Paris may contract out GA

PARIS — A contractor from Community Concepts (CC), a local non-profit, has begun serving as the primary General Assistance (GA) administrator for Norway and may soon do the same for Paris.

On Monday, Town Manager Phil Tarr told the Paris Board that when Lynn Chammings, the current GA administrator takes over as Code Enforcement Officer after Gerald Samson retires at the end of the year, Paris will be left without a GA administrator.

Tarr hopes that the town will consider hiring a contractor from CC to fill the void rather than hire a new employee.

Norway has already begun using a CC contractor to administer its GA program on a trial basis.

Although the contractor's wages could be has high as $28 per hour for 16 hours a week, Tarr says that the level of service that a professional administrator can bring to the town is worth it.

According to Tarr, a good GA administrator needs to know all the complexities of state and town regulations as well as be assertive and able to manage a workfare program.

"You just can't bring in a clerk-type person and pay them $12-$13 an hour to do this," says Tarr.

Another benefit of contracting with CC is that it can serve as a conduit to connect people on GA to other social programs and reduce their reliance on Paris, says Tarr.

Norway Town Manager David Holt agrees with Tarr's assesment of the benefits from contracting with CC.

He says that the goal is to not have people on GA and CC helps by referring people using Norway's assistance to other programs and eventually shifting people off of assistance programs entirely.

He says that even in the short time CC has been working with Norway, the town has seen a "marked decrease" in GA spending.

Tarr intends to bring a contract proposal to the board of selectmen at its next meeting on June 25.