The former Woodbury police chief is now the county's assistant director of public safety.
Woodbury's former police chief has joined the county's office of emergency management.
Reed Merinuk, who retired from the police department last August, was hired in January as the county's assistant director of public safety.
Reed Marinuk gives a tour of the old Woodbury Police Station in this 2012 photo. (Lori Nichols | For NJ.com)Merinuk was one of three applicants interviewed for the advertised position, said county spokeswoman Deb Sellitto.
His hiring, at a salary of $80,000 a year, is part of a larger effort to upgrade the county's emergency management operations.
"It's not a new position per se, but a restructuring to meet the current needs of the Emergency Response Center," Sellitto said. "During the time that the position was advertised, we also advertised for a Director of Fire Services and Asstistant Director of Fire Services. These too were part of the overall upgrade."
For some years, the emergency response center has been modernizing to keep up with the current needs of municipalities and the county, Sellitto said.
After the massive June 20, 2015, storm that caused widespread damage across the region, county officials recognized a need for improvements in logistics, ensuring that county and municipal agencies are communicating clearly.
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"The county has been training its existing employees and they have reorganized some of the emergency response positions to meet the needs not only in the case of major occurrences like we had last year, but things that happen on a regular basis -- just like the storm the other day -- so we have better coordination of resources throughout the county without duplicating services," Sellitto said.
The recent incident she referenced was a fast-moving storm that knocked out power to tens of thousands across South Jersey last Wednesday. In Gloucester County, several thousand utility customers lost power and some roadways were blocked by downed utility wires and trees.
As a former municipal police chief, Marinuk brings experience that helps the county's mission of improving coordination between the local and county levels, Sellitto said.
"It takes a certain type of experience to fill that need," she noted.
He is not receiving health insurance through his new job and is not being paid additional money in lieu of insurance, Sellitto confirmed.
Merinuk's police chief pension is based on a salary of $125,232, according to state records. State officials could not say Wednesday if he is currently receiving pension payments.
Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.