Charter Amendments- A Taxpayer's Perspective

We are re-Posting this important information to make all voters more aware.

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These proposed changes are too important to be ignored.

Proposed Town Charter Changes

Blue text - Proposed Charter Changes
Red text - A Taxpayer’s Perspective

Roger Therriault, our Town Attorney, proposes to Amend the Town Charter by deleting the bolded text and adding the italicized blue text as follows:

QUESTION #1:

Article II. Town Council

Sec. 2.06. Proceedings of the Council.

(a) Meetings.
Add to the end of the Subsection the following: “The Chair, and the Vice Chair when acting as Chair, shall exercise full privileges of Council membership including participation in deliberations on all issues before Council and the right to vote on all issues.”

(b) Rules.
Add to the end of the Subsection the following: “The term limits for each office shall be administered separately and a term as Vice Chair, shall not preclude the Vice chair from being elected the Chair.”

EXPLANATION: To clarify that the Chair and Vice Chair, when acting as Chair, are full voting members of the Council on all issues and to clarify that term limits are administered separately for the Chair and Vice Chair.

Part (a) of this question appears to fall within the norm of practice and to serve only to clarify. Part (b) of this question appears to be contradictory in nature to the following excerpt from our current municipal code:

Sec. 2.04. Chair.
(b) Term Limit. No member of the Town Council shall be eligible for election as Chair or Vice-Chair for more than two consecutive one-year terms. For purposes of this section, election to an unexpired term of less than six (6) months shall not be considered a term.

QUESTION #2:

Article II. Town Council

Sec. 2.08. Ordinances.

Procedure. An ordinance may be introduced by any Councilor at any regular or special meeting of the Council and may not be enacted except after public hearing thereon. All Ordinances shall be submitted in writing….

EXPLANATION: To require that all Ordinances be submitted in writing.

While the above explanation does suffice as to the text to be added, it does not mention why the bold text in the original wording is being stricken. The council wishes to do away with the necessity for public hearings on new ordinances. This is a glaring example of the way in which they wish to bypass the checks and balances written into our current town charter.

QUESTION #3:

Article II. Town Council

Sec. 2.11. Vacancies; Forfeiture of Office; Filling of Vacancies.

(b) Forfeiture of Office. A councilor shall may forfeit the office if the Councilor (1) lacks at any time during his or her term of office any qualifications for the office prescribed by this Charter or by law, (2) knowingly and willfully violates any express prohibition or other provision of this Charter, of the terms of their oath of office, the Town’s Ethics Policy, or any other Town provision relating to the conduct of a Councilor, including violation of confidentiality requirements (3) is convicted of any crime or offense which is reasonably related to his or her ability to serve as councilor, or (4) fails to attend three consecutive regular meetings of the Council without being excused by the Council, (5) malfeasance of office, (6) failure to carry out the duties of the office, or (7) misappropriation of funds.

In its review of a Council member, the Council shall have the authority to issue a public reprimand, to cause a reduction of elimination of salary, to suspend the member for a specific period of time, or to cause removal of a Council member which shall result in the seat being declared vacant. A Councilor charged with conduct constituting grounds for forfeiture of office shall be entitled to a public hearing on demand of that Councilor. Notice of such hearing shall be published in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the municipality at least one (1) week in advance of the hearing.

EXPLANATION: To clarify the circumstances where a Councilor may face forfeiture of office and Council’s authority to police its own membership.

This is about more than simple clarification. The removal of the bold text, particularly the word shall in part (b), allows the council to make its own decisions regarding consequences of violations of ethics policies or the charter and municipal code. This gives them too much ability to police themselves without oversight or serious consequences. Members of the present council are, in fact, currently violators of policies regarding conflicts of interest and they wish to change the law to allow them to go on and grant themselves amnesty rather than forfeiting their offices as the current law demands.

QUESTION #4:

Article II. Town Council

Sec. 2.11. Vacancies; Forfeiture of Office; Filling of Vacancies.
Amend by deleting the stricken text and adding the underlined text as follows:

(c) Filling of Vacancies. If a seat on the Town Council becomes vacant more than six (6) months prior to the next regular Town election, the vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term by a special election held within sixty (60) days from the date the vacancy occurred. The Town Council shall follow the time frames for the availability, and filing of nomination petitions and the date of the special election in Section 7.02 of this Charter except that shorter time frames may be prescribed by Council where it can be assured that the time frames for circulating nomination petitions and for the Town Clerk to prepare ballots is adequate. If a seat on the Town Council becomes vacant within six (6) months prior to the next regular Town election, the Council shall appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy. If the vacancy is a seat of a District Councilor, the person elected or appointed to fill the vacancy shall be a resident of the applicable Voting District. Should a Councilor who is elected from a particular District change his residence from that District to another District within the Town of Lisbon, that Councilor shall be allowed to serve out that portion of his term until the next election during which Councilors are elected. At that time, his seat shall be declared vacant for the remainder of that Councilor’s term and a new Councilor qualified from that District shall be elected to fulfill the remainder of the term. If by virtue of a change in District lines, a Councilor elected from a particular District, without having physically moved the Councilor’s residence, is nevertheless located in a District other than that from which he was elected, he shall be permitted to serve out the remainder of the term but shall not be eligible for reelection as a Councilor from the original District.

Article VII. Nomination and Elections

Sec. 7.02. Nomination by Petition.

Amend by deleting the stricken text and adding the underlined text as follows:

(a) Petitions. …No nomination petitions shall be issued by the Clerk more than thirty (30) forty (40) days prior to the earliest date upon which a completed petition could legally be accepted by the Clerk….

Article VIII. Initiative, Referendum, Recall and Special Town Meeting

Sec. 8.31. [Generally.]

Amend by deleting the stricken text and adding the underlined text as follows:

(d) Actions on Petitions. The Council shall, within 30 days following a final determination that the recall petition is sufficient, hold a municipal election for the purpose of submitting the question of recall to a vote of the qualified voters of the Town or, in the case of recall of a Council or Budget Advisory Board member elected from a district, the qualified voters of that district. Pending the outcome of the election, the elected official who is the subject of the recall petition shall continue to exercise all of the privileges of his or her office. An official shall be recalled when a majority of those voting thereon shall have voted in the affirmative so long as the total number of votes cast for and against recall is at least equal to 30% of the total number of qualified voters who cast votes for Governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. The Council shall within 30 days after the voters have recalled an official hold a special election to fill the vacancy. Where the voters have recalled an official, the Council shall fill the vacancy thus created in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.11 of this Charter.

EXPLANATION: To make consistent the provisions for filling Council vacancies and to provide for forty (40) days for the circulation of nomination petitions.

The removal of stricken text, in bold above, would empower the council to appoint a replacement for a recalled member instead of holding a special election within 30 days as is appropriate under current law. They would rather expand their powers to include appointing replacements for open seats for any reason within 6 months of a scheduled election. This would allow them to stack the vote, for up to six months, rather than follow the will or intent of the townspeople in replacing a council person who is duly recalled.

QUESTION #5:

Article V. Administrative Organization and Departments

Sec. 5.23. Personnel Rules.

Add a Paragraph at the end of this Section as follows:

Where there is a conflict between the Rules adopted by Council under this Provision, with Collective Bargaining Agreements, the provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreements shall govern.

EXPLANATION: To clarify that the provisions of Collective Bargaining Agreements shall supersede conflicting Council adopted rules.

Apparently this merely clarifies that employees who are covered by union negotiated contracts are protected from contradictory local rules.

QUESTION #6:

Article VI. Financial Provisions

Sec. 6.02 Submission of Budgets; Budget Messages.

On or before the third Tuesday first day of March each year, the Town Manager and the School Committee shall submit to the Town Council line item budgets for the ensuing fiscal year….

Sec. 6.04. Council Action on Budget.

(b) Budget Deliberations. The Town Council shall review the proposed budgets at budget sessions which may be informal but which shall be open to the public. The Council shall complete its review of the budgets no later than the last Tuesday in June June 1.

(d) Adoption. The final votes on the budgets shall be taken on or before the first day of June. If the Council fails to adopt a budget for either the Town or the School Department by the first day of June, the budget as presented by the Town Manager or the School Committee shall automatically become the budget for the fiscal year.

1. Town Budget. The final vote on the Town Budget shall be taken on or before the last Tuesday of June. If Council fails to adopt a Budget for the Town by the last Tuesday in June, the Budget as presented by the Town Manager shall become the Budget to be implemented on a month to month basis until such time as a final Budget is approved.

2. School Budget. Until such time as the Town of Lisbon becomes certified as a member of a Regional School Unit by the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Education, the Town Council shall act as the Board of the Regional School Unit, approving the Budget with or without amendment, and providing for Referendum vote on the Budget in accordance with the procedures and time frames provided in LD499 as amended.

EXPLANATION: To change the date of Budget submissions to Council from March 1st to the third Tuesday of March; to provide for completion of review and passage of the Town Budget by the last Tuesday in June and for the School Budget as required under Maine Statute.

Aside from changing the budget submission and approval dates, the addition of text (part 2) to Sec. 6.04. (d) seems to allow the town council to take the place of our current school board until our status as a member of a RSU is certified. This only serves to give the town council more power in a situation where we already have a functioning school board in place. This is not only unnecessary but appears to be self serving on the part of the town council.

QUESTION #7:

Article VI. Financial Provisions

Sec. 6.05. Amendments After Adoption.

(a) Supplemental Appropriations. If during the fiscal year, the Town Manager, in the case of the Town's budget, or the Superintendent of Schools, in the case of the School budget, certifies that there are available for appropriation revenues from state or federal sources or from private gifts or bequests, or from other sources, in excess of those estimated in the budget, the Town Council may make supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year up to the amount of the estimated excess. All supplemental appropriations shall be in the form of an Ordinance and approved in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.08 of this Charter.

EXPLANATION: To provide that all supplemental appropriations shall be approved as Town Ordinances.

In Question 2, the town council wishes to do away with public hearings on ordinances and here are apparently wishing to bypass both public scrutiny and the necessity of review by the budget advisory board on supplemental appropriations which currently exists. This grants the town council the ability to spend additional monies without proper oversight.

QUESTION #8:

Article VI. Financial Provisions

Sec. 6.08. Capital Program.

(c) Planning Board Review. The Planning Board shall review the proposed capital program each year to determine, where appropriate, that the capital expenditure is consistent with the provisions of the Town Comprehensive Plan and forward its recommendations to the Town Council no later than the first day of February.

EXPLANATION: To clarify the Planning Board’s role in reviewing the Town’s capital program.

In this question, it appears that the goal is to narrow the scope of the Planning Board review process on capital programs and expenditures. This could be a step toward lessening oversight and scrutiny on yet another aspect of your Town finances.

QUESTION #9:

Article IX. General Provisions

Sec. 9.03. Conflict of Interest.

If any elected or appointed officer, official, employee, or the spouse of any such person, has a substantial financial interest, direct or indirect, in any contract with the Town or in the purchase or sale of any land, material, supplies, or service to the Town or to a contractor supplying the Town, that person shall make known that interest and shall refrain from voting or otherwise participating in his or her capacity as an elected or appointed officer, official, or employee in making any such purchase or sale or in making such contract. Any such person who willfully conceals said financial interest or that of his or her spouse, or willfully violates the requirements of this section shall be guilty of malfeasance in office or position and shall forfeit the same. Any contract made in violation of this section shall be voidable by the Town. An elected or appointed officer, official, employee or spouse of any such person may participate in a commercial transaction with the Town only where that commercial transaction is governed by a competitive bid process.

EXPLANATION: To provide that Town officials and employees may only engage in commercial transactions with the Town under a competitive bid process.

This amendment seems unnecessary by virtue of the fact that a conflict of interest exists not so much in having financial dealings with the town but by failing to abstain from votes in which said interest is related. While it is fine to stipulate conditions under which an officer of the town government or their spouse may have financial dealings or employment with the town, it does not excuse the misconduct of voting on budget items which are related to said financial interests.

QUESTION #10:

Article I. Grant of Power to the Town

Add new Sec. 1.05, as follows:

Sec. 1.05. Separation of Powers.

The Town of Lisbon, pursuant to authority granted by the Home Rule Amendment to the Maine Constitution and statutory authority under the Maine Revised Statutes, exercises both legislative and administrative powers in carrying out its governmental functions. Legislative powers are vested solely and exclusively with the Town Council. This Legislative function pertains to the enactment of Ordinances, Regulations, Resolutions and Orders, and with the establishment of Policy, the purpose of which is to determine a course of conduct for Town government, and to formulate Rules of Conduct consistent therewith. Administrative powers are vested in the Town Manager and Town Staff. These executive functions vested in the Town Manager and his Staff exist for the purpose of carrying out administratively the Legislative Policies adopted, approved and set down by the Town Council. This Charter recognizes a firm line of division between these two governmental functions and herein expresses the principal that members of the Town Council shall not be involved in the exercise of the administrative powers of the Town, except to determine that the Legislative Enactments and Policies adopted by Council are being carried out by Town Administration.

EXPLANATION: To clarify the separate of legislative and administrative powers under the Town’s Council/Manager form of government.

They say, in the explanation above, that this is for the purpose of clarification. This "separation of powers" as proposed, only serves to absolve the town council of responsibility for the actions of the town manager. It also has a vague resemblance to the separation of powers in our state and federal constitutions. In those revered documents, separation of powers is used as part of our democratic system of checks and balances. There would be no checks and balances in this case because the Town Manager is not responsible for his conduct, in any direct way, to the people of the town of Lisbon. He is neither an elected official (representative democracy) nor is he a resident of the town. He was hired by, may only be fired by (except through a referendum), and is still only responsible to: THE TOWN COUNCIL. There could only be a check and balance or true separation of power if the town manager were elected, as is a mayor, governor, or president. He is still only responsible to the town council and therefore it is only just and fitting that the town council be responsible, to the citizens they represent, for the actions of the town manager.

QUESTION #11:

Article VI. Financial Provisions

Add a new Sec. 6.10 as follows:

Sec. 6.10. Borrowing in Anticipation of Taxes.
In anticipation of the collection of taxes, the Council may by Order authorize borrowing by the issuance of notes, which said notes may be renewed, but all such notes or renewals thereof, shall mature and be paid no later than the end of the fiscal year in which the borrowing occurred. In the absence of a contrary provision on an Order authorizing said notes, the Town Finance Director with the approval of the Chairman of the Town Council and the Town Manager, shall determine the date or dates, maturities, denominations, interest rate or rates, and other details of each issue of notes or renewals thereof and shall provide for the sale thereof.

EXPLANATION: To provide appropriate procedures for tax anticipation borrowing.

Insufficient explanation is given for a cause for this newly proposed method of borrowing but it appears to bypass the bond method which at least has to bear the scrutiny and approval of the public whereas there are no provisions for proper public oversight of this section as proposed.