WILDWOOD CREST – Former Mayor and Borough Commissioner Joyce Gould is entitled to health care benefits paid for by the Borough of Wildwood Crest, Superior Court Judge Michael Blee ruled in an order filed March 27.
Blee responded to a request by Gould’s attorney for a summary judgment, saying it was “Granted In-Part, Denied On-Part.” Specifically, the judge ordered that Gould was “entitled to post-retirement health benefits” under state statute. Blee denied the request for attorney’s fees and costs, saying, “The parties shall bear their own expenses related to the instant action.”
Gould served seven terms as a Wildwood Crest commissioner, including four years as mayor. She lost her last bid for reelection in November 2021. Gould was seeking enforcement of a borough ordinance that says it would pay her health insurance premiums since she “retired” Jan. 31, 2022.
Gould brought the matter of health care premiums to the attention of the borough after she started receiving monthly bills for $908.77 from the state Division of Pensions and Benefits.
From January through December 2021, Gould was billed nearly $11,000 in health care premiums for herself and her husband. In January, her monthly premium amount increased to $954.34.
In January, the borough’s labor counsel, William Blaney, said the borough fighting Gould’s lawsuit was not a matter of animosity, but was a purely legal matter, where the borough was in between Gould and the state pension system.
Gould was first elected in 1989 and as of May 2010, an elected official had to work at least 35 hours per week to be eligible for health benefits.
“She predates that statute,” Blaney said in January.
Gould’s attorney, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, said in January that Gould qualified for health care benefits because she met the requirements under state statute – that she have at least 15 years of service and be over age 62.
He said, in either case, Gould is eligible to have her health care premiums paid, and the judge agreed.
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