By Scott Taylor,Staff Writer

AUBURN – A new charter could do more to limit city borrowing and keep city jobs in Auburn.

That sums up most of the comments Thursday night about the Charter Commission’s eight-month review and rewrite of the city’s founding document. Seven people came to Auburn Hall to review the charter, and only four of them spoke.

Now commissioners will decide if they need to make more changes before submitting it to voters. The final meeting is scheduled for Aug. 29 in Auburn Hall. Voters will get their say on the document at the polls on Nov. 8.

The new charter would require a public vote before the city can borrow more than 10 percent of the current budget for new buildings and land purchases – about $6.1 million this year. It also moves the city’s general election from even-numbered to odd-numbered years and requires city councilors to work with the school committee on financial audits, capital projects budgeting and adopting a new purchasing policy.

Dan Herrick of 470 Hatch Road wanted bigger limits on city borrowing. The 10 percent voter veto threshold for city borrowing is to high, he said.

“I think that’s pretty high shelf number,” Herrick said. “It doesn’t give the public the say-so they really want.”

Herrick suggested a 6 percent borrowing trigger. Anything above that level would be put to a vote.

State Rep. Tom Shields, of 375 Maple Hill Road, favored giving the City Council more say over the School Department budget in the charter.

The new charter also requires both the city manager and school superintendent to live within the city limits. It allows councilors and school committee members to waive that requirement, however. Both Shields and Herrick didn’t want that requirement to be waived.

Nobody had as much to say as James Williams of 58 Olive St.

Williams called the charter trash and said commissioners were trying to turn Auburn’s citizens into slaves.

He pointed to a new article of the charter that directs the courts to interpret the charter “…liberally in favor of the city.” It also tells courts that the city’s authority shouldn’t be limited because some specific municipal powers are not mentioned in the charter.

“That negates everything else in the charter,” Williams said. Citizens can never challenge the city, he said.

Commissioner Richard Trafton said Williams had misunderstood that part of the charter. It’s designed to preserve the city’s rights against other branches of government.

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