Hamilton Township’s health officer will serve East Windsor through an interlocal agreement.
By: Scott Morgan Staff Writer
EAST WINDSOR The Township Council last week approved an interlocal agreement with Hamilton to share its municipal health officer.
Jeffrey J. Plunkett, Hamilton’s full-time health officer, was tapped to provide part-time services for East Windsor throughout 2003.
According to the agreement, Mr. Plunkett will provide at least 16 hours per month (during nonbusiness hours) as the township’s health officer and respond to township emergencies as needed.
Mr. Plunkett’s duties, the agreement states, will include attending monthly meetings, reporting to the Township Council and filing monthly and annual reports.
Mayor Janice Mironov said the plan with Hamilton to share Mr. Plunkett’s services came from frequent meetings she has had with Hamilton Mayor Glen Gilmore.
State law requires that each municipality have a health officer, and, since East Windsor’s full-time health official, Patricia Hart, retired recently, the time was right for sharing, Mayor Mironov said.
"This is a great arrangement for both towns," Mayor Mironov said, explaining that while Hamilton can collect money through grants for sharing services, East Windsor saves a significant amount of money by using Mr. Plunkett.
Typically, Mayor Mironov said, a full-time health officer could cost the township upwards of $75,000 a year (which was about what the township paid Ms. Hart). Through the agreement with Hamilton, East Windsor will pay Mr. Plunkett $8,750 a year, in installments of $729.17 per month.
Mr. Plunkett’s term begins, retroactively, on Jan. 1 and runs through the entire year.

