Code enforcement office moves
McAvaddy’s position eliminated
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Effective Thursday, May 19, the Code Enforcement Office will be housed in the Public Safety Building, sharing space with the Presque Isle Fire Department.
City Manager Jim Bennett made the announcement late last week, noting the city was “implementing another part of the restructuring plan that City Council approved as part of the 2011 budget adoption.”
As a result, code enforcement will be downsizing from three employees to two, with George Howe serving in what Bennett had described to Council as the newly-created position of code enforcement/firefighter. Penny Anderson will continue to handle administrative duties.
Responding to a need to balance the 2011 budget without raising taxes, city management unveiled a plan in the fall of 2010 that reportedly would save the city in excess of $338,000 annually. Part of that plan included what Bennett called “the realignment and downsizing of the code enforcement functions,” which also involved moving the remaining employees to the fire department as a cost-saving measure.
“This part of the plan, once fully implemented, will annually save at least $156,000,” said Bennett.
“It’s unfortunate that these tough economic times require difficult decisions involving layoffs. This is a problem that state and local governments across the nation are dealing with. I believe that these changes will streamline our code enforcement efforts while minimizing costs with minimal, if any, loss of service to residents,” said Bennett.
The decision is not without controversy. At the end of last year Bennett met with Code Enforcement Officer Jerry McAvaddy, advising him that the department was being revamped, with the position of CEO being eliminated and a new one being created to combine code enforcement with firefighter duties. McAvaddy, who’d had a stroke about a year prior, was then offered a dispatch position at the Presque Isle Police Department — a job he acknowledged would be difficult, at best, given the effects he still suffers due to the stroke, including slower speech and paralysis that would hamper his ability to respond quickly in an emergency situation as a dispatcher. His disability, however, did not present any major difficulty to his handling the duties of code enforcement — a position he’d held with the city for over 10 years.
McAvaddy has since sought legal representation. He was contacted for a comment with regard to the move and his displacement, but he declined to comment, noting the matter is currently in litigation.
Bennett said one of two code enforcement officer positions (McAvaddy’s) was eliminated effective May 11, leaving one full-time code enforcement officer (Howe) and the administrative assistant (Anderson).
“The ultimate goal of the move is to formalize the informal practice of a collaborative effort between fire and code personnel in areas of inspections and seeking safe buildings within the community,” Bennett said.
The offices will physically be moved on Wednesday, May 18, from City Hall to the Public Safety Building, 43 North Street.
“Penny’s office will be located near Fire Chief Darrell White’s office. I’ll be moving into the office formerly used by the fire captain. The fire captain’s office will, in turn, be moved back toward the sleeping quarters,” explained Howe.
Howe said the transition will take some getting used to for all involved.
“It will take time to get the kinks worked out. No one is sure how this will work, but we’ll do our best,” Howe said.
Bennett asked for the public to be patient during the transition.
“While staff will remain available to provide services during the move, we are encouraging citizens that have the flexibility to avoid those days to please do so in order to speed up the physical move,” said Bennett.
Once the move is complete, code enforcement personnel can be visited in person at 43 North Street or reached at 760-2703 or 760-2770.