Norway hires new CEO

NORWAY —Joelle Corey-Whitman of South Paris will take over as Norway's Code Enforcement Officer (CEO) when Jeff van Decker leaves the post on May 1.

The Norway Board of Selectmen unanimously approved the hire at a meeting on Thursday, April 7, following the recommendation of Town Manager David Holt.

"Joelle appears to be a bright, young person," said Holt. "She's likable and I think she'll do well with the our citizens."

Corey-Whitman graduated from Oxford Hills High School in 1988 and Andover College in 1993. She brings 12 years of experience in Maine construction oversight to the job, having worked with Hardypond Construction in Portland and Bancroft Contracting in South Paris. Since 2009 she has owned Western Maine House Inspections, based in South Paris.

While she will continue as an independent home inspector, said Corey-Whitman, she was "very happy," to be taking over the office in Norway. Her private enterprise generally takes her outside of the Oxford Hills and all over western Maine.

"For me, this is like I get to stay at home," she said.

Corey-Whitman said that she does not anticipate that any conflicts of interests will arise as a result of working for the town while continuing to do private home inspections.

"I don't want any conflicts of interest," she said. "[As a private inspector] if a contract is in this area, I will try to avoid that."

Holt said the town will be saving money by initially hiring Corey-Whitman on only a part time basis. Whereas Van Decker was working 32 hours per week and receiving benefits, Corey-Whitman will start off working 20 hours a week without the benefit package.

In addition, Norway is exploring sharing the office with Greenwood and Woodstock, both of whom are also looking for someone to fill the position. Joelle interviewed with each town manager, and all came to the same conclusion.

"Joelle was the unanimous choice of the 3 towns," said Holt, who added that the sharing arrangement, should the towns choose to pursue it, would make sense for all involved.

"Why try to train three people?" he wondered. "The economy is down, so there's not as much pressure with development, which means less work."

"All of us have good working relationships. If there's a crisis in Norway when it's her day to be in Greenwood, there will be no problem in coming back."

Holt and the board of selectmen had previously discussed sharing a CEO with Paris, but were not able to do so because the Paris CEO, Gerald Samson, is already working full time as the town's CEO and assessor.

Before taking over the job, Corey-Whitman will need to become certified with the state of Maine as both a CEO and Licensed Plumbing Inspector.

In a letter to the board, Van Decker wrote, "It has been a pleasure working with the Town of Norway and their citizens."