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11/16/2021 01:58 PMThe two separate job postings for the town planner and zoning enforcement officer (ZEO) have been officially posted to the town website. The town hopes that splitting the job will attract candidates to either position.
The Board of Selectmen (BOS) voted unanimously on Oct. 28 to separately re-advertise the town planner and ZEO roles separately after advertising the position as a combined role yielded no candidates. Now, the two job postings have reposted as separate roles. The town is seeking either part- or full-time candidates for the roles.
For the planner, the town is seeking someone who “under the general direction of the Planning Commission...plans, organizes, and performs professional comprehensive planning services in the areas of land use, zoning, housing/transportation, and related municipal planning areas.”
The town wants someone who has a degree in planning as well as four years planning experience and two years supervisory experience. The salary range is $61,859 to $78,908.
The ZEO job description states, “Under the general direction of the Zoning Commission, the ZEO performs inspections/investigative, and administrative duties to assure that residential, commercial and other properties comply with the zoning, aquifer protection and coastal regulations of the town and with related state statutes.”
The qualifications sought are experience with zoning and zoning regulations. The salary range is $52,625 to $68,616.
The town has been looking for a new ZEO since Oct. 8 when Eric Knapp left to take a similar role in North Branford. Additionally, the town has been without a full-time planner for years.
The town had been advertising for a position that combined both roles, but in the lead-up to the election candidates on both sides of the aisle argued that the job description was much too cumbersome for one person to take on.
When the town posted the job description for the combined role, the duties included items like planning, organizing, and working on areas that include land use, zoning, housings, and transportation. The posting also stated that the position would “oversee the operations of the Planning and Zoning departments including plan review, field inspections, and public and professional consultations.”
The position was also asked to work on flood zone compliance, coastal management, and the development of the Town Plan of Conservation and Development.
At the Oct. 28 meeting, then-first selectman Noel Bishop acknowledged that that strategy wasn’t working so the decision on to offer both positions separately was made.
In fact, Bishop said during the meeting, “We’ve had no responses” for the combined role.
The BOS decided to wait until late November to see if there would be any applications. Should there be no suitable candidates, the BOS said there was a possibility of using consultants to take on some of the roles.