Charter Commission to seek MMA guidance, set counsel-use guidelines and batch legal questions

Commissioners debated whether the commission should use the town attorney or hire outside counsel to avoid conflicts of interest, and whether a request for proposals (RFP) process would be triggered by projected legal costs. One member flagged a potential conflict with the town attorney and urged using different counsel for charter review. "I can reach out to MMA Legal for guidance on that if you'd like?" a staff member offered, and members agreed to ask the Maine Municipal Association for best-practice guidance.

The body also endorsed a process to send batches of legal questions rather than consulting counsel every week to economize legal time, and discussed routing attorney responses through the chair so the commission receives a single, controlled source of legal advice while the town manager is kept informed for budgeting. A formal motion adopting these guidelines was moved, seconded and carried by voice vote; the transcript records the decision but not a roll-call tally.