PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Presque Isle is reviewing its December budget vote with legal counsel after a resident and former election official raised questions about its legality.
During the Presque Isle City Council’s Feb. 5 meeting, retired Election Warden Jayne Farrin questioned whether the budget decision and January’s deputy city council chair election were conducted lawfully according to city guidelines.
Councilors approved the city’s 2025 budget by a vote of 4-2 during a Dec. 18 workshop. On Jan. 8, Hank King won a ballot vote for deputy chair 3-2. Based on the city charter, council rules and a council procedural ordinance, neither vote met the required majority, Farrin said.
“Wouldn’t it be better to revote these two motions, so the city of Presque Isle has a lawfully approved 2025 city budget and lawfully elected deputy chair, thus not opening the city to a possible question of liability or legal action?” Farrin said.
The issue concerns how many councilors constitute a majority. A vote of at least four in favor was needed in the deputy chair election, and the budget should have been passed by a two-thirds vote of at least five, said Farrin.
Presque Isle has seven councilors. A majority vote of four is required to elect a chair or deputy chair, according to council rules. To pass the city budget before a fiscal year starts needs a two-thirds vote of at least five. However, only a majority of four is needed to adopt a budget after the fiscal year starts, the rules state.
The city’s council procedure ordinance specifies that a majority is a minimum of four councilors, and a two-thirds vote means at least five councilors.
Farrin spent 24 years in municipal government, including 11 years as a town manager and 13 years for the city of Caribou, 10 of those as city clerk, she said. She was struck by the Presque Isle votes and decided to research procedures on the city’s website.
She first approached some councilors and City Manager Tyler Brown with her concerns, and they suggested she meet with them and with city attorney Richard Currier, she said.
“I did not meet them in person, behind closed doors, because this is a public matter and not a private matter. The city councilors are the decision makers,” she said. “And I’m not trying to be embarrassing, I just would like to see the rules followed.”
Resident Steve Freeman, who is Farrin’s husband, also urged councilors to consider revisiting the deputy chair and budget votes, citing the council rules and procedural ordinance.
“This may have been an honest mistake, but if you do not revote the 2025 budget, then this mistake becomes a dishonest mistake,” he said.
Reviewing the votes in question would aid the council’s goal of transparency, Councilor Meg Hegemann said.
Councilor Mike Chasse moved to redo the deputy chair vote and nominated King for the post. The group voted 5-0, in the absence of Councilor Craig Green, to elect King.
Chasse and Hegemann, both elected in November, said they didn’t feel comfortable voting on the budget since they were not involved in the process and weren’t prepared.
The council had only six members in December due to the death of Councilor Garry Nelson, Chair Jeff Willette said. He proposed that the council and Brown meet with the city attorney to better understand and properly respond to Farrin’s concern.
A special election will be held for the open council seat.
In other business, the first of two public hearings took place on three city ordinances that are sunsetting and must be readopted. They are Chapter 5, Traffic Regulations; Chapter 40, Conduct in Public Parks, Recreation Areas and Facilities; and Chapter 31, Bike/Walker’s Path.
There was no public comment. Councilors noted minor changes, such as spelling errors and removal of the name of a park that no longer exists. Other edits included expanding the definition of a bicycle to include electric bikes.
The group discussed updating some fees. Under traffic regulations, for instance, one parking violation fee was $25, which doesn’t seem like much in 2025, Chasse said.
The second public hearing on the ordinances will take place at the next meeting, along with the first hearing on the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code Ordinance and a residential ordinance on one- and two-family dwellings.
The next council meeting is set at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5, at City Hall.
Correction: The article has been amended to clarify the purpose of the planned meeting with the council, city manager and city attorney.
