The county is considering three options that include merging with Middlesex County's medical examiner's office.
TRENTON -- The impending retirement of longtime Mercer County Medical Examiner Dr. Raafat Ahmad might bring with it the end of the county's award-winning office.
For Ahmad, the possibility is concerning.
Ahmad addressed her retirement for the first time publicly Tuesday afternoon.
Her retirement - which she plans for December - would mark the end of her 36-year run as the county's chief medical examiner. Dr. Daksha Shah, another part-time medical examiner for the county, plans to retire around the same time.
Ahmad said she would be disappointed to see the office taken down after she's gone.
"I want to leave it functional," she said.
But for others, the choice is not so clear
Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes said the county is considering three options - keep the office open and hire a new medical examiner; join state-run offices or merge into the Middlesex County office. T
he Monmouth County office already merged into the Middlesex County office earlier this year.
Hughes said he is leaning toward the latter option, adding that it would save taxpayers the most money.
"You would effectively be drawing down employees by four," Hughes said. Any employees who would be let go in a merger, would get the first pick when a new county job opens up.
"(Spaces) become available very quickly in the county," Hughes said.
He also said that option would solve a building issue with the Mercer County office. The office currently sits on land belonging to the Mercer County-owned Trenton-Mercer Airport in Ewing.
"It's on FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) encumbered land and it should be used for an FAA approved service," Hughes said.
And the FAA requires the county to pay rent - to itself - to use the space, Hughes has said.
Retirement could bring end to a county office
But Ahmad said she worried about the long term consequences of doing away with the Mercer County Office. Mercer County handles around 35 homicides a year - far more than Middlesex County, she said.
Distance poses another issue - the Middlesex office is a 30-minute drive from Trenton.
But Ahmad's chief concern is the toll that a potential merger would take on her employees, especially the two full-time clerical workers.
"I feel for the people I work with," Ahmad said.
She said she hopes that they will have jobs secured by the time she retires - whether those jobs are in the medical examiner's office or with another department in the county.
"I would like to see everyone in the proper place."
For Ahmad, the best of the three options would be letting the state take over the county's office. She said the state's help would likely allow the office to remain in tact in terms of personnel.
It could also give Ahmad a chance to do part time work with the office during her retirement, which she has been hoping to do.
The state option could solve the problem of the office existing on FAA encumbered land by simply moving their operations to a state building, Ahmad said.
Hughes agreed that the state option would solve many of the issues the county faces regarding what to do with the office - but not all.
"I also have to look at the bottom dollar," Hughes said, adding again that a merge with Middlesex would cut costs more than the other two options.
Regardless, officials are still at the beginning stages of discussions regarding the office.
"The only thing that's definite is that I haven't made up my mind," Hughes said.
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.