Select Board or Town Council? Kennebunk Charter Commission wants to hear from you

KENNEBUNK, Maine — Residents have until Monday, May 6, to answer an online survey and let the local Charter Commission know which form of town government they would like to have in Kennebunk.

Take leadership, for starters. Should things stay the same in town, with an elected Select Board and with voters having the final word when it comes to the proposed municipal budget, borrowing money for large expenditures, and changes to the zoning ordinance? Or should the elected Select Board be the approving authority for budgets and borrowing, with voters having the final say for proposed zoning ordinance changes?

Or how about the other way around, with an elected town council approving zoning changes and voters maintaining the final words on budgets and borrowing?

Or, lastly, should the town truly shake things up and establish a town council that would be entirely responsible for the final approvals of budgets, borrowing, and zoning changes?

“Is there a hue-and-cry for the changing of the government for the townspeople? Or are people happy with what we have? That’s what we’d like to hear,” Richard Smith, the vice chair of the Charter Commission, said.

The survey asks residents if the current form of government – of an elected Select Board and a town meeting at which budgets, borrowing and zoning changes are approved – is “adequate in addressing the needs of Kennebunk now and into the future?”

In the survey, the commission also asks residents which issue – the budget, borrowing, or zoning changes – is most important to them and should be kept in voters’ hands and not delegated to an elected body. Survey-takers can select one issue or multiple ones, and can even answer “none.”

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For nearly a year and a half now, commission members have been meeting regularly to fulfill their charge of creating a rewritten, fully functional charter for the public. Voters approved forming the commission and elected six members in November of 2022. The next month, the Select Board completed the commission by appointing three more members.

Once finished, the commission will present its recommendations to the Select Board, which, in turn, will discuss them and decide whether to advance the proposed new charter to voters in November.

“Basically, it’s the form of government that needs to be done,” Smith said. “We’ve got to be pretty well done by August. There may be a little wiggle room, but not much.”

Smith declined to share his thoughts on which direction he would like to see the town’s government take, adding that it is important that the commission “speak in one voice.” He also did not want to weigh in on the issue while the survey is still available for residents to take.

“I don’t want to cloud anyone else’s opinion,” he said.

To date, the commission has rewritten the town’s code of ethics and updated budgeting language to include such details as the responsibilities of the local finance director, according to Smith.

The commission has also created proposed procedures for the recall of elected officials and forfeitures of office.

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A recent recall is what largely prompted the town to want to re-examine its charter. A failed recall of an RSU 21 School Board candidate in the spring of 2022 revealed to local officials and others that the town’s outlined procedures for such measures lacked important details and clear guidance. Indeed, at least one matter – about whether a town could even recall an elected school district official – even ended up in York County Superior Court.

As a result of the 2022 matter, the Charter Commission is proposing a four-step process for recalls in the future, according to the town’s website. If approved by voters, a petitioner for a recall would need to file with the town a notice of intention with 500 signatures from qualified, registered voters. Residents and officials then would discuss the charges behind the proposed recall during a public forum. From there, the recall petitioners would need to gather 2,000 qualified signatures. Then, finally, voters would weigh in and settle the matter during a recall election.

The town officially adopted its charter in 1986, and last revised it in 2009.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Kennebunk Charter Commission asks town: Select Board or Town Council?