RUMFORD — Selectmen on Tuesday unanimously approved amending language in the Town Charter pertaining to voting on initiated articles at town meeting.

The exact wording, however, which goes before voters on Nov. 2, was left for Town Manager Carlo Puiia and town attorney Thomas Carey to draft.

By a 4-0 vote, selectmen also scheduled a public hearing on the proposal for 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30, in Rumford Falls Auditorium.

Essentially, on initiated articles when selectmen and the Finance Committee disagree on recommended amounts, voters would be asked whether the town should approve funding for that organization.

If they voted yes, they’d go to the second part of the question, which would ask them to vote for one of the amounts recommended by either selectmen or the Finance Committee. A no vote would mean not to fund the organization, so the voter could move on to the next question.

Language for the change and wording to prevent an organization seeking funding from circumventing the vote by petition, should their request be defeated, will be drafted by Puiia and Carey and placed on the ballot.

If approved by voters on Nov. 2, it would go into effect immediately.

The charter change is prompted by the vote in June on funding Black Mountain ski resort. A total of 637 voters, or 37 percent, voted for the Finance Committee’s recommendation of $51,000; 420, or 25 percent, went with the selectmen’s recommendation and the resort’s request of $56,700; and 657, or 38 percent, voted to not raise any money.

During a nearly 90-minute workshop that preceded the meeting in the municipal building conference room, Puiia explained that the board’s task was to prevent 1 percent of the legislative body from deciding initiated articles. The consensus was that it should be 50 percent.

“We’re saying it’s got to be 50 percent to defeat it,” he said. “If ‘no’ wins, it doesn’t matter what’s down below.”

“The petition process and another article in the charter opened a loophole,” Puiia said. “This (proposal) will close that loophole.”

Board Chairman Brad Adley said he liked the proposal because it was straightforward and simple.

“This will be the finalization,” he said. “I think this will close the door. This is black and white.”

Former Finance Committee member Ron Theriault, who argued against removing the committee from the budget process as many Maine towns now do, said the new proposal would remedy the issue.

Puiia said that at the June town meeting, selectmen and the Finance Committee recommended different amounts on 13 of 24 articles.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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