ROCKLAND, Maine — Councilor Larry Pritchett was criticized by councilors Wednesday night, accused of overstepping his authority by hiring consultants.
Mayor Louise MacLellan-Ruf said there appears to be a pattern of Pritchett being involved in matters that should rest with the administration.
But by the end of the meeting, councilors said they would like to move on from the issue with the understanding that councilors need to know their role.
MacLellan-Ruf sought Wednesday night’s council meeting to consider whether there should be an ethics probe of Pritchett for his committing the city to expenses by hiring two consultants to work with the planning board as it develops power plant regulations.
The mayor raised another example of Pritchett arranging for consultants without knowledge of other councilors or the manager. In this case, the city was billed $11,000 by the town of Falmouth for Rockland’s share of expenses for consultants working with the Public Utilities Commission on rulemaking that would allow municipalities to own their own streetlights.
Assistant City Manager Audra Caler Bell said Manager James Chaousis told her that Pritchett instructed him not to tell the councilors about that work being done. Chaousis is on medical leave and not available for comment.
“I have no recollection of that,” Pritchett said Wednesday night.
Councilor Valli Geiger said the work being done on the PUC rulemaking appeared to be a rogue endeavor with no information on how much money Rockland would be paying.
“As an individual city councilor we have little power,” Geiger said. “We have absolutely no role in hiring a contractor or making promises to a contractor.”
The same is true for chairman of advisory committees, Geiger said. Pritchett also serves as chairman of the energy advisory committee.
Geiger said Pritchett overstepped his authority as a councilor and chairman of a committee.
MacLellan-Ruf said she had no problem with Pritchett helping to develop recommendations for consultants to help the planning board but that she had a concerns that contractors were working with no contracts.
The City Council approved a six-month power plant moratorium in January and authorized the energy advisory committee to provide advice and assistance to the planning board as it worked to develop an ordinance to regulate power plants. In January, the council also authorized the city manager to spend up to $20,000 to cover the costs of professional services for the development of power plant regulations.
Engineering consultants SMRT and Woodard and Curran worked with the planning board. Caler Bell said there is no contract with them, no invoices were sent to the city, and no payments have been made.
“I have no doubt you did it for the benefit of the city but there needs to be a clear line,” Geiger said.
Pritchett said Wednesday night that the issue raised by the mayor did not violate the city’s code of ethics. After Monday night’s meeting, he had questioned whether MacLellan-Ruf was raising the issue for political reasons.