Ad Hoc Charter Review Committee Update

To the editor,

Every 10 years, the Town of Scarborough is tasked with reviewing and updating its Charter. While only 18 pages long, the Town Charter is an incredibly important document. It lays the foundation for how we as a community elect our leaders, administer the business of the town and much more. Topics range from councilor salary to steps on completing a recall initiative.

The council appointed nine members from the community to fulfill this duty and the inaugural meeting of the Ad-Hoc Charter Committee was held in January. Since then, subcommittees have been formed and assigned various sections of the document for a more detailed review before the entire committee votes to accept and recommend changes to the council.

There are a number of opportunities for public comment along the way. The committee meets every second and fourth Thursday evening via Zoom at 6:30 p.m. Links to join are accessible from the calendar on the homepage of the town website. Additionally, after the committee makes recommendations to the council, there will be two public hearings on the recommendations. Ultimately, any proposed changes will end up in front of the voters for approval at the ballot box.

We’re encouraging you to provide us your thoughts and ideas during this process to help us better understand the wishes of the community as it relates to the Charter. The town website contains information on the committee, our scheduled meetings and agendas, as well as an online form to submit your ideas to us. Videos of our meetings can be found on the ‘Scarborough Maine Public Meetings’ YouTube channel. We hope to hear from you during this process!

Nick McGee
Chair, Scarborough Ad-Hoc Charter Review Committee