NORWICH – In effort to save the city money in overtime, it was decided by the Common Council last week to upgrade the city’s code enforcement officer to code department head and make him increasingly more involved in fire investigations.
Jason Lawrence was promoted by council members Tuesday; he will not only be responsible for the entire city codes department, but will act as the City of Norwich Fire Marshal as well.
“This is what I went to school for,” said Lawrence. “Fire prevention and fire safety are two of the main aspects in the codes department.”
Lawrence will be upgraded in the entry pay scale and moved from an hourly paid employee to a salary-based employee, meaning the cost of paying him overtime expenses will be reduced.
According the city’s Human Resources Director Deborah DeForest, the new position will require Lawrence to be responsible for the department’s budget, answer directly to Mayor Joseph Maiurano and have at least one more person that answers directly to him.
Along with two ordinance inspection officers, one of which is an open position, Lawrence will have Amy Donnison, an administrative assistant and code certified employee, working for him.
Lawrence said he has an agenda of items that he hopes to implement and act upon within his new position. “I have a lot of things I hope to do,” he said.
Lawrence’s job duties include being on call at all times to investigate fires throughout the city for cause and origin, maintain his current duties as city code enforcement officer and work to educate the public about fire safety and awareness.
Lawrence officially took over the position as Fire Marshall and department head Wednesday.