I. Council Action Requested.
Title
To receive public comment on the following proposed referendum questions for a Special Town Meeting to be called and held on November 3, 2026.
QUESTION 1:
Shall the Town approve charter amendment summarized below, to be effective January 1, 2027?
To amend Article V (Budget) and Article VIII (The Town Meeting) of the Town Charter to:
• Change the method of Town Meeting’s voting on the annual budget from an open town meeting to a secret ballot referendum;
• Provide for a special open Town Meeting to be held to consider portions of the annual budget rejected at the secret ballot referendum;
• Authorize the Town Council to choose how to present the budget to voters for approval; and
• Adjust the timeline for the Town Manager to prepare and submit the proposed annual budget to the Town Council for review, to accommodate use of the secret ballot referendum process.
QUESTION 2.
Shall the Town approve charter amendment reprinted below, to be effective immediately upon adoption?
Article VIII of the Town Charter, entitled, “The Town Meeting,” Section 2 entitled, “When action by Town Meeting required” is hereby amended as follows (additions are underlined, deletions are struck through):
Section 2. When action by Town Meeting required.
The annual budget, as provided in Article V and in accordance with Section 5 of this Article; any appropriation of 500,000 or more in addition to or supplementary to the annual budget appropriation; the issuance of bonds or notes, except notes in anticipation of taxes to be paid within the fiscal year in which issued; shall become effective only after adoption at a Town Meeting by a majority vote of those present and voting. The Town Meeting shall not increase the amount of any appropriation recommended by the Council and shall not increase the amount of any bond issue above the amount recommended by the Council.
QUESTION 3:
To see if the Town will vote to, 1.) authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds and/or notes in anticipation thereof in the aggregate principal amount of up to $19,500,000 to finance the costs of rehabilitating the Windham Middle School for use as a community center, including the costs of design, engineering, professional services, site preparation, construction, renovation, operating costs, and other improvements and furnishings as may be required in connection with the project, with the dates, maturities, denominations, interest rate(s), payments, premiums, calls for redemption, with or without premium, form, and other details of such borrowing to be determined by the Town Council; 2.) appropriate the proceeds of said bonds or bond anticipation notes for the foregoing project, plus an amount necessary to refund the interest payments on any bond anticipation notes issued for said purpose and any costs of issuance of the bonds and/or bond anticipation notes; 3.) authorize the Town Council to approve the execution of one or more agreements as may be necessary in connection with the foregoing project and borrowing for said project on terms and conditions as the Town Council deems reasonable and necessary; and 4.) appropriate up to $2,000,000 of the Town’s fund balance as the Town Council deems reasonable and necessary to reduce the borrowing amount and directly pay for costs of the project, operating costs of the project, and/or pay for debt service in connection with the project, subject to all applicable regulations related to the use of said funds and the proceeds of the bonds and/or notes issued.
Body
II. Basis for Council Action.
Council approval of this item is required because;
a. The provisions of 30-A M.R.S.A. § 2528(5) require that ‘[i]f a particular article to be voted on by secret ballot requests an appropriation of money by the municipality, the article, when printed on the warrant and on the ballot, must be accompanied by a recommendation of the municipal officers,” and
b. Pursuant to Article II, Section 1 of the Charter, “[t]he Town Council, hereinafter called the ‘Council’, shall be and constitute the municipal officers of the Town.”
III. Issue Summary.
Please see the attached cover sheet from May 26th, the original public hearing to see strikethrough and underline language.
The agenda software does not allow the this formatting to transfer to the posted agenda.