WOODLAND, Maine — A tie vote at Woodland’s annual meeting defeated a proposed ordinance to govern town operations and create an ethics code for leaders.
About 40 residents joined town officials and Select Board members for the session at Woodland Consolidated School. Lorraine Chamberlain served as moderator and residents voted by a show of hands.
Heated discussion broke out over the operations ordinance, which was crafted by a steering committee to try to end months of dysfunction and conflict. Some residents had legal concerns, but committee members said they had not been informed of any problems. The proposal’s failure leaves the town without written standards for procedures or Select Board conduct.
Resident Will Barnum moved to bypass the proposal without a vote, mentioning various concerns with it.
The draft was not made available to the public at Tuesday’s meeting and it was not clear what will happen next regarding the ordinance.
The steering committee formed in February 2024, after conflicts among board members often led to the cancellation of public meetings, the suspension of town business and turnover in municipal employees. The committee hoped operational rules would eliminate infighting and keep the town running properly.
Introduced in October, the 18-page operational procedures ordinance would regulate Select Board and committee duties, voting procedures and how public meetings and hearings are conducted, following Robert’s Rules of Order and Maine Municipal Association guidelines. The draft also suggested transitioning to a Select Board with five members rather than the current three.
The ethics code would govern how elected leaders behave. For instance, Select Board members could not interrupt each other at public sessions or behave abusively to fellow leaders or residents, including outside of meetings and on social media.
The rules were designed not as bylaws, which each Select Board can change, but as an ordinance, which the public must approve at a town meeting.
But the select board questioned the draft in December, after the Maine Municipal Association said it didn’t recommend setting up rules that could supersede the board’s authority.
The ordinance was initially scheduled for a vote on Nov. 19, but that was changed to a wording issue with the warrant. The vote was finally slated for Tuesday’s annual meeting.
“I don’t think this is good public policy. I don’t think it’s the way to go. I do agree that we need bylaws for the selectmen,” resident Rosemary Monahan said. “But an ordinance is something that we do to regulate the town and the people of the town.”
Monahan said she was on the steering committee but resigned over differences of opinion.
Committee member Gene Bradbury defended the proposed ordinance and said it incorporated rules other Maine towns use.
“Everything in there is being used in some other towns in the state and they are not considered illegal,” he said. “We quoted the exact laws in that ordinance that had to be followed so that we wouldn’t violate anything.”
When Barnum asked if the group consulted with the town’s attorney on the document, Bradbury said he had.
Barnum’s motion to refrain from voting on the ordinance failed, with 19 voting no and 17 voting yes. A further motion to stop debate and vote on the ordinance passed 21-16, and a third motion to pass the ordinance resulted in a tie. It failed due to lack of majority.
In other business, during elections held on March 31, residents reelected Kathy Ouellette to a three-year term on the select board. Stephanie Mulliver and Amy Espling won seats on the Woodland school board.
Deputy Town Clerk Bridget Coats swore Ouellete and Espling in Tuesday evening. Mulliver was not present.
Residents passed 33 of 35 articles, including budget items for the ensuing year. Included were $264,000 for general government, up $53,000 from 2024; $686,600 for public works, down $6,000; $80,250 for insurance, retirement and payroll, down $17,250; $65,000 for solid waste disposal, down $3,000; $174,944 for ambulance and fire service, up $22,800; $118,258 for Aroostook County taxes, up $7,000; and $6,278 for social services, up $600 from last year.
Voters also approved adding funds to various reserve accounts and purchasing a plow truck for public works. The truck would be purchased at a price not to exceed $250,000, paid over 60 months.
The only other article to be defeated was a proposed ordinance for the town to join Stockholm’s farmers market, which would allow local food producers in Woodland to sell their goods there. The planning board has not yet finished the draft, so a vote was deemed premature.
