Sparta considers getting health services from county

County would keep township’s health professionals, By Millie Guerrero Sparta - Sparta officials are trying to determine if the town would be better served by Sussex County’s division of health than by the township’s own health department. Herbert Yardley, the county’s health division director, presented township officials with an overview of the medical services and prevention methods the county offers to children, senior citizens, and other adults. “What services are we getting that are better than what Sparta offers?” asked Councilman Scott Seelagy, summing up the reason why the council invited Yardley and his colleagues to its meeting on Tuesday night. Council members said they were concerned about the fate of the full-time employees who now work for the town’s health department, should Sparta make the switch. Yardley assured the council that these professionals would be absorbed into the county program — but with significant changes in vacation and pension pay. Bill Wilson, a Sparta resident, noted that the county’s inspection services office was quite a distance from Sparta, which would inconvenience residents who needed its services. He wanted to know if the county would provide an inspector with a local office full-time. Yardley said there would be a designated inspector for Sparta, but not a central office in town. Wilson asked what the costs would be to the township if it switched to the county health department, and how the change would affect local taxes. Bernard Re, the county and health division treasurer, said that because the official numbers have not been calculated, he was not yet prepared to share financial information with the public. But he did say the switch would be “a win-win situation for everybody.” “There are a lot of things going back and forth,” Re said. “I wouldn’t be here if the numbers didn’t make sense.” Rich Sullivan, a member of the Sparta board of education, wanted to know how the county health division was funded, and if an uneven balance in taxes would arise from its expansion. He referred to the taxes that support the Sussex County Technical High School. “Sparta pays an enormous amount for the school compared to the students in the school,” he said. The county health division currently serves 18 municipalities, which do not include three of the largest townships in the county. Mayor Manny Goldberg said more detailed information, including financial issues, would be shared with the public at a later meeting.