HAMPDEN, Maine — In addition to state and local election ballots, voters will consider four proposed amendments to the town charter, including one that would reduce the number of town councilors needed to constitute a quorum from five to four.
In recent months, two council meetings have been scrapped for lack of a quorum, which in Hampden requires the attendance of a supermajority of five members.
A council meeting scheduled for June 2 was canceled after three of Hampden’s seven town councilors boycotted it, leaving the rest of the councilors without the necessary quorum for conducting business and forcing the meeting’s cancellation.
The cancellation of the June meeting came at a critical time. The agenda included the introduction of the proposed 2014-15 budget for a public hearing on June 16 — the council’s deadline to comply with a town charter provision requiring that the budget hearing take place no later than the third Monday in June.
To that end, a special meeting was held two days later, and all seven councilors attended.
The council’s July 7 meeting was canceled when the council found itself one member short of a quorum. Two members had notified Town Manager Susan Lessard the previous week that they would be on vacation and would not be on hand for the meeting. A third member was expected to attend but attempts to reach him before canceling the meeting were unsuccessful.
About 10 members of the public had turned up for the meeting, during which zoning amendments, contract awards and other local matters were to be addressed. A special meeting was set for the following week, and a quorum was achieved.
The proposal to reduce the quorum requirement from five to four members arose during the recent review of the town charter by the council’s Finance and Administration Committee, where it generated debate.
If adopted, the new quorum threshold would not affect the number of votes needed for a council action. For both a meeting with four members present and a meeting with five members present, the majority vote required would be three votes, according to a summary found on the town’s website.
The other proposed charter amendments would:
— Correct inconsistencies in the charter’s provisions for dealing with referenda and initiatives and require the printed names and street addresses of people signing petitions, which would enable the town clerk to verify the signers’ status as a registered voter in Hampden;
— Add sexual orientation to the list of things the town cannot discriminate against, which would bring the charter into alignment with the Maine Human Rights Act;
— Authorize the Town Council to correct typographical errors and misspellings within the text of the charter.
The polls in Hampden will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 4. Residents of all four voting districts will cast their ballots in the community room at the Hampden Municipal Building.