Two years after they were implemented, residents of Standish will have a chance next month to talk about eliminating term limits for municipal positions.

The Standish Town Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to schedule a public hearing on the matter for its next regular meeting, Sept. 13.

The order was brought forward by new Councilor Greg Sirpis, who was elected in June. Sirpis said Tuesday term limits “have not best served the town. My concern is we have lost and will continue to lose an incredible amount of talent because we’re forcing people who were willing to stay out (of town office).”

In the June election, there were a dozen vacant municipal seats and only one – Sirpis’ council seat – was opposed. Candidates for the remaining 11 positions ran unopposed, and in some cases, there were no candidates.

“I never would have brought it forward if we had people willing to serve (on municipal boards),” he said.

Todd Delaney, a Standish resident and School Administrative District 6 board member, said Tuesday he is in favor of eliminating term limits for the school board.

Delaney said given the board’s control over the budget – the $44 million school budget accounts for roughly three-fourths of the town’s annual tax dollars – it’s important to have experienced people crunching the numbers.

“If you find people willing to do it, I think you should keep them there,” Delaney said.

Term limits were introduced for Town Council, school board and budget committee members in November 2014. The charter amendment was approved by residents following a citizen-initiated petition that received more than 1,200 signatures.

Councilor Isabelle Higgins also said she supported bringing the order for a public hearing, but pointed out that the public supported implementing term limits in November 2014.

Residents wanted “new blood and different faces,” she said of the initiative.

At the Sept. 13 meeting, the council will also hold a public hearing on a change to the town’s form-based code, implemented in June 2011, that governs the Sebago Lake Village and Standish Corner District. The change would allow buildings that existed prior to the form-based code to use the first floor of buildings for residential uses. Buildings in the two village areas are required to have commercial uses on their first floor. The code would continue to require new construction to be mixed-use.

The Standish Town Office