16- 219 C.M.R. ch. 52, § 3

Current through 2024-51, December 18, 2024

Section 219-52-3 - General Provisions

A municipality may not appoint an individual who is not certified by the Office to perform the duties of a code enforcement officer, except as provided below:

1.Grace Period

A. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, a duly-appointed municipal code enforcement officer shall be certified by the Office within twelve (12) months of the date of that officer's employment in the specific areas of the officer's job responsibility. The 12-month grace period expires at the end of the month in which the municipal code enforcement officer's one-year anniversary falls.

B. An individual shall acquire certification in the specific areas of internal plumbing and subsurface wastewater disposal prior to municipal appointment except that an individual may be temporarily authorized in writing by the Department of Human Services, Division of Environmental Health to be employed as a local plumbing inspector for a period not to exceed six (6) months in accordance with department rule, 10-144CMR 240.

C. A code enforcement officer who is appointed by the municipality to administer an additional specific area of responsibility has twelve (12 months) to be certified in that additional specific area. The 12-month grace period expires at the end of the month of the twelfth month following the assumption of the additional specific area of responsibility.

2.Extension of Grace Period

A. Municipalities may petition the Office for up to a twelve (12)-month extension of the original grace period in cases where:

1. The municipality can demonstrate that the necessary training or examination was not available within that time period;

2. The necessary training or examination is suspended by the Office under section 10 of this chapter; or

3. The certification process would impose a hardship on the municipality.

B. The Office determines whether the petitioning municipality has met the criteria for an extension in all specific areas, except an individual shall abide by the requirements of the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Environmental Health to be employed as a plumbing inspector.

C. Within 20 days of receipt of the petition, the Office shall issue a decision in writing whether the extension has been granted with the reasons for approval or denial.

3.Appeal

A. A municipality whose petition for an extension is denied may appeal. A municipality may request a review of the extension decision from the Office in writing within 20 days of notification of the decision on the municipality's petition.

B. The Office may delegate the appeal to another senior staff person who was not involved in the original hardship decision.

C. In considering an appeal, the Office shall:

1. examine the municipality's petition against the standards in this section and section 2.18; and

2. determine whether the Office followed the required process and reasonably interpreted the facts to reach the conclusion upon which the extension decision under appeal was based.

D. Within 20 days of the request for appeal, the Office shall make a decision and notify the municipality in writing whether the appeal is granted. The decision of the Office constitutes final agency action.

E. A duly appointed code enforcement officer may continue to serve in that capacity until a final agency decision is rendered on the appeal.

4.Certificate of Appointment

Upon initial appointment, and annually upon reappointment, a municipality shall file a certificate of appointment with the Office. The certificate must indicate the appointment, reappointment or continuation of the municipality's code enforcement officers, the date of appointment or reappointment, and the specific areas of job responsibility for which the officers have been appointed.

5.Transferability

A. A valid certification of a code enforcement officer who changes employment is transferable from one Maine municipality to another.

B. A valid certification of a code enforcement officer who serves more than one Maine municipality is applicable to each Maine municipality, so long as the certified individual is duly appointed by the municipal officers of each municipality.

C. An individual who holds a valid certification may transfer that certification between a code enforcement officer and a third-party inspector only in accordance with 25 M.R.S. §2371(6).

16- 219 C.M.R. ch. 52, § 3