NORWAY – The Board of Selectmen has agreed to hire Shannon Moxcey as the Norway/Paris General Assistance administrator.

She will replace Community Concepts, which is based in Paris.

The move was made at Thursday night’s meeting in order to streamline the process.

Although Moxcey was working as the General Assistance administrator for Norway and Paris, she was employed by Community Concepts, which handled the administrative costs in the process. That function will now be given to Moxcey.

Norway and Paris had pooled resources by hiring Community Concepts and Moxcey in 2012.

“We feel it’s better to simplify it,” Town Manager David Holt said. He said the towns were pleased with Community Concepts’ work but they are the only towns that contract out for part of the work.

“It takes a layer out of the process,” he said.

According to Holt, Moxcey’s hours will increase from 16 to 20 a week and she will be employed by Norway, with Paris paying half her salary. The employment will be under the same terms as Code Enforcement Officer Joelle Corey-Whitman who is an employee of Norway but is shared with several other towns.

Holt said Moxcey has saved the town about $50,000 in General Assistance and Paris a smaller amount since she was hired.

In fiscal year 2011, Norway budgeted $110,000 for the program, a $15,000 increase over the previous year. In Paris, the amount budgeted is $51,175.

But this year, the town was able to reduce its General Assistance budget by half. Since being hired, Moxcey has uncovered cases of fraud in Norway and Paris.

General Assistance provides rent, heating fuel and electricity, as well as vouchers for food and other essentials to qualified applicants. It is a municipally-administered program in which the state of Maine requires towns to provide vouchers to those judged by state guidelines to be unable to meet their basic needs. The program requires able-bodied recipients to participate in a workfare program for the town.

Norway has traditionally spent more on General Assistance than neighboring towns of Oxford and Paris, largely because of the abundance of low-rent housing in Norway.

ldixon@sunjournal.com