AUBURN – An Ethics Committee review of City Council politics could wait another few weeks, despite getting a new member Monday night.

Councilors appointed Dennis Mailhot to a three-year term on the panel but turned back a proposal that would have allowed member Paul Martz to keep his position.

City ordinances ban Ethics Committee members from serving on other council-appointed boards. Martz also serves on the city’s Community Development Loan Committee.

City Clerk Mary Lou Magno said Martz’s conflict was discovered last month.

“You have to remember, the Ethics Committee had never met, so we didn’t have an opportunity to find this problem,” Magno said.

Councilors were scheduled to vote Monday on an amendment that would have allowed Martz to serve on both committees, but no councilor was willing to second it for a vote. The amendment failed without a vote.

That could delay a review of Councilor Kelly Matzen’s March vote in support of a Great Falls Plaza parking garage.

Councilors Bob Mennealy and Belinda Gerry argued that Matzen, a local attorney, has a business relationship with Great Falls Plaza developers and should not have voted on a bond issue for the parking garage. They asked the Ethics Committee to review his vote.

The three-member panel met last month but Earl Austin stepped down right away, saying he was a friend of Matzen and had a conflict of interest. Martz and panel chairman Peter Garcia then asked the city to appoint an alternate member. The council chose Mailhot Monday night.

Magno said she has a list of Auburn residents willing to take the job, and will present them to councilors later this month if Martz decides to step down.
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