SABATTUS – Selectmen blamed a poor process on the demise of the town’s short-lived Charter Committee, but a new committee will be formed, they say.
Originally organized by Selectman Stephen Wood, the process to reinstate a town charter committee was questioned by a resident. After some research the town realized that the actions taken to form the committee were not in conjunction with state or municipal code. To be considered legal, the proper nomination procedures have to be conducted, allowing residents the opportunity to run.
“We had no idea that this process existed to create this committee,” Wood said. “We’ll make it right.”
To coincide with legal procedure, nomination papers must be made public 85 days before an election and must not be released before that.
Proper procedure also states that a 45-day cutoff date prior to election must be enforced to ensure that all municipal officers have the time needed to hear and decide on any challenges to candidacies.
Election Day will be Tuesday, Nov. 8, making Aug. 16 the release date for nomination papers.
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