SHADOWS FROM THE PAST COME TO HAUNT
TOWN COUNCIL
Back on September 20, 2011,
the Town Council at that time voted 6-0 to place on the November 8, 2011 the
question of whether or not the people wanted to vote on
the Municipal Budget every year. The following is taken directly from the
minutes of this meeting:
Town Council Meeting Minutes
Page 10 September 20, 2011
Latest Revision as of
10/4/2011 9:32:58 AM
VOTE (2011-178) Councilor
Bowie, seconded by Councilor Bickford moved to adopt the following Order
Advisory Referendum:
WHEREAS, the Town Council of the Town of
Lisbon, pursuant to Section 8.21 (b) of the Charter of the Town of Lisbon, has
the general authority to submit proposals to the voters of the Town to be acted
upon on a referendum basis; and
WHEREAS, THERE IS A DESIRE ON THE PART OF
Council to determine whether or not the voters of the Town of Lisbon wish to
consider, at a subsequent referendum vote, a Charter change which would require
referendum vote approval by the voters of the Town’s Municipal Budget.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDERED
by the Town Council of the Town of Lisbon that an advisory referendum be
submitted to the voters of the Town of Lisbon at the municipal election
scheduled for Tuesday, November 8, 2011, the advisory referendum to read as
follows:
“Do the voters of the Town of Lisbon wish to
vote on an amendment to the Town Charter that, if enacted, would require voter
approval at a referendum election for each annual Municipal Budget?”
Order passed – Vote 6-0-1.
(Abstained: Cote)
As you can see this is not
just a normal conversation but it is written in legal terms in order to keep it
legal. It was written by the former Town
Attorney, Roger Therriault. The way I read the highlighted section
(in red), if the voters approved the Advisory Referendum Question, the Town
Council would then prepare a Charter Change which would require a referendum
vote approval by the voters on the Town’s Municipal Budget. The people spoke loud and clear with a vote
of 2025 to 514 in favor of voting on the Municipal Budget.
The previous Councils have
never honored or taken any action to allow the people to vote on the Municipal
Budget. What previous Councils have done
is everything in their power to prevent this from happening. This
current Council needs to take immediate action to correct the injustice done to
our citizens and put this on the June ballot.
Councilor Bickford answered a question from the
audience at the last Council meeting; stating the Advisory Referendum Question
was NOT binding. However, the minutes of the Town Council
meeting of September 20, 2011 say differently.
The previous Town Council made
it a legal and binding action by having the Town Attorney prepare the action
for the question to be placed in the minutes in such language makes it binding.
It is time; this Town Council
acknowledges the wishes of the people and honors the majority of voters in
accordance with the September 20, 2011 minutes.
The Charter needs to be
changed immediately and placed on the June ballot so the people have the right
to vote on the Municipal Budget.
Let’s see if the current Town Council
has the integrity to admit an injustice has been done to the people and take
action to correct it immediately.
Larry Fillmore
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