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Board affirms engineering as stormwater management officer role; directs clearer chain of command and training
Summary
Trustees discussed stormwater enforcement after staff confusion about roles; the board affirmed that the town engineer (Bob) is the stormwater management officer (SMO) and directed clearer written guidance and interdepartmental coordination, including training for additional field staff.
The board discussed recent confusion about who is responsible for identifying and enforcing stormwater issues and affirmed that the town engineer (identified in the meeting as Bob) is designated as the town's Stormwater Management Officer (SMO).
Members supported sending clearer written direction to departments that while other staff should identify and report stormwater problems, engineering is the SMO with primary responsibility for managing enforcement and official agency contact. The board said field staff from water, wastewater and highway departments can and should identify problems, and that those reports should be routed to engineering for management, enforcement decisions and, where necessary, communication with state or federal agencies.
Trustees praised a recent training that had been offered and encouraged sending additional personnel to the multi-year certification; one board member said the course is free and valuable and asked that more staff be trained as "more eyes in the field." The board asked staff to develop a short directive clarifying roles, enforcement authorities (stop-work orders and other tools), and how departments should coordinate when they encounter site issues. The item will be clarified in a memorandum to department heads.
No formal disciplinary decisions were taken in open session; the board elected to discuss specific personnel matters in executive session at the end of the workshop.
