Health agent weighs in

A part-time health agent with no clerical help cannot run the Holbrook Health Department the way it should be run, departing health agent Bill Murphy told the Board of Selectmen recently. Six of his predecessors left the job after less than a year, he said, largely because of understaffing. Murphy said the department processes about 200 permits a year, but has fallen behind on filing and the processing of permits because he spends much of his 25 hours a week conducting inspections. The town stopped registering wells in 2007 and already has about 10 cases it should pursue of landlords failing to make repairs, Murphy told the board. He is leaving the position after two years to take a full-time job as an inspector in another community. - Jennette Barnes