EG’s new building inspector George Dumont.

East Greenwich has a new building inspector six months after John Hoyle, the former building inspector, left to work for the state.

George Dumont, who started last week, came most recently from the Cumberland public works department, where he served as a building inspector.

Filling the position should help with a backlog of inspections that accumulated in the past six months, said Building Official Wayne Pimental.

“Now that I’ve got George, things will be moving more quickly,” he said.

Pimental admitted he had fallen behind on enforcing the sign ordinance in addition to building inspections. “Those are the kinds of things that fell through the cracks,” he said.

“We’re moving things along pretty well now – getting caught up,” said Dumont on Monday.

Pimental said the town did not advertise the position until late April, although Hoyle left in January. He said part of that was because of the particularly bad winter. He said they received 21 applications, but only four or five of the applicants were qualified for the position.