The Woolwich Select Board has parted ways with Bruce Engert, the town’s longtime code enforcement officer, plumbing and building inspector. Tom McKenzie of Sheepscot was appointed interim CEO by the select board when they met for a regular meeting Aug. 1.

“We decided we needed a change,” Selectman Jason Shaw said after being contacted by the newspaper earlier in the day. Shaw said the board voted 4-0 (Selectman Allan Greene was absent) to terminate Engert’s employment following a July 25 executive session with him. The meeting at the town office was for a yearly employee evaluation. Engert’s dismissal took effect immediately. He had served as the town’s CEO for a little over 14 years having been hired by the town on June 6, 2008.

“Honestly, it came as quite a shock to me,” said Engert, when contacted by the newspaper. They had just reappointed me for another one-year term two meetings ago (on July 5). No, I’m not at all happy about this, or how it was handled.”

Engert, a resident of Boothbay Harbor, also serves as CEO for the town of Pittston. “They gave me high marks on my evaluation there,” he said.  In 2012, Engert served as interim part-time CEO and plumbing inspector for the town of Wiscasset.

David King Sr., select board chairman, had little to say about Engert’s dismissal. “It’s a personnel issue,” he told the newspaper over the phone Aug. 1. King said McKenzie would serve as interim code enforcement officer until the position is filled. “He (McKensie) told us, he wasn’t interested in taking this on full time. He’s already serving as a code enforcement officer for two towns.”

McKenzie resides in Sheepscot; he serves as code enforcement officer, plumbing and building inspector for the towns of Alna and Somerville. In an email, Town Administrator Kim Dalton stated McKenzie has been Woolwich’s part-time code enforcement officer for the past year. “He does all the E911 addressing for the town,” she wrote. Woolwich’s town website has been updated listing McKenzie as CEO and how he can be contacted by telephone or email.

At the annual town meeting in April voters here approved a 2022-2023 annual salary for the code enforcement officer of up to $30,040; a $1,674 increase from the last year. An additional $6,000 was raised to hire a backup CEO.

Select board members Dale Chadbourne and Allison Helper were absent from Monday’s meeting; present were King, Shaw and Greene, they voted 3-0 to appoint McKenzie as interim CEO, plumbing and building inspector. Neither Engert, or McKenzie were present for the meeting which lasted about 30 minutes.

Woolwich will host is second Community Picnic from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 20. The event will be held on the lawn between the municipal building and the Woolwich Historical Society’s Farmhouse Museum. Select board members will be grilling hotdogs and burgers; there will be cold soft drinks, ice cream and cotton candy too. All for free.