A second public meeting is set for 6 p.m. Monday on a Readfield referendum question that seeks to have all the annual town warrant articles voted on by secret ballot, rather than by public vote.
The hearing will be on the second floor of Asa Gile Hall, the Town Office.
A month ago, a public hearing on the issue drew more than 60 people, many of whom argued for one side or the other.
At that meeting, Eugene Carbona, who said he became a proponent after a petition drive began, presented the view of the petitioners. Carbona said they believe it will be less divisive in town if the issues listed in the warrant articles are settled by secret ballot or “Australian ballot,” as he prefers to call it.
The format of the meeting will be different on Monday night and is outlined under “Voting Information” on the town’s website, www.readfield.govoffice.com. It notes that Ruth Cushman, former town manager in Jay, a community which adopted a secret ballot in 1997, will be a guest speaker. In November 2004, Monmouth voters approved a switch to ballot-box decision making.
The public will be permitted to ask questions at Monday’s meeting, alternating between proponents and opponents.
Two members of the selectboard, Valarie Pomerleau and Tom Dunham, are expected to explain the process of what happens if the secret ballot question is approved, including a time frame, estimated costs and public meetings.
The vote on Nov. 4 will be nonbinding.
“Only a charter can effectively require all future voting to be by referendum; an ordinance or town meeting vote purporting to mandate all-referendum voting is advisory at best,” according to an article that appeared in the October 2012 Maine Townsman, a publication by the Maine Municipal Association. That advice to municipalities is based on an August 2012 Maine Supreme Judicial Court decision, Blanchet v. Town of Waldoboro.
Readfield does not have a charter.
At the earlier meeting, selectboard chairman Sue Reay said the selectboard could decide to follow voters’ wishes, come up with an alternative plan, or decide not to go to secret ballot.
The question on the Nov. 4 ballot asks whether the town, beginning in June 2015, wants to use a secret ballot referendum question rather than town meeting format.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
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