Kenduskeag residents voted on the town’s budget during a March 27 meeting, days after the town announced that a vote would not be held that day because errors were found in the town’s warrants, according to a video obtained by the Bangor Daily News.
It’s unclear from the video how many residents attended the meeting or voted on the single budget article.
Town officials have refused to confirm that a meeting or vote took place on March 27, or what the results of the vote were. Both are generally considered public information.
Town Clerk Teresa Boucher said the town did not have a comment on the meeting. Select Board members could comment on the meeting, she said, but Boucher would not provide the members’ contact information to a BDN reporter.
Kenduskeag announced on the morning of March 27 that the town vote scheduled for that night would be postponed until April 10 so that updated articles could be printed and posted for review in time for the meeting. While a meeting would still be held that night, there was no indication that any votes would be held, with the announcement acknowledging it would be “a very short meeting.”
During the March 27 meeting, a resident questioned if the town office would be able to be open if a budget wasn’t passed that day. That seemingly brought the vote forward.
Residents in attendance approved tabling all articles except number 27, which authorizes the Select Board to spend 25% of the previous year’s budget up until the annual town meeting. The article was amended to have the correct year before it was approved by voters.
The meeting moderator counts votes for and against the measure, but it is unclear from the video obtained by the BDN what the final tally was.
After the vote, one resident asked if all of the articles could be amended and voted on during the meeting, but was told the updated wording had to be voted on at the next meeting.
Posting an agenda, saying that agenda won’t be followed and then partially following it is not something Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, has encountered in the past, he said.
The town may not have violated the law, but making an announcement that could change whether a resident decides to attend and then not upholding it is “not a good practice,” Silverman said.
“If word got out that some of those warrants weren’t going to be voted on, and then they were, I think that certainly, in this case, I think that would certainly violate the spirit of the law,” Silverman said.
Residents will vote on the remaining articles Friday.
