Lisbon Falls charter commission adopts meeting rules, names secretary and schedules public hearing

The Lisbon Falls Charter Commission held its organizational meeting, adopted formal meeting rules and scheduled a public hearing on proposed charter revisions.

Chris Camiri, chair of the town council, told the newly seated commissioners that the charter commission was triggered by a petition about how the municipal budget is adopted and pointed them to the governing state statute, which he cited in the meeting as "30-2,103." "You work for the people of Lisbon," Camiri told the commission, urging members to treat council requests as suggestions rather than orders and to seek clarity from the statute as they begin their work.

Commissioners agreed to adopt Robert's Rules of Order as the baseline for conducting meetings, a move proponents said would help keep meetings orderly and provide resolution procedures when issues arise. After a motion and a second, the assembly accepted the proposal to use Robert's Rules.

The commission conducted officer nominations and other organizational business. Melissa ("Missy") Leesk introduced herself during a round of member biographies and was nominated and confirmed as secretary; the transcript records at least two abstentions during that vote. Commissioners also used secret paper ballots to resolve membership choices for two vacancies on the commission; during the counting the clerk announced recorded totals for candidates (Bill 6, Alan 5, Kelsey 3), and the clerk read subsequent tallies on the record during the meeting.

Members set their next working meeting for Thursday, July 30 at 7 p.m. and scheduled the public hearing required by statute for Thursday, Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. in the same building. The commission asked the secretary and staff to post notice broadly, suggesting placement in the Sun Journal as well as social media, the post office and the library to reach residents who do not use online platforms.

Commissioners spent much of the meeting discussing what falls within the commission's scope and how to frame public input. Topics listed by speakers as within possible review included the town's form of government (council–manager), the water department/sub-charter, election and recall provisions, fiscal-year and budget-adoption language, and other provisions that may point to obsolete state law. Several members suggested beginning with "low-hanging fruit" — charter language that is outdated or references repealed statutes — before moving to larger governance questions.

On next steps, the commission asked members to study the controlling statute, learn the basics of Robert's Rules, and begin collecting public input to shape an agenda for the Aug. 6 hearing. Town staff said the clerk could publish notices and that legal counsel would be available as needed; commissioners discussed whether a modest legal budget had been or should be allocated to support commission work.

The meeting concluded after members reviewed homework assignments and agreed to reconvene on July 30 to finalize a public-hearing agenda.

Speakers quoted in this article appear in the meeting record and include Chris Camiri (chair of the town council), Bill Cool (candidate/Planning Board member), Alan Ward (candidate), Melissa Leesk (secretary), Kelsey (candidate), and the clerk and other commissioners. The commission scheduled its next meeting for July 30 and set the public hearing for Aug. 6 at 7 p.m.