LEWISTON — The City Council will have new leadership for the coming year after Councilor David Chittim was named council president.

Chittim replaces Councilor Scott Harriman as president, with the council voting 5-2 in favor of putting “new blood” in the leadership role.

According to the City Charter, the council president shall act as mayor during a temporary absence of the mayor, but does not have any broader authority by charter. The president, however, does help coordinate policy objectives of the council.

Several councilors said they appreciated Harriman’s work and dedication as a councilor but felt the council needed a change as it enters a new year with major issues to address.

Harriman, the only returning councilor from the previous council, came under some scrutiny early in the term over his relationship with Mayor Carl Sheline, the fallout from staff departures including Heather Hunter, and an online admission that he had previously urinated in city parking garages.

Those who favored Chittim for the role said he’s a “stickler” for the rules and is attentive to detail. Some members of the public said they hoped Chittim’s track record so far would ensure the council is operating more transparently than in the past.

Councilor Josh Nagine thanked Harriman for the time he’s dedicated to the role, but said he believed Chittim would be able to dedicate more time to forwarding specific policy proposals.

“In that capacity, since there’s a lot of change that we want to see in the community, I think having the ability to really focus singularly on the goals of moving some of the council policy forward would be helpful,” he said.

Several members of the public spoke in favor of Harriman being retained as president, noting his presence in the community and support for the arts and events.

He also received support from School Committee member Elizabeth Eames, who said Harriman, the council’s representative on the School Committee, received unfair criticism from his fellow councilor regarding a controversial process Monday to select a School Committee chair.

Earlier in the meeting, Tim Gallant said part of his support for Chittim was based on Harriman’s actions during the School Committee meeting. Gallant’s wife, Donna, serves on the School Committee.

In April, Gallant led an effort to remove Harriman as president, claiming Harriman had been “circumventing” the wishes of the council, or coordinating with only certain members of the council or Mayor Sheline. However, the vote failed.

Also approved by the council Tuesday were rules governing the upcoming year. Perhaps the most notable change is an expansion of the public comment period allowed during regular meetings.

The rules, put forward by Chittim, state that the council will conduct a general public comment period of no less than 18 minutes, and then provide a second public comment period at the end of the meeting if needed.

The previous rules capped public comment at 15 minutes, with no additional comment period later. Chittim said the new rules also add the option for the council to suspend the rules and extend the initial period longer than 18 minutes.

Sheline said his only concern for the change is “introducing more bureaucracy into public comment,” but Chittim argued that if the comment period needed to be extended, the council could quickly suspend the rules and vote to continue.

“Having a consistent manner in which we apply our public comment periods removes the appearance of favoritism or possibly the appearance of trying to shut down certain comments,” said Councilor Nagine.