any fee, Patton said. Subsequently, the city raised his salary by $2,000, to $42,000 annually.
City Council President Wanda Williams had previously claimed that Harrisburg “paid for him to get certified,” and cited this as one of several reasons she and other members of Council were angry that the receiver had refused to raise his salary to $50,000.
Johnson, who resigned from his position at the end of last month, took an offer from Susquehanna Township, which offered him $50,000 for its health officer position. In a resignation letter obtained this morning through a right-to-know request, Johnson told Mayor Thompson his departure was “not an easy decision.”
“My experiences working in this great city have given me many tools which I will use for the rest of my life,” Johnson wrote. “I was able to learn the true meaning of public service and how to prevail during tough times.”
