Windham voters to decide outcome of two referendums in November

By Ed Pierce

Several significant issues will be decided by referendum in Windham on Nov. 3 and if passed will have lasting implications for town residents for years to come.

Windham voters will cast ballots on Nov. 3 on two town
referendums. The first changes the way the town budget
is approved and amends the town charter to move from
an Annual Town Meeting to public voting in June on the
budget. The second is to approve or reject issuing 
general obligation bonds of up to $19.5 million to
finance the costs of repurposing Windham Middle School
for use as a community center and moving town offices and
Windham Public Library there. This is an artist's depiction
of the completed project. COURTESY PHOTO 

The first referendum modifies the Windham Town Charter to scrap the annual town meeting on a Saturday in June where the municipal budget is discussed and voted on by residents and instead changes municipal budget approval to a public vote held on Maine Primary Day on the second Tuesday in June. This would coincide with the RSU 14 school budget vote for Windham voters.

Since the town charter was adopted and the town council form of government was put in place in 1975, public participation at the Windham Annual Town meeting has dwindled to around 150 residents out of more than 12,000 registered voters in town over the past two years.

During Windham Town Council meetings for several years, councilors discussed the legal aspects of making a charter change with the town attorney. They learned that to make a change to the charter, an amendment was needed and it 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.

Another alternative for the council would have been 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.

After lengthy discussions, councilors chose to increase public participation voting on the municipal budget through an amendment that moves away from an in-person town meeting to a balloted referendum vote and also raising the threshold requiring voter approval for off‑budget spending from $25,000 to $500,000. Councilors say this would give the council flexibility in presenting either a single up‑or‑down budget vote or departmental line items.

In May, Windham Town Council Vice Chair Bill Reiner said he supports the charter amendment.

“While I love the tradition of the Town Meeting, its method has outlived its usefulness,” Reiner said. “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 said that 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,” he said. “The current limit of $25,000 no longer provides for emergency operations or acquisitions in a meaningful way.

Councilors chose to put a ‘Charter Amendment’ method before voters 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. 

At this year’s Annual Town meeting in June, Windham Town Council Chair Mark Morrison said that the low participation of voters at the town meeting shows why a charter amendment is needed to change the budget process to a public vote by secret ballot like the annual RSU 14 budget vote every spring to increase participation. 

Those who oppose the charter amendment say that voters are being asked to cast their ballot without full information or fully understanding complex or legal language contained in referendums about what they are voting on.

The other referendum issue that Windham voters will determine in November is whether the town should purchase Windham Middle School for $1 once it is vacant in the fall of 2027 and repurpose the facility into a Community Center and housing town offices and the Windham Public Library there for up to $19.5 million by issuing general obligation bonds for the project.

Repurposing the school for use as a community center, including the costs of design, engineering, professional services, site preparation, construction, renovation, operating costs, and other improvements and furnishings as may be required in connection with the project. The proposal includes appropriating up to $2 million of the town’s fund balance as the Windham Town Council deems reasonable and necessary to reduce the borrowing amount and directly pay for costs of the project.

The existing Windham Middle School building first opened in 1974 and was intended for a capacity of 483 students. That number has grown in the past 52 years to 650 students and some sixth graders being housed for classes at the adjacent Field Allen School, which was built in 1949.

In November 2023, a plurality of voters in the school district, which encompasses Windham and Raymond, approved a referendum to build the new Windham Raymond Middle School with about 77 percent of construction costs paid by the Maine Department of Education’s Major Capital Construction Program. The total project budget to construct the new school is estimated at about $171.5 million, with the state funding $131.7 million of that expense and residents of Windham and Raymond paying the remaining $39.8 million.

As part of the referendum in November 2023 to obtain $131.7 million in state funding for the new middle school, RSU 14 voters agreed that the existing Windham Middle School could not be used as a school again, since the state had already contributed funding for substantial repair costs over decades of the building’s use and the school does not have a fire suppression system.

A 20-member Middle School Repurpose Advisory Committee looked at ways to best use the soon-to-be vacated school building and found that the basic structure of the school was sound and that it offered 80,000 square feet of available space, the committee looked at the existing town buildings with long-term replacement costs and short-term maintenance, parking improvements and repair costs and decided that a number of municipal services could be relocated to the site for a fraction of the cost of renovating or replacing current buildings.

Windham Town Manager Robert Burns says although the benefits of the Windham Middle School Repurposing Project come with a cost, in the long run it will be cost-effective for the town.

He said this proposal would move Town Hall offices there, along with Windham’s Social Services Office, which houses the Windham Food Pantry, the Windham Public Library, Windham’s Medical Loan Closet, and create a Community Center.

“This building represents an opportunity for us to move forward,” Burns said. <