Columbia Created; composition; compensation; terms; vacancies ordinance (§ 11-46)
Chapter 11: Health and Sanitation · Article II. Administration
In short: Columbia's 11-member board of health has seven city council appointees and four county commission appointees, serving unpaid three-year terms. Members forfeit their seat by missing, without being excused, 25 percent of a year's regular meetings or three in a row.
Our plain-English summary, not the official text or legal advice. The ordinance below is what counts.
(a) There shall be an eleven (11) member board of health which shall be composed of at least one physician, one veterinarian, one nurse, one dentist, and one health care worker. The remaining members shall have an interest in public health. Seven (7) members shall be appointed by the city council. Four (4) members shall be appointed by the county commission. All members shall serve without compensation for a term of three (3) years and until their successors are appointed and qualified.
(b) The chair of the board is authorized to excuse any member from attendance at a board meeting; provided, that the member requested to be excused before the meeting. Any member who is absent, without being excused, from twenty-five (25) per cent of the regular board meetings held in a calendar year shall automatically forfeit the office. Any member who is absent, without being excused, from three
(3) consecutive regular meetings shall automatically forfeit the office. It shall be the duty of the chair of the board to promptly notify the city council or the county commission of the vacancy.
Official source: City of Columbia official Code of Ordinances (online): look up Sec. 11-46
Text from Supplement 139 (September 3, 2026).
Last checked November 1, 2026. The city's official copy controls; this page is a reading copy, not legal advice.