By David Kilby, Special Writer
EAST WINDSOR — He navigated the community through some tough times so when former Township Manager Alan Fisher decided to retire, the mayor and council naturally shared their utmost appreciation for his services to the community.
”He has been an extremely diligent, caring individual who cared about the people he worked with,” Mayor Janice Mironov said of Mr. Fisher at the township meeting Jan 22.
”His work ethic was always without reproach,” Mayor Mironov said. “He was always here early in the morning and stayed later than anyone else. At a time when towns lost a tremendous amount of state funding, he took us through a very difficult time through the last three to four years,” keeping the town “fiscally sound and healthy.”
She also encouraged Mr. Fisher to “remember us, visit us,” during his years of retirement. While his last work day was Jan. 11, he will officially retire effective Feb. 1. He began with East Windsor in 2005.
Mr. Fisher received his bachelor’s of arts degree from St. John Fisher College, Rochester, New York, in 1974 and a master’s degree in public administration from Syracuse University in 1976.
He went on to serve as a clerk for Middlebury, Vermont; then town manager for Madison, Maine; then borough manager for Washington, New Jersey, where he worked from 1982 to 2004 before becoming East Windsor’s manager in 2005.
”The mayor and council have always established clear goals, and it was my pleasure to assist you in striving to meet them,” Mr. Fisher said. “I want to thank the very dedicated group of employees that work exceedingly hard to serve the township, especially former Chief of Police William Spain, current Chief of Police James Monahan and Public Works Director William Askenstedt who are exceptionally capable, gifted and talented and demonstrate on a daily basis their extraordinary leadership capabilities.”
Mr. Fisher’s successor will be Jim Brady, a former lieutenant of the East Windsor Police Department where he served for 25 years.
Mr. Brady, 46, was hired as director of the East Windsor Recreation Department in 2011. He attended the Burlington County Police Academy and has lived in East Windsor since 1992.
Mr. Brady said there was a mutual interest for him to fill Mr. Fisher’s position upon it becoming open. He began his new role on Wednesday.
”It has challenges that once accomplished have benefits to a lot of people,” Mr. Brady said of his new position. “It’s a great community. I’ve chosen to live and raise my family here. I’ve worked here for most of my adult life. There’s a great deal of stability within the township. The staff that works for East Windsor is phenomenal.
”My interest is not just in the position itself, but also in being surrounded by the mayor, council, staff and everyone else . . . accomplish the tasks expected and demanded of us by residents and business owners.”

