While other towns have begun moving towards a shared code enforcement officer, Newcastle decided that the town could find a better alternative on its own.

On Monday, Nov. 24, the Newcastle Board of Selectmen decided by unanimous vote to turn down an offer to join in a pact with neighboring towns to effectively share code enforcement officer Stan Waltz.

The selectmen turned down a proposal to split up the code enforcement officer position between five Lincoln County towns, including Damariscotta, Wiscasset, Nobleboro and Newcastle.

The towns would have had Waltz split his time between the different municipalities, although he would be based out of Wiscasset. The agreement is similar to what Lincoln County does with its animal control officer.

The proposal would have split Waltz's time between the towns, but for Newcastle, it meant the town would see an increase in price, but a reduction of time.

Selectman Ben Frey said the agreement would keep Waltz in Wiscasset for the bulk of the deal. Wiscasset would technically be the town that carried Waltz as a full-time employee, with the other towns contributing towards the salary.

“I like it in principal, but I don't like the way (it's currently worded),” Frey said. “I think a big part of that is that it was written with Wiscasset in mind, which is fine. I'm sure that if I wrote it, it would lean heavily towards Newcastle.”

Frey said he believed Newcastle could come up with another solution that made more sense in terms of service and cost.

Board Chairman Brian Foote said the cost would be “a few hundred” dollars more, but Waltz would only be available for six hours a week.

“When Stan wanted to be (the code enforcement officer) a few years ago, there were several qualified candidates,” he said. “Now, there really aren't a lot (of qualified candidates).”

The town will interview a candidate about the open position, and assessor Jim Murphy has been available. Murphy has been filling in by taking on some of the code enforcement duties.

The board decided, 5-0, to turn down the offer.

The Damariscotta board had a more favorable view of the proposal during its Wednesday, Nov. 19 meeting.