By Cliff White 

Staff Writer

A petition circulating in Buxton calls for a change to the town’s charter to allow the hiring of a town manager. If the petition’s organizer collects 664 signatures of registered Buxton voters, the measure will need approval from the town’s board of selectmen before it is put on the ballot in June.

Former interim fire chief and current fireman Andy Townsend is organizing the petition drive, citing a desire to see the town under more experienced and highly trained management.

“The town has outgrown its present system,” Townsend said. “We need someone who has the knowledge, experience and authority to make everyday decisions the town faces, and to be able to do so in a timely manner.”

The petition would put a question on the ballot which would ask voters whether they supported established the position of town manager form of government under Maine statutes, with a salary range established at $60,000 to $80,000 and the position to be filled by Nov. 1.

The town’s five selectmen had a variety of opinions on the matter. All said they saw the eventual need for the town to hire a town manager, but said they worried about the added financial burden put on the taxpayers in an stormy financial climate.

Selectman Linda Pulsoni said she saw the eventual need for a town manager, but it the present state of the economy was not conducive to hiring one. She estimated would cost more than $100,000, including health benefits.

“I have mixed emotions about the hiring of a town manager,” Pulsoni said. “Yes, I do see where having somebody in the office full-time would be beneficial. However, right now $100,000 is too great of a sum. I have a concern for taxpayers, especially in days like these, when consolidation in the school district, rising gas prices and the budget shortfall in Augusta are all going to affect us as taxpayers.”

Selectman Bob Libby said he would prefer to have a referendum question on the ballot that would ask the town whether or not they supported creating the position of town manager, without the stipulation that one be hired soon after if the measure is approved.

“I like to give the people what they want,” Libby said. “But right now I don’t think our current system is broken.”

Selectman Dan Collomy said he did not support the hiring of a town manager.

“I can see the need in the future, but not right now,” he said.

Selectman Jean Harmon said she supported the hiring of a town manager, but that she believed she is, “outvoted among the selectmen in that respect.”

“I think the town is big enough and has been growing to the point that we need to start looking in that direction (of hiring a town manager),” Harmon said. “That is not to say that the board has been ineffective, but if someone were here on a day-to-day basis to make decisions that need to be made on the spot as opposed to when the five of us (selectmen) get together, that could alleviate communication issues we have had in the past.”

Selectman Clifford Emery said he told Townsend that if the petition was handed in with the required number of valid signatures, he would support putting it on the June ballot.

“If he can show me that the interest is out there for it, I will support putting it on the ballot,” Emery said.

Maine Municipal Association (MMA)  Communications Director Michael Stern said it is not unusual for towns to add a town manager to the government as they grow larger. A town like Buxton, which adopted a charter in 2000, would have two options of adding the position – either creating a charter commission to update the charter, or put an amendment to the charter up to vote in the form of a referendum question, which would require a simple majority to pass and become effective.

 “There are a lot of issues that individual members of the board of selectmen don’t have a deep enough understanding of, and you need an immediate answer but you can’t get it from them,” Townsend said. “A town manager can streamline operations in a town in which daily operations become more complex every day, and bring a higher level of professionalism to the running of town business.”

Making a change in the town charter using the referendum question requires a petition with the signatures of 664 registered voters in the town, Town Clerk John Myers said, a number that represents 20 percent of the turnout for the last gubernatorial race. The petition must be turned in by mid-March, deemed valid, and must be approved by the board of selectmen for the measure to have a chance of appearing on the town’s June ballot, where it then must win a simple majority from Buxton voters. 

Townsend said he was aiming to have the measure placed on the June ballot, rather than wait for the November ballot, which is also an option. But Myers said he had checked with the town attorney, who said the petition as it is currently phrased would not meet the legal requirements for changing the town’s charter.

“It doesn’t refer to changing the town’s charter, at least in its current form,” Myers said. “The selectmen would have to make the decision of whether they wanted to come to an agreement where the language of the petition would be changed, or they could also choose not to.”

Townsend, who said he has collected about 220 signatures, said he had only heard the petition was not properly phrased on Tuesday afternoon. He said he had talked with three of the selectmen and come to an agreement with them whereby they would work with him to change the language as long as Townsend can come up with the required amount of signatures.

Townsend would not say which selectmen had agreed to work with him to ensure the language matched up.

“I’m going to continue on with the petition as is, and trust that the selectmen keep their word,” Townsend said. “I hope to get enough signatures so that the selectmen see that hiring a town manager is a valid cause and desired by a good number of people in this town.”

Petitions are located at 3D Variety, KC Redemption and JD Grocery, as well as one at Townsend’s home. For more information, Townsend said he can be reached at 929-4170.