07/10/2012

Proposal to require citizen approval of large single capital expenditures set for Nov. 6 referendum

By a 5-2 vote, the Town Council on July 9, 2012 agreed to put a proposed amendment to the Town charter requiring citizen approval of large, single capital expenditures to the voters in November.

The change would require citizen approval of capital expenditures for most single projects of more than $1 million.

The charter currently allows for citizen overrides of single expenditures of more than .05 percent of the town's state valuation, provided 10 percent of registered voters petition for an override election.

"This, in effect, turns over the large expenditures to the citizens," said Town Council Chair Sara Lennon, who voted to put the question on the Nov. 6 ballot.

The question to require automatic citizen approval of large expenditures will appear along side a referendum on proposed renovation and construction of a new Thomas Memorial Library, a project which inspired the proposed charter amendment. Councilors had scheduled their Oct. 10 meeting for them to vote on whether to proceed with the library project, but later determined that Cape Elizabeth residents would rather decide by referendum.

The proposed charter change would retain citizens' ability to petition decisions of the Town Council, but would remove large expenditures from the petition process. Instead, expenditures of more than $1 million for any single project would automatically trigger a citizen referendum.

During a public hearing, Gladys Road resident Philip Kaminsky suggested the threshold be $850,000 to more closely mirror the current .05 percent of state valuation for Cape Elizabeth. Councilors, however, said they believed $1 million was a more easily recognizable trigger for public referendum and, during better economic times, better reflects the percentage of state valuation.

Lennon added that petitioning for an expenditure override has rarely been used. Town Manager Michael McGovern said the mechanism had been used twice in recent memory over sewer expenditures.

Voting against putting the charter change on the ballot were councilors David Sherman and Kathy Ray. Sherman said he did not see the logic of the $1 million threshold, and that projects such as the Shore Road path, a $1.03 million project funded by a combination of Town monies, federal and state grants and private donations, would also be subject to referendum.

Single projects totaling less than $1 million, but part of a funding package exceeding $1 million, would not be subject to referendum under the proposed charter amendment.

The referendum would not apply to improvements mandated by state or federal law, or caused by fire or other casualty loss.