Health Board to Explore Animal Control Officer Support

About two years ago, Hopatcong Animal Control Officer Dale Sloat suffered a throat illness, missing a couple weeks of work. Roxbury Animal Control Officer Susan Blanchard filled in for him, responding to calls when the Morris County town didn't need her, according to Sloat.

It wasn't the first time the two had each other's back, Sloat said. As part of a mutual aid agreement between the municipalities, Sloat often responded to Roxbury calls when Blanchard was unavailable.

But, recently, Hopatcong axed the deal over legal concerns and overall practicality, Borough Administrator Catherine Steinel said. Now the Board of Health is looking to find ways to ensure Hopatcong's animal control needs are covered when Sloat's away.

Board Chairman Thom Forbes said at Wednesday night's meeting the board would advertise a part-time animal control officer position, which would be on call 24-7 in case of Sloat's absence. It also planned to contact Roxbury's health department and discuss the feasibility of a new agreement, which it would then propose to Mayor Sylvia Petillo and her council.

After the meeting, Steinel said in her borough hall office she proposed to Roxbury in an e-mail an inter-local services pact, which would give it access to Sloat on a paid hourly basis, but the town never responded. Hopatcong has inter-local service agreements with Jefferson and Stanhope, which doesn't have an animal control officer.

The mutual aid agreement Hopatcong and Roxbury signed in 2004, which didn't pay either officer overtime if called upon, was meant to be a yearly self-renewing deal. But board member Howard Baker said contracts aren't designed to self-renew.

"The contract, if anyone tries to enforce it, would be thrown out of court," he said. "You could not enforce it. If you can't enforce it, it doesn't exist.

"It's a nice agreement…soft of, but many of the people at the table when it was originally done are gone."

Steinel agreed. She said Sloat wouldn't have been covered under Roxbury's insurance if he were injured on the job, and vice versa for Blanchard.

"[Board of Health members] understand the liabilities we open ourselves up to," she said.

Sloat said would respond to twice as many Roxbury calls than Blanchard would take Hopatcong calls. According to board members, Sloat rarely takes off days. Sloat said he gets two weeks of vacation each year and takes them in the winter, when animal control calls are much less frequent.

Still, board members worried about the consequences if Sloat were unavailable.

"We really don't have the backup we think we do," board member Joel Servoss said.

Steinel said Hopatcong had almost nothing to gain from the agreement, which is why she ended it.

And although the board said it would consider finding a part-time officer, members admitted it could be a difficult move. Animal control officers are difficult to find. Ones with 24-7 availability could be next to impossible to discover, Baker said.

"Everybody has to do their homework on this thing so something can be put together that will keep us all in good standing," Baker said. "If [Roxbury's animal control officer] comes [to Hopatcong] and gets hurt, then there's all kinds of lawsuits and insurance claims and our taxpayers pay for it.

"So we need to be protected against that situation."

Editor's note:  A Twitter post prior to this article incorrectly said Hopatcong and Jefferson no longer have a mutual aid agreement.