Residents will have a say about proposed amendments to the Windham Town Charter during a public hearing at the Windham Town Council meeting on Tuesday night.
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| During a public hearing at the Windham Town Council meeting on Tuesday, May 26, residents will have a say about proposed amendments to the Windham Town Charter changing the Annual Town Meeting to a balloted referendum vote and raising the threshold requiring voter approval for off-budget spending from $25,000 to $500,000. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE |
Councilors say this would give the council flexibility in presenting either a single up‑or‑down budget vote or departmental line items. This public hearing comes ahead of a council vote to place the charter changes before voters in November.
“While I love the tradition of the Town Meeting, its method has outlived its usefulness,” said Bill Reiner, Windham Two Council Vice Chair. “Because of that I fully support the efforts being made by the council to enact the potential for change and the ability to bring this Charter Amendment before the people for their consideration and vote. Lastly, and equally important in my mind, is that this discussion and potential change was initiated by input from the public on how they want the town to operate.”
Reiner says raising the threshold requiring voter approval for off‑budget spending will allow the council to approve purchases up to a $500,000 limit without going to a town wide vote for approval.
“This falls in line with surrounding towns,” Reiner said. “The current limit of $25,000 no longer provides for emergency operations or acquisitions in a meaningful way.”
Councilor David Nadeau agrees that the charter changes would get more people involved but is concerned about trying to educate people on how the budget is created.
“I feel Windham is big enough now that if the charter is to be changed, it should have the elected council as the implement body for the budget,” Nadeau said. “If residents don’t agree, vote them out. I had the council pass an elderly assistance program several years ago and now there is still many that have no idea it exists.”
Nadeau said that municipal budgeting is a complicated process.
“For example, the budget is made up of three pieces – budget equals mil rate times valuation. A simple math problem,” he said. “If the budget goes up and valuation stays the same, the mil rate would have to go up to equal the budget. Social security was a 2.8 percent increase this year, the federal CPU was 3.8 percent, and our budget came in at 4.8 percent. We added an officer for traffic control, which many constituents asked for and a roving medic in tandem with other towns, only if they put it in their budget. Most of our dependents have an increase of 2 percent or less. We have three unions that have contracts. We had health insurance go up about 8.9 percent. And we still got in at 4.8 percent. If we removed the two positions above, we would be under 4 percent. We put a lot of work into that budget. But we still have to function.”
During a marathon 4 ½-hour town meeting on Saturday June 14, 2025, Windham’s $8.9 million budget was eventually passed through a series of unexpected developments. With more than 130 Windham residents on hand for the Annual Town Meeting at Windham Town Hall, concerned voters questioned nearly each of the 30 town warrant articles, wanting explanations for increases in spending and sharing their opinions about budgeting proposals put forward by the Windham Town Council. The first six out of the 30 warrant articles were approved following discussions and clarifications but those in attendance rejected Article 7 asking for approval of a municipal budget of $39.9 million, requiring votes for each of the next 11 articles.
Among those, only Article 8, asking for an increase of 11.39 percent and $8.9 million funding general government operations for fiscal year 2025-2026 was defeated by voters as determined by the moderator. Article 8 included funding for Windham Town Hall offices and services and some contractual expenses, such as benefits for town police officers. All the other warrant articles were approved by voters, except for Articles 24, 25, 26, and 27, those dealt specifically with creating and funding a new public skating rink and playground in North Windham at a cost of $3 million and renovations to Gambo Park with new soccer field, recreational trails and improved parking at an expense of $3 million. Article 22, a proposal to construct a new North Windham Public Safety Building behind Hannaford Supermarket off Route 302, involved a lengthy discussion and many questions raised by voters about acquiring the site property, housing a Cumberland County Sheriff’s Patrol Office in the building, and the need to replace the current North Windham Fire Station on Route 302, a structure built in 1960.
After the 30 warrant articles had been discussed and voted upon, a review ensued about what the implications of the rejection of Article 8 would mean, including the difficulty of rescheduling and legally posting another town meeting, shutting down Windham Town Hall on July 1, potentially laying off employees and not having necessary revenue to meet contractual bills and defaulting on town obligations. By this time, and after four hours, at least half of residents attending had left the meeting.
A series of actions then happened that reversed the earlier vote on Article 8. A voter who had voted no previously, then formally made a motion to change his vote, and then a second voter who had voted no to Article 8 previously made a motion to change their vote too and seconded the motion on the floor to reopen the article. Following a discussion about amending the budget, a vote to amend the $8.9 million was voted down and then Article 8 as originally proposed was then passed by those in attendance.
Reiner says raising the threshold requiring voter approval for off‑budget spending will allow the council to approve purchases up to a $500,000 limit without going to a town wide vote for approval.
“This falls in line with surrounding towns,” Reiner said. “The current limit of $25,000 no longer provides for emergency operations or acquisitions in a meaningful way.”
“I feel Windham is big enough now that if the charter is to be changed, it should have the elected council as the implement body for the budget,” Nadeau said. “If residents don’t agree, vote them out. I had the council pass an elderly assistance program several years ago and now there is still many that have no idea it exists.”
Nadeau said that municipal budgeting is a complicated process.
“For example, the budget is made up of three pieces – budget equals mil rate times valuation. A simple math problem,” he said. “If the budget goes up and valuation stays the same, the mil rate would have to go up to equal the budget. Social security was a 2.8 percent increase this year, the federal CPU was 3.8 percent, and our budget came in at 4.8 percent. We added an officer for traffic control, which many constituents asked for and a roving medic in tandem with other towns, only if they put it in their budget. Most of our dependents have an increase of 2 percent or less. We have three unions that have contracts. We had health insurance go up about 8.9 percent. And we still got in at 4.8 percent. If we removed the two positions above, we would be under 4 percent. We put a lot of work into that budget. But we still have to function.”
During a marathon 4 ½-hour town meeting on Saturday June 14, 2025, Windham’s $8.9 million budget was eventually passed through a series of unexpected developments. With more than 130 Windham residents on hand for the Annual Town Meeting at Windham Town Hall, concerned voters questioned nearly each of the 30 town warrant articles, wanting explanations for increases in spending and sharing their opinions about budgeting proposals put forward by the Windham Town Council. The first six out of the 30 warrant articles were approved following discussions and clarifications but those in attendance rejected Article 7 asking for approval of a municipal budget of $39.9 million, requiring votes for each of the next 11 articles.
Among those, only Article 8, asking for an increase of 11.39 percent and $8.9 million funding general government operations for fiscal year 2025-2026 was defeated by voters as determined by the moderator. Article 8 included funding for Windham Town Hall offices and services and some contractual expenses, such as benefits for town police officers. All the other warrant articles were approved by voters, except for Articles 24, 25, 26, and 27, those dealt specifically with creating and funding a new public skating rink and playground in North Windham at a cost of $3 million and renovations to Gambo Park with new soccer field, recreational trails and improved parking at an expense of $3 million. Article 22, a proposal to construct a new North Windham Public Safety Building behind Hannaford Supermarket off Route 302, involved a lengthy discussion and many questions raised by voters about acquiring the site property, housing a Cumberland County Sheriff’s Patrol Office in the building, and the need to replace the current North Windham Fire Station on Route 302, a structure built in 1960.
After the 30 warrant articles had been discussed and voted upon, a review ensued about what the implications of the rejection of Article 8 would mean, including the difficulty of rescheduling and legally posting another town meeting, shutting down Windham Town Hall on July 1, potentially laying off employees and not having necessary revenue to meet contractual bills and defaulting on town obligations. By this time, and after four hours, at least half of residents attending had left the meeting.
A series of actions then happened that reversed the earlier vote on Article 8. A voter who had voted no previously, then formally made a motion to change his vote, and then a second voter who had voted no to Article 8 previously made a motion to change their vote too and seconded the motion on the floor to reopen the article. Following a discussion about amending the budget, a vote to amend the $8.9 million was voted down and then Article 8 as originally proposed was then passed by those in attendance.
During town council meetings over the past year, the legal aspects of making a charter change were discussed by councilors and the town attorney. To change the charter, councilors determined that an amendment was needed and then is required under Maine law to propose an amendment through a formal process that includes public notice, public hearings, and ultimately a vote by town residents at a regular or special election. The alternative is to form a charter commission of appointed or elected citizens who would research the existing charter, potentially comparing it to those of other municipalities, and drafting a proposed amendment.
Any potential charter amendment must comply with state law and require citizen participation, legal compliance, and a collaborative effort to ensure the town's governing charter effectively serves the needs of town residents.
Councilors have opted a ‘Charter Amendment’ method which can be used when a specific existing section of the Charter is desired to be changed and the change proposed will not drastically affect the Charter in its entirety.”
Residents wishing to share their thoughts regarding the charter changes are asked to attend the Windham Town Council at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 26 at Windham Town Hall, 8 School Road, Windham. <
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