Old Orchard Beach is talking term limits once again.

At a recent town council meeting, councilors discussed imposing limits on how long members of town committees and boards ”“ excluding the council ”“ could serve as chairman or vice chairman.

However, the proposed ordinance change did not fare well with the council, and we agree that this change could become a burden rather than a benefit in the future.

The proposal would change the ordinance to require annual elections of officers, because currently, while the ordinance states that a chairman should be elected, it does not say at what point or how often that should take place. The limit on serving as chairman or vice chairman would be two consecutive years.

Councilors Bob Quinn and Sharri MacDonald said at their recent council meeting they were in favor of the annual elections, but not the term limits on officers. Both pointed out that term limits are not imposed on the council chairman and vice chairman.

In addition, towns and cities often have difficulty filling open seats on the many boards and committees now in existence.

A quick look at some local municipal websites shows members sought for budget committees, conservation commissions, ordinance review committees, planning board and zoning board of appeals.

These open seats are often filled, in time, but finding people to commit to monthly or twice monthly meetings, along with prep time for those meetings, can be a challenge. It can be even more challenging to get people to volunteer for chairman or vice chairman positions on those boards due to the additional time and responsibility of the title.

We think a policy to allow for annual elections may be a better way for the town to proceed. The town may tie its hands in creating an ordinance amendment requiring annual elections and limits on how long officers may serve.

A policy outlining that annual elections should take place at the first meeting in a new year should give the opportunity for new blood to take a leadership role as well as give chairpersons a chance to have some time off.

While getting wording on the books would ensure that these elections take place and limits would be observed, a policy would likely serve the same purpose, while allowing for some leeway in the event that no one new would like to serve as an officer or a board or committee is short the members necessary to hold such offices.

As Old Orchard Beach moves forward, we hope councilors will consider a policy that would be flexible in allowing a person to serve as chairperson or vice chairperson for longer than two years, while maintaining language for annual elections so that all those who are willing and able to serve the town may do so in a capacity that suits their needs and the needs of the committee or board on which they serve.

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Today’s editorial was written by City Editor Robyn Burnham on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.