The Scarborough Town Council was expected to reconsider a decision made earlier this month to kill two proposed amendments to the town charter, with council Chairman Jeffrey Messer seeking the opinions of town staff on the ideas at its meeting Wednesday night, after the Current’s deadline.
At its Sept. 21 meeting the council agreed to kill a charter amendment that would have sent all budgets that increase the tax levy by more than 3 percent to a town-wide referendum. It also killed another amendment that would have sent to voters any bonding packages exceeding an $8 million annual cap.
Messer voted with the majority on both issues in order to have the ability to bring them back for reconsideration at the next meeting, he said.
Messer said he wanted to have town staff review the proposals, and to give Councilor Robert Patch a chance to speak on the issues. Patch could not make the Sept. 21 meeting because of a work-related emergency.
During the same meeting, the council agreed to place on the November ballot a charter change request that would increase the maximum amount the council can borrow on a single item without voter approval from $400,000 to $700,000.
The council also agreed to ask town staff to study including in its bonding cap streets and sidewalks, now exempt from bonding limits.
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