March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Charter commission names three panels

PRESQUE ISLE — Three subcommittees were named Wednesday by the Presque Isle Charter Commission to study specific sections of the charter for possible revision.

Neale Adams is chairman of the nine-member panel. Adams, James Brown and Richard C. Scott were appointed by the council to the committee while Paula Kilby-Fowler, Harold “Bud” Wilson, Jean Harding, James Lyford, Dorothy Quass and Brett Varnum were elected by voters in June.

At the second meeting of the Charter Commission on Wednesday, members scheduled a public hearing for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, to receive comments, questions and direction from residents concerning the charter.

The commission meetings are held on first and third Wednesdays of each month in the council chambers and are open to the public.

The subcommittees were named to review specific areas of the charter which was divided into three sections.

The “A Committee” composed of Adams, Harding and Wilson, will examine articles that address the powers of the city and the City Council and nominations and elections of city officials.

Members of the “B Committee,” Fowler, Lyford and Scott, will work with Article 4, concerning administrative officers and appointments.

On the “C Committee” are Brown, Quass and Varnum who will review Articles 5 and 6 dealing with business and financial provisions and the miscellaneous category.

“We set a time line for us to bring something back to the full commission by the first week in December,” Adams said. Members agreed to hold subcommittee meetings after each scheduled commission meeting, he added.

According to Attorney Mark Joyce, in the office of Hugo Olore, the city solicitor, commissioners are to prepare a premliminary report within nine months after election. The document is to include the text of the charter or charter revision intended for submission to voters and any explanatory information commission members believe is necessary.

The printed report, including explanation of proposed changes, must be circulated throughout the city and presented to city officials within 12 months of member elections, Joyce said. The deadline may be extended to 24 months for specific reasons. The document must be accompanied by a written opinion by a attorney that the proposed changes do not violate the U.S. or Maine constitutions.

City officials will see that the proposed charter will be voted upon at a regular or special election held at least 35 days after the final report is filed.


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