KENNEBUNK – At its July 21 meeting, the Kennebunk Select Board took the next step in amending the town charter by submitting draft amendments to the town attorney for review.

The proposed amendments include a complete overhaul of the recall provisions and three changes to other elements of the charter.  Time is of the essence because the proposals must be formalized and given a public hearing by September 8 in order to make the November ballot.

The primary target of this summer’s effort is Article VII of the charter: “recall of elected officials.” The most recent attempt to recall a Kennebunk public official was in 2022. It failed by a substantial majority. However, the result was a spirited discussion around the process for recall which led, in turn, to the appointment of a charter commission. The proposed new charter incorporated substantial changes to most aspects of the 2009 charter but was soundly defeated in November 2024. This year’s proposed amendment would primarily address the perceived shortcomings of the original recall article.

In addition to the revision of the recall article, the board is considering three other amendments: 1) to expand the definition of emergencies to include emergencies other than natural disasters; 2) to remove the power of the budget board to propose articles for the annual town meeting; and 3) to change the date for the town manager to submit the annual budget to less than the 120 days currently required.

The Proposed Recall Amendment: The proposed recall amendment is a major rewrite. It is significantly more detailed than the current charter as to possible causes for recall, the process of petitioning for recall, the numerical hurdles to a successful petition and success or failure at the ballot box.

Below is an abbreviated summary of the proposed changes. The select board agenda for 7/21/2026 (https://www.kennebunkmaine.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07212026-3963) contains: 1) a summary of the amendment 2) a redlined version comparing the current text to the proposed text and 3) a clean copy of the proposed new version. Key elements are as follows:

Causes for recall – The current charter language is very general. The catalyst need only be “a loss of confidence in that official’s judgement or ability to perform the duties and responsibilities of the office.” The proposed amendment specifies four justifications. Briefly they are: 1) serious misconduct that amounts to a public breach of trust, 2) deliberate misrepresentation of the official’s background, 3) misfeasance or malfeasance, or 4) a conviction of a criminal offense where the sentence imposed included a period of incarceration of one year or more.

Petition Process – The current charter calls for the initial petition to be signed by 25 qualified voters. Within five days of the filing of the initial petition, the town clerk issues the recall petitions and the petitioners have 30 days to return these with the signatures of at least 10% of the town votes for governor in the last gubernatorial election but no less than 100. At the present time, the 10% hurdle would equate to 697 voters based on the 2022 gubernatorial election.

The proposed amendment would raise the 25 voter signatures hurdle to 50 and the 10% signatures hurdle to 1,000.

Based on most recent voting statistics, the amendment would raise the number of required signatures by roughly 300.

Recall Election – The current charter calls for the election to be held between 50 and 60 days from the town clerk’s certification of a sufficient petition. But if another election is scheduled within 75 days, the select board may postpone the recall election to that election. A majority of votes “yes” or “no” determines the outcome.

The proposed amendment calls for the election to be held in 45 to 75 days unless an election is scheduled within 90 days. In order for the election to be valid, no fewer than 3,000 voters must mark their ballot “yes” or “no”. If the 3,000 threshold is not met, the recall election is null and void. As reference points, the June, 2026 elections census would have easily met the 3,000-voter hurdle (4,000-5,000 voters for most questions). However, the special March, 2022 election for recall would not have met the hurdle (2,232 yes and no votes).

The proposed charter amendments will be discussed at the next meeting of the Kennebunk Select Board on August 11 at 6:30 p.m.  A video of the July 21 meeting can be viewed on Cablecast or via a link next to the select board agenda for that date: http://www.kennebunkmaine.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07212026-3963.