Four Mechanic Falls town councilors up for public recall vote

Members of the Mechanic Falls town council listen to residents at a public forum last month. From left are town attorney John Conway, Coucilors Wayne Hackett, Cathy Fifield, John (Joe) Emery, Nicholas Konstantoulakis and Kieth Bennett. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal file photo

MECHANIC FALLS — Four town councilors will face a recall election, tentatively set for Tuesday, Sept. 24, Interim Town Clerk Julie Ward said Thursday.

Four resolutions:

Role of the Town Manager: The town manager shall be responsible to the council for administration of all town affairs placed in the town manager’s charge; the manager shall direct and supervise the administration of all departments, offices and agencies of the town; neither the council nor any of its members shall direct or request the appointment or removal of any person directly or indirectly subordinate to the town manager; the town manager shall see that all laws, provisions of the municipal charter and acts of the council are faithfully executed; attempts by individuals or a group of members to violate any express prohibitions of the charter shall be recognized as malfeasance; and members found to have committed malfeasance would be subject to removal from office.

Qualification of Council Members: Councilors shall be qualified voters of the town and shall live in Mechanic Falls during their term of office; each term shall be for three years; no councilor shall serve more than three consecutive terms; no councilor shall hold other town office or full-time town employment during the term; no councilor shall have violated any express prohibition of the town charter; no councilor shall have been convicted of a felony; no councilor shall fail to attend three consecutive regular meetings of the Council without being excused; all councilors shall complete a course of training relating to public records and proceedings; all councilors shall complete National Incident Management Systems training; and all councilors shall complete elected officials training sponsored by the Maine Municipal Association.

Conflict of Interest & Notice of Personal Gain: It would be a violation of the public trust for municipal officials to receive any direct or indirect pecuniary (financial) interest due to their status as a town official; in the absence of actual fraud, a public official involved in a negotiation or award of contract is deemed to have financial interest if that official is an officer, director, partner or holds other positions with a private corporation, business or other economic entity with which the town does business; when an official has a financial interest, the vote on the question or contract is not voidable if the official makes full disclosure of interest before any action is taken, and the official’s disclosure and notice of abstention shall be recorded with the town; nepotism is recognized as the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, especially in regard to employment or awarding contracts; and council members and appointed public officials will abstain from any vote or use of influence for their own personal gain or that of their friends or relatives.

Transparency in Action: All meetings of three or more council members will be advertised no less than five days prior to a meeting; all meetings of three or more council members will be recorded, broadcast and posted for public viewing; all written and recorded communications between council members will be made available to the public upon request under the Freedom of Access Act; the council shall not use electronic communications such as fax, email, texting, etc., for municipal business; individual councilors shall share with all council members any written correspondence that is town-related; attempts by any individual or group of members to violate the express prohibitions of the charter or FOAA would be recognized as malfeasance; and members found to have committed malfeasance would be subject to removal from office.

They are Chairwoman Cathy Fifield, Vice Chairman Wayne Hackett, Nick Konstantoulakis and John Emery.

All four voted to relieve Town Manager Zakk Maher of his job on June 17. A fifth councilor, Kieth Bennett, voted against Maher’s dismissal.

In response to the council’s action, residents Mark Elliott, Aaron Ouellette, Randal Madore, Thomas Webster and William Dyer initiated a petition drive to recall the elected officials.

“For three months the people of Mechanic Falls spoke and their words fell on deaf ears,” Elliott said Thursday. “If all goes as planned, on Sept. 24 their voices will be heard. I do hope this recall serves as a reminder to our elected officials, at all levels of government and for many years to come, that they work for the people.”

The petition drive was not only motivated by the town’s refusal to offer more details behind Maher’s ouster, but many residents felt the council may have violated state law and similar rules laid out in the town charter for firing a town manager.

Signature collection began July 25 and Elliott, who organized the recall, submitted the petitions Aug. 19.

According to Ward, the petitioners had more than the required 192 signatures for each of the councilors marked for recall.

The council is scheduled to meet Tuesday and will have to confirm the Sept. 24 date for the recall election, as well as approve the ballot and appoint election clerks.

The recall vote has to occur within 30 days from the date the petitions were accepted.

At least 384 registered voters have to cast a vote in the recall election, according to the town charter. The charter states the total number of votes has to at least equal 30% of the total number of votes cast in the 2018 gubernatorial election.

Any councilor who loses in a recall election steps down immediately. That same councilor is not prohibited from running for the same office again, however.

Maher was out of office for nearly a month and half before the council rescinded the suspension at its Aug. 5 meeting. Maher went back to work Aug. 6.

Approving the Sept. 24 date is one of 26 items on Tuesday night’s council agenda. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in the Municipal Building.

Other agenda items include consideration of an investigation of the town’s Code Enforcement Office.

In an email sent to Joan Walton at the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments, Maher wrote, “The Council has received formal and detailed complaints regarding the codes office. Our attorney has advised to utilize a provision in the charter to have the council make a formal investigation into allegations/decisions that have been made and allow the office to respond to an independent 3rd party that is knowledgeable of Land Use as well as state building codes.”

Bids from two real estate agents on selling the former medical building on 22 Pleasant St. will also be discussed. The building was purchased by the town two years ago with hopes of converting it to municipal office space. However, a follow-up engineer’s study revealed the property is too small to replace the town office building on Lewiston Street. The council decided to put the building on the market earlier this year.

Also on Tuesday, proposed resolutions dealing with conflicts of interest, transparency in action, council qualifications and the role of the town manager will get first readings.

An executive session dealing with a personnel matter is also on the agenda.

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