Wareham’s Community and Economic Development Authority (CEDA) wants to know if it should continue funding the position of code enforcement officer.

The $20,000 a year part-time position is currently funded through the 2010 Community Block Grant. That is the grant through which CEDA receives the bulk of its funding.

The position has been funded by CEDA since 2008. Wareham Week could not immediately confirm which department funded the position before 2008, or if it was funded at all.

CEDA has scheduled a hearing for Thursday, October 18. Residents will discuss if they want to continue funding the position with the 2012 grant, which CEDA must submit to the state by a December deadline.

“We’re going to have a conversation with the public … pending the outcome of the meeting, we’ll fund the position,” said CEDA Director Salvador Pina.

The current code enforcement officer, John Viveiros, has been serving in the position since 2010. During his tenure, he has completed more than 400 inspections.

Many of the inspections result in Viveiros asking residents to clean up their properties, he said.

After receiving a notice to clean up a property, residents have 30 days to comply. If a property-owner fails to comply, he or she will receive an order to appear before the Board of Health.  At that point, the Board of Health must decide how to proceed, which could include getting the courts involved.

“If it’s a case where they haven’t complied, the next step is to take it to court and it’s out of our hands,” Viveiros explained.

The code enforcement officer is also charged with finding the owners of abandoned buildings and issuing an “order to correct” the property. The code enforcement officer is responsible for ensuring that as long as the abandoned structure is still standing, it does not pose a hazard to the surrounding area, Viveiros said.

Viveiros says he is responsible for making sure the structure is not a fire hazard, that it is not being overrun with vermin, and that it is properly boarded up so that children aren’t able to get in.

The decision to demolish a dilapidated building lies with the town's building inspector.

Share your thoughts with CEDA at the October 18 hearing, scheduled for 5 p.m. in the Town Hall auditorium, 54 Marion Road.