STANDISH – Long-time Standish Town Councilor Phil Pomerleau has proposed a charter amendment that would impose term limits on a swath of elected town officials, including councilors, budget committee members and school board directors.

Next Tuesday night, Pomerleau’s proposal, as well as a citizen-initiated charter amendment proposal that would impose term limits only on town councilors, will go to public hearing. The council is scheduled to vote on whether to place the charter amendments on a Nov. 4 referendum ballot.

The citizen-initiated proposal would limit councilors to a maximum of two consecutive three-year terms. After serving either four successive years or two consecutive terms, councilors would have to wait three years in order to run again. The amendment does not propose a lifetime limit on council terms.

Pomerleau’s proposal would not apply to members of the Planning Board, who are also elected in Standish.

The timing of the proposed charter amendments is no coincidence, according to Pomerleau, who has said he does not support municipal term limits. Pomerleau said he crafted his own term-limits proposal in response to the citizen-initiated proposal, which was spearheaded by Dan Kasprzyk, a member of the School Administrative District 6 board of directors and a key figure in the Standish Watchdog Group, an advocacy organization that has repeatedly criticized town government activities this year. In Pomerleau’s view, the citizen-initiated term-limits proposal is nothing more than a disguised effort to oust him from office.

“Dan Kasprzyk does not like me,” Pomerleau said. “He wants me off the council. That’s what it comes down to.

“He can spin it any way he wants, but it’s between me and him, and he wants me out,” Pomerleau added. “It’s that simple.”

Pomerleau, who has served five terms on the council and does not plan to run next summer, said that if there are going to be term limits, they should apply to the other boards and committees that make budgetary decisions. Kasprzyk, Pomerleau said, happens to sit on one of those bodies.

“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” Pomerleau said. “Dan is on the school board. If its going to be term limits for the council, I cannot imagine why you wouldn’t want term limits for the school board, when they control 74 percent of your tax bill.”

Kasprzyk disputed Pomerleau’s characterization of the citizen-initiated proposal.

“I’m not trying to get rid of anybody,” Kasprzyk said. “Mr. Pomerleau is more than welcome to get on to any other committee during that small period he needs to sit out. What’s wrong with that?”

Kasprzyk said that the citizen term-limits proposal focused on the council, since it is the “authoritative” body in town.

“The Town Council is the group that we’re hoping will listen to us more, and that’s it,” he said.

When asked if he supported Pomerleau’s proposed charter amendment, Kasprzyk said, “I support my charter amendment. My charter amendment was thought out with a lot of time and effort and I got 1,154 signatures from people who said they would like to vote on this and make a choice. Mr. Pomerleau’s amendment does not address the Planning Board, which is one of the most powerful committees in the town.

“I am saddened that he is using his authority as a Town Council member to introduce a referendum question solely because he’s upset, because he doesn’t like the amendment that was brought forth by 1,154 residents of the town,” Kasprzyk added.

Pomerleau said he hopes both charter amendments will be rejected if they are put before voters on Nov. 4.

“I would hope that they both would fail drastically,” Pomerleau said. “I would hope that the council could move forward and do the things we were charged.”

Kasprzyk, Walter Wasson, William Napolitano, Gary Lind and former Councilor Lou Stack, who didn’t run for re-election in June after three terms on the council, filed an affidavit for a petition to amend the municipal charter on July 17. On Aug. 18, the group submitted a petition calling for term limits on councilors, clearing the needed threshold of 804 signatures.

According to Town Manager Gordon Billington, the proposed charter amendments do not conflict, and would be placed in different sections of the charter. If both were approved, or one was voted up and another down, there would be no confusion about the will of the voters, Billington said.

Their proposed charter amendment reads:

“No council member shall seek re-election to the Town Council for more than one additional consecutive term. No person who has served either four or more successive years, or has been elected to two successive terms on the council, shall be eligible for either appointment or election to the council within 36 months of his/her last serving as a member. The provisions of this amendment shall apply to all appointments or elections, whether for district or at large seats.”

The proposed Pomerleau charter amendment reads:

“No council member, school board member, or budget committee member shall seek reelection to their respective office for more than one additional consecutive term. No person who has served either four or more successive years or has been elected to two successive terms on the council school board and or budget committee shall be eligible for either appointment or election to their respective body within 36 months of his/her last serving as a member. The provisions of this amendment shall apply to current as well as future council members, school board members and budget committee members and shall apply to all appointments or elections whether for district or at large seats.”

A CLOSER LOOK

The Standish Town Council public hearing on two term-limit proposals will be held Tuesday, Sept. 23, starting at 7 p.m., in the Town Hall.