BREAKING NEWS: Judge throws out Bar Harbor 2020 charter changes, including warrant committee reorganization
BAR HARBOR, Nov. 2, 2022 - In a stunning rebuke, a Superior Court judge has summarily thrown out the town charter changes in 2020 reconstituting the Warrant Committee from 22 to 15 members and casting doubt on actions taken by the committee since then, including its vote to recommend rejection of the citizens’ petition to cap cruise ship visitation on Tuesday.
In a decision dated Oct. 24 and made public today, Judge William Anderson ruled, “This Court finds that procedures followed by the Town in enacting that (charter) revision were not appropriate under the Maine Home Rule Act.
“Correspondingly, the improperly enacted revision to the Town Charter should be set aside.
Michael Good, the lead plaintiff of 11 residents who sued the town, said, “The entire charter thing was to gut the Warrant Committee … the townspeople lost representation. Those guys were all worried that the warrant committee had too much power.
“That’s why the committee is there - to have multiple eyes on things that are going on in the town.”
The charter change also eliminated the practice of having residents run for the Warrant Committee as a slate, forcing them to run as individuals. In a town which struggled to find candidates, this was seen by Good and others as discouraging participation.
Indeed, member Cara Ryan decided not to seek re-election this year. She eventually changed her mind and ran as a write-in candidate but by then Eben Salvatore, manager of the cruise ship business for Ocean Properties, had the advantage of being on the ballot. He successfully convinced a majority of the committee that he did not have a conflict of interest and that the committee should vote to recommend a rejection of the citizens petition.
The charter changes also weakened the Warrant Committee’s influence over land use, Good said. The judge ruled the nine charter changes were not minor modifications as claimed by the town and required a more rigorous process.
“Even when viewed in the light most favorable to the Defendant, the facts show that, as a matter of law, the Town of Bar Harbor did not follow the proper procedures when enacting the changes, that the use of improper procedures materially and substantially affected the changes, and the changes should be invalidated. Therefore, Plaintiffs are entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law, their Motion is GRANTED, and Defendant Town of Bar Harbor's Cross-Motion is DENIED.”
The judge made his ruling without an oral argument. "After conducting a thorough review of the issues and upon further reflection, the court reconsiders, and decides the motions without argument."
Maxwell Coolidge, counsel for the plaintiffs, wrote them in an email, “I fully anticipate an appeal to the Maine Supreme Court from the town, but it's very good to be on the winning side at the Superior Court level and Justice Anderson's opinion is well reasoned and thorough. I can't know what the Supreme Court will do, but I have some degree of confidence because Justice Anderson's opinion is sound.
You may read the judge’s full decision here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oLrgS_jywMglU2xQ6XcN5gq9Q9OTPbLG/view?usp=sharing
The ruling leaves many unsettled questions:
Is the current Warrant Committee a legal body?
A 15-member committee is clearly illegal under the judge’s ruling, but does the town revert to its previous 22-member committee, at least one of whom is no longer a resident?
One clear message to residents: This is a highly politicized process. The Town Council and current Warrant Committee actions may in fact be illegal, as ruled by a judge with no interest other than the law. Their continued threat that if you vote for the the cruise ship cap will result in higher taxes may not stand up to legal scrutiny just as its charter change ploy did not.
The town is actually spending taxpayers money to fund public disinformation about the citizens initiative. That sounds like fodder for another lawsuit.
Footnote: Besides Good, the other plaintiffs are:
Dessa Dancy, Donna Karlson, the late Arthur Greif, James Blanchard, Donal Murphy, Pat Murphy, Shaiah Emigh-Doyle, Michael Blythe and Barbara Fenderson.
Strike one. Your out !
Judge Anderson had this to say.
The Court declines to address the remaining three procedural issues alleged by the plaintiffs, as the changes to the Charter are invalidated by the first alone.