Code Enforcement Officer Shortage in Northern Maine

Aroostook County is experiencing a shortage of Code Enforcement Officers and officials are looking to attract qualified persons to the profession. 

Tony Levesque is president of the Aroostook Code Enforcement Organization.  Levesque says many code officers are funded through fees and stipends only and just getting to a training session south of the area can be costly and time-prohibitive.

He says Northern Maine Development Commission and ACEO have been working to bring training to Aroostook County.

A Code Enforcement Officer is defined under Maine state law as a person employed by a municipality to enforce all enabling state laws and local ordinances in the following areas: shoreland zoning, land use regulation, internal plumbing, subsurface waste water disposal, and building standards. CEOs must be certified in each area for which they have responsibility within 12 months of their initial appointment date or of the date they assume responsibility for a given area.

Jay Kamm is Senior Planner at NMDC and says a potential CEO should be meticulous, organized, work well with people, and have a good temperament. “You are dealing with landowners on permitting systems, either through land use or building codes. So you need the technical knowledge but also the people skills.”

NMDC, in cooperation with the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, offers code enforcement officer and plumbing inspector examinations in the Caribou Office.

Kamm says exams are free of charge for the first three attempts. Exams require a minimum of a three-day notice to set up a time. A computer is made available so testees can access required documents.

DECD grades all of the exams and reports the results to the person taking the test.

Kamm can be reached at 493-5757 or by email at jkamm@nmdc.org.

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