Ogunquit News
Concerns come up at Charter Commission hearing
By Melissa Wood
OGUNQUIT - A couple of new issues emerged for the Charter Review Commission to consider at the public hearing held on Wednesday,Jan. 31.
The commission is still in the beginning stages of review, and the hearing was its attempt to find out whether members of the public had any concerns about the town charter as it moves forward on a year-long task of review.
"Our intention was to take them all into consideration and input ideas people have," said Secretary Lesley Matthews.
It has already identified a laundry list of issues to look at as they go forward, calling out four as main issues to consider. These issues are who should be accountable for the charter being followed, whether the tax schedule should be divided up, whether committees should be elected or appointed and whether the charter should address the town's hiring process.
Although just half a dozen residents attended the meeting, they brought up some new issues for the commission to consider.
"I had anticipated a few more people showing up," said Chairman Herbert Hoffman, "but those who did show up made very cogent points."
Those new issues included what the charter - and Charter Review Commission - may or may not be responsible for, whether the number of selectmen should be increased from five to seven, whether there should be more stringent requirements for recall, what the town should do if a budget item fails and whether the Charter Review Commission is even necessary as the town charter may be amended at any time.
Hoffman said the commission received some feedback on the issue of responsibility, which some felt was not appropriate for the Charter Review Commission to address and could create added areas of bureaucracy.
"I don't think the commission members fully agreed with that," said Hoffman, who said they will continue to explore the issue.
Kevin O'Neill, who has long been involved in town politics, serving as an overseer in the years before Ogunquit became a town in 1980 and as a past member of charter review commissions, said some of the current commission's concerns were too specific for the charter.
He said issues such as the town's hiring process fall on a lower level than the charter and instead should be addressed in municipal codes or operating procedures of departments.
"The charter of a town is only one of the documents a town has to operate," he said.
O'Neill also addressed the issues of whether the recall requirements should be more stringent. Currently, a recall requires signatures from 10 percent of voters in the last election - whether there are grounds for the recall or not.
"We've had some frivolous recall attempts in the past," said O'Neill, and he suggested that the charter should include factually supported actions that would be grounds for a recall.
He also suggested that the system for what happens to a department's budget if a funding request fails should be changed. Right now, a department's budget is automatically reverted to the prior year's level, which could result in a greater expense if the previous year's budget was higher than the one that failed. He recommended that a formula be developed to prevent that from happening.
"If people vote down an article, it shouldn't revert to a number equal or greater than the one voted down," he said.
The commission will meet on the first and third Wednesday of each month as it continues the process of review. All meetings are televised and open to the public. Residents may send comments or questions by email to charter@townofogunquit.org.
Hoffman noted that Charter Review Commission is also looking for a new member after Dale Dickson resigned because he took a position out of state. Applications can be obtained at the town office.
