Alna residents may pay more than twice as much as they did last year for code enforcement services after approving funding use at a special town meeting Saturday, Dec. 16. Town officials said the jump is due in part to the town’s rocky recent municipal past.
The Alna Select Board hired Bruce Engert as code enforcement officer, building inspector, and local plumbing inspector in November after Greg Lumbert resigned in August. Engert has held the roles for neighboring towns for more than 15 years.
Voters approved $6,500 for the position at annual town meeting in March, but Engert’s requested rate could run up to $15,000. He receives $250 per week, or $13,000 each year, and $0.56 per work mile up to $2,000 annually.
The special town meeting asked voters whether to allow the board to appropriate $8,500 from undesignated funds, also allowing it to spend for the position at the same rate until the open portion of the annual town meeting on Saturday, March 23, 2024.
The Dec. 16 meeting began with a surprise split on nomination for the meeting moderator. Audience members nominated resident Chris Cooper alongside Jim Gallagher. After confusion about how to elect a moderator with more than one candidate, an unusual scenario, a ballot vote chose Gallagher 24-17.
Gallagher said there were more people in the firehouse for the special town meeting than he sees at annual meetings in a nearby town.
“I think that says a lot about the town of Alna, so congratulations,” he said.
As discussion opened, resident Beth Whitney asked how available Engert will be to residents. He started work in November.
Select board Chair Ed Pentaleri said there will be no regular open office hours, like code enforcement officers typically hold and Engert does in his neighboring appointment of Wiscasset. Instead, he will come into the office once a week and will be reachable only by the town office phone.
“Based on the experience of the previous code enforcement officer, there will be no office hours,” Pentaleri said.
Pentaleri said in an August select board meeting that the previous code enforcement officer resigned due to a high volume of emails, texts, and calls by a resident, which Jeff Spinney confirmed referenced him. Spinney and the town were involved in litigation for two years over permits for a boat ramp to the Sheepscot River at his home until an October settlement.
Lumbert “was fielding a barrage of hostile communications” before his resignation, select board member Coreysha Stone said.
Pentaleri said Dec. 16 that the new salary is about market rate for neighboring towns of similar size and suggested the days of filling the position for well below market rate are gone.
“This is the price it’s costing us at this point, with the history we have,” he said.
Several residents asked why the town had not accepted various resident offers to take the role for less money or as a volunteer.
Stone said she had concerns about appointing someone with connection to past litigation and controversy.
“We’re trying to have a fresh start as much as we can,” she said.
Board members suggested Engert was the only choice for the town due to level of work required to hold the position in Alna.
“Word gets out that this is a town full of interesting people … They know that they’re going to be pushed to the limit,” Stone said.
Residents also debated the number of permits issued each year and how much Alna would pay for each if the additional salary was divided over the next few months. Pentaleri was unsure of how much of the undesignated balance had been spent this year.
Board member Steve Graham said the permits were “not the whole story,” and the code enforcement officer, which the town is legally required to have, has other responsibilities.
Stone also suggested hiring someone with less experience for less money would cost the town more in the long run through enforcement and litigation around violations.
“That could cost another $100,000,” she said, referencing litigation with Spinney.
The article passed 27-12.
