PARIS — Selectmen on Monday voted to void an interlocal agreement on General Assistance with Norway and entered a contract with Community Concepts to administer the program.
In early June, Paris ended its merged General Assistance services with Norway after just two weeks. Town Manager Phil Tarr said administrator Lynn Chammings couldn’t keep up with the influx of applications.
The board discussed Tarr’s plan to contract administration work to Community Concepts in Paris.
Tarr said that a 10 percent funding cut to General Assistance at the state level and a cap on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funding was squeezing town funds. “Community Concepts has the opportunity to tie into other programs, which could help our clients out and may even save us some money,” he said.
“We need to have somebody to do this work, and I believe this is the best way to go,” Tarr said. He said Community Concepts does this work full time.
Selectman Gerald Kilgore was concerned about the program’s cost.
Tarr said there is a trial agreement with Community Concepts and either side can opt out with a 90-day notice.
At a previous meeting, Tarr said it would cost the town $28 per hour for 16 hours a week for the service.
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