At the June 15, 2015 Selectmen's Meeting, one of the motions that I had put forth to the Selectmen was that they begin moving to create a Town Charter Development Committee toward the goal of creating a Lebanon Maine Town Charter. Town Charters give the people of town specific language under which their Town Government runs. I had read quite a bit on Town Charters and had spoken with several other towns who have Town Charters and they have served their towns well. I also have spoken with several people in our own Town Office who worry that there is no Town Charter to fall back on when questioning their own powers or job scope. I plan to present to you the need for a Town Charter for the Town of Lebanon.
For example, take the case of Thursday evenings meeting, June 11, 2015. HAD we had a Town Charter in place, it would have CLEARLY stated that all motions to be presented by the Board of Selectmen would have to be on the Selectmen's Agenda 5 (or 3) days prior to the vote on that motion so that the people of town had the chance to come and speak for, or against it. Freedom of Information laws clearly call for such transparency in government, but there are no official Town documents that call for the Selectmen to follow proper meeting protocol. In short, the meetings have no clear beginning or end, and no clear schedule. Instead of having a Town Charter establishing the rules clearly for all Town Officials and all Town Employees, we must wait and question the validity of all that they do and search volumes of State and Federal laws, as well as the rules of other governing organizations as set forth by our State Government (Such as the Maine Municipal Association).
Having a Town Charter would have prevented a LOT of different things in our town's recent past history. It would have prevented a single Selectman from having the power to use General Fund monies to fund other town departments without the signed approval of all three Selectmen and the Treasuer, for example, and it could be set up to prevent the separation of any one Town department to be removed from Selectmen's, Treasurer's and Voter's viewing, demanding accountability of all departments to the Selectmen, and therefore to the voters. In short, the establishment of the Town Charter can prevent a single person from becoming so popular that they have control of a lot of taxpayer dollars with no accountability for its spending.
Very interesting reading. I hope you'll all get excited and interested in being part of the Town of Lebanon's history as we move forward and grow.
For now, I'll present to you a document from the Maine Municipal Association, which establishes rules of law for Maine towns and cities. This document will give you a pretty comprehensive understanding on EXACTLY what a Town Charter can, and can not do for your town.
The State of Maine has several rules on who can participate in the creation of a Town Charter which
I want to be clear that our town HAS an Incorporation Charter. That is very different and not the same as a Town Charter.
If you'd like to know more about WHY a Town Charter, Read HERE:
https://www.memun.org/SchoolsProject/Resources/themes/charters.htm
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