By Andreas Yilma, Staff Writer
BEACON FALLS — Two town positions will have increased roles starting in February.
The Board of Selectmen, at its Jan 11 meeting, approved changing the part-time assistant assessor position to a full-time assessor and building land use coordinator, and changing the police office manager position to the police office and training administrator.
The assistant assessor works 25 hours a week, but the new position will work an additional 10 hours a week in the land use office to facilitate operations and record keeping, among other duties. The land use office isn’t open full time.
First Selectman Gerard Smith said the plan is to bridge some holes in the land use office.
The police office manager works 30 hours a week. The new police office and training administrator job will be 35 hours a week and have an expanded list of responsibilities to keep the town compliant with requirements, make sure reports are done properly, and give the public more access to the department, Smith said.
Smith said the job’s hours will mirror the hours Town Hall is open “to bring consistency to the residents so they know if Town Hall is open, the police department is open.”
The changes will go into effect on Feb. 1, Smith said.
The Board of Finance on Jan. 12 approved transferring $17,138 from the town’s contingency account, $10,770 for the land use assessor position and $6,368 for the police office and training administrator position, to cover the additional expenses the rest of this fiscal year.
The changes are expected to cost an additional $41,000 in the 2021-22 budget, according to Smith.
“It’s going to put us in a much better position to serve the public and record keeping, especially on the land use side,” Smith said.
