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Trustees consider new community-development position to close enforcement and revenue gaps
Summary
Trustees discussed adding staff in community and economic development to handle code enforcement, fee schedules, GRT oversight and grant-writing; directors argued extra staff would pay for itself by recovering missed revenue and improving permit enforcement.
The budget work session shifted in its second half to staffing, organization and revenue oversight. Moderator reviewed an organization chart and proposed moving the code/animal-control officer function from the marshals department into community & economic development. Moderator and the Director said the town needs an additional dedicated position to follow up on enforcement cases, hearings and fee collections so cases do not remain unresolved.
Director (speaker 7) presented a list of enforcement and administrative gaps he said were causing lost revenue and operational inefficiencies. He told trustees that correct fee schedules and active GRT monitoring would help the town recover revenue. "We were rolling over businesses that were no longer in business," the Director said when explaining past collection gaps; trustees asked staff to provide an updated GRT/business list and to return with recommended fee-schedule changes.
The group also discussed compensation mechanics (stipends vs. salary) and cross-training. Several trustees cautioned that adding staff should be accompanied by clear accountability and performance measures; Moderator said any new positions would be budgeted with a view to sustainability and that some of the cost could be offset by fee increases or by revenues recovered through better billing.
Why it matters: staff and organizational changes affect the town's ability to enforce codes, recover fees and pursue grants; trustees asked staff to return with job descriptions, cost estimates and a plan showing how the position would improve revenue collection and enforcement outcomes.
No formal hiring decisions were made at the work session.
