LEWISTON — The City Council broadened its authority to appoint residents to board and committees after Mayor Carl Sheline received criticism for not making appointments in a timely manner.

The rule change means councilors can make appointments to all boards and committees if the mayor fails to within 60 days.

According to the city’s website, there are 11 vacancies.

During last week’s City Council meeting, Council President Scott Harriman said he asked for the item to be placed on an agenda because of continuing vacancies on several city boards and committees.

There are particular appointments defined in the City Charter that allow the council to fill in the event the mayor fails to do so, such as Planning Board seats, but there are several board and committee seats outlined in city ordinances that have not been included.

Harriman said lately, that has led to “vacancies for weeks even though we’ve had applications for them.”

“The city has applications and the mayor is not appointing people,” he said last week. “I wanted to give the council the ability to fill those if the mayor fails to act.”

During the meeting, Sheline said there have been “extenuating circumstances” and some miscommunication between himself and the City Clerk that he takes “whole responsibility” for. He also said he supported the council rule change.

The council unanimously supported the change.

Late last week, the city issued a news release regarding open seats, stating there are openings on the Board of Assessment Review, the Lewiston-Auburn Railroad Company board, and the Lewiston Senior Advisory Council.

The city’s Facebook post on Friday regarding the board and committee appointments received at least 50 comments, mostly related to criticism for the city’s process.

Robert Reed, a former councilor and mayoral candidate, said he’s “applied more than once” to the Board of Assessment Review but argued he’s “not on the correct political party.”

“The same openings have volunteers ignored for months by the mayor,” he said.

Prior to the council vote last week, Ronnie Paradis, who has served on the Public Health Committee, said she recently applied for the Lewiston Senior Advisory Board, but never received a response.

“I had to find out from someone else who was appointed to that,” she said

Councilor Josh Nagine said for the sake of transparency, the appointments should be read into the record during council meetings.

City Clerk Kathy Montejo said the city typically holds onto applications so if an applicant isn’t chosen for a particular board, they may be offered a position on another committee.

Sheline responded further this week, stating, “We’ve just come through a series of tragic and unique events and I look forward to wrapping up all of the appointments very soon. My goal is to always fill appointments as quickly as possible and I appreciate the public’s patience.”

Asked to respond to the criticism that his appointments are political, Sheline said, “I’m appointing people who I think will do the best job for the city.”

According to the city’s news release, Lewiston residents interested in applying may contact the City Clerk’s office to submit a committee volunteer application. Application forms are also available on the Boards and Committees page of the city’s website at www.lewistonmaine.gov.

Applications can be submitted at any time and will be accepted until the positions are filled. However, the requested filing deadline is 4 p.m. Thursday. Completed applications should be submitted to the City Clerk’s office for processing. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Copy the Story Link