NORWICH—As the City of Norwich prepares to host its 2017 tentative budget hearing in less than two weeks, one line item omitted from the 2016 fiscal portfolio will again not be found in next year's outlay.

The position of Community Development Specialist will continue to be unfilled for the City, leaving no dedicated personnel on city payroll responsible for grant writing, economic development, or administration of new grants.

The position was formerly held by longtime city employee Todd Dreyer, who retired in September of 2016, and according to City of Norwich Mayor Christine Carnrike, “[Dreyer’s] retirement was planned for during the 2016 budget preparation process, the 2016 budget did not fund the position past [Dreyer's] retirement date, and there are no plans at this time to refill the position.”

In an effort to fill that void, Carnrike indicated that just as the former community development specialist position fell under the guise of the city's finance department, many of the open items will likely be picked up by both finance department and mayor’s office moving forward.

But while Dreyer himself said that he agrees with Carnrike's belt-tightening strategy, he also admitted that the job was a lot of work that required much focus, attention to detail, and perseverance.