Shall the Town of Hampton vote to authorize the Board of Selectmen to instruct the Town Manager to appoint a Code Enforcement Officer, who, under the supervision of the Building Inspector would be responsible with the Building Inspector, Board of Selectmen and the Town Manager, for the enforcement of all Town building codes, zoning and land ordinances, by-laws and regulations; State and Federal laws, codes, and administrative regulations. This position shall be a part-time employee of the Town who shall report to the Building Inspector and the Town Manager and to raise and appropriate the sum of $17,136 to fund the part-time salary from April1, 2019 with the annual cost thereafter of $22,847 for such position? (Majority vote required)
What it means: A part-time person will be hired with the sole responsibility of ensuring that our Building Codes and Zoning Codes are enforced. The full-year cost will be just under $23,000.
Those in favor say: It makes little sense to enact new Building, Zoning or Planning Ordinances if there is no one to make sure that once a project is approved, the owners follow through with what has been stipulated, especially when a variance has been approved with certain conditions. Having a Code Enforcement Officer is similar to having a Police Department, in that the community is safer and healthier when a dedicated person is in place to assure that laws/ordinances/variances are followed.
Those against say: No one spoke against this Article at the Deliberative Session.
Fiscal impact: The full year cost of $22,847 will create an additional ongoing tax cost for the average Hampton home valued at $405,000 of $18.36. (Take your property value divided by 1000 and multiply by .045 to get your specific tax impact.)