Ronda Peek joined the town staff Oct. 25 as deputy treasurer and general administrative clerk.
Peek, a recent transplant to Harpswell, brings finance experience as a controller at several companies in New England. She will work 20 hours per week.
“She was looking for part-time work, so this is a perfect fit for her and for us,” Town Administrator Kristi K. Eiane told the Board of Selectmen on Oct. 21.
In another personnel move, Code Enforcement Officer Tim Clark will take over as interim department head while the current department head, Code Enforcement Officer William B. Wells, is on leave.
Clark “has been handling an incredible workload in that office. … With all the building activity going on in Harpswell, all the inspections that are needed, he’s really just keeping it all together and keeping that office functioning,” Eiane said at the meeting.
The town’s recreation director and recreation programs assistant are helping in the codes and planning office while the town seeks a full-time planning assistant to replace Diane Plourde, who recently resigned.
The town is also advertising for a temporary code enforcement officer to work with Clark on either a part-time or full-time schedule.
“It’s a really tough labor market,” Eiane said. “It’s really tough to find employees right now and to be competitive with wages.”
“We’re finding that we have to be a little more aggressive about our entry-level pay if we’re going to attract quality people to work for the town of Harpswell,” she added. “And that is then going to have an impact on our overall pay scale, and we’ll need to address in 2022 how to compensate people who have been working for us for a while.”
