LEWISTON — Creating a sort of constitution for Androscoggin County is taking longer than planned.

Though a first draft of a proposed county charter is nearly complete, members of the county charter commission say a late start, several sticking points and the need for widespread public comment will likely back up the project until next June.

Initially, the group hoped to work fast enough to have a proposal to voters in this November’s election.

“I wouldn’t say it’s impossible,” said Chip Morrison, the group’s secretary. “But if it takes a little longer so everyone gets a chance for input, so what?”

The issues faced by the group — including how many commissioners ought to be elected to run the county, who they will represent and what their duties ought to be — are too important to be rushed to voters, said Morrison, who lives in Auburn.

A charter has been in the works for almost a year, since the three-member Androscoggin County Commission voted to create the group. Six members were elected last November from a pool of 14 candidates. Following state rules, the county commissioners named one of their own members, Chairman Randall Greenwood, to the group and appointed two more people from the public.

By the time all of the seats were filled and the state completed its paperwork on all nine, it was already March. The group divided up sections of the charter for each member to tackle and went to work.

“If we had had the draft a month ago, we probably would have had a chance to do it,” said Richard Grandmaison of Lewiston, the charter commission’s vice chairman.

One complication has been how many county commissioners there ought to be. The state demands three, five or seven. And though members of the group are leaning towards seven, they have not yet achieved consensus. 

Once that number is settled, the group must decide where to draw the districts that would elect them.

That gets especially political, Grandmaison said. District lines need to prevent the cities from overwhelming the small towns without penalizing the cities and their larger populations.

“We are at a crossroads,” said Grandmaison. His group is scheduled to brief the County Commission on its progress at a July 20 meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m.

Other issues being examined by the charter are likely to include hiring a professional administrator for the county and rules for a recall of elected leaders.

The issues could inspire passionate debate among county voters, who must approve any new charter before it can take effect.

Plans call for a series of meetings across the county to discuss the charter. The group also plans to hire an attorney to examine the charter draft and make revisions if needed.

Greenwood, who lives in Wales, said he expects the the process will reach into 2012.

“Unless some miracle happens, it won’t be on the ballot this year,” he said.

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