This is the response I received from the group that is designing an economic development master plan- which means an everything master plan - for my home town. I reminded them that we have a Maine Constitution which requires a public referendum for town taxpayer money spent on industrial buildings. You can see from the response that this is a question they had not considered. The lawyers justification for taxpayer money already spent for hiring consultants is predictable and arguable- but they acknowledge that they are constitutionally required to get the consent of local taxpayers. I wonder why they had to consult a lawyer to come up with this answer. The attached documents mentioned in this answer were not included in what was sent to me. I have also discovered that our town which has been a town since the 1700's does not have a charter. As far as I can tell to date, the selectmen just make up their own rules but that may not have been the way it has always been done. I will be researching that, I wrote back with a thank you and a request for the document that the unidentified town lawyer indicated was attached when she responded to the JECD and the town selectmen. If they ask who am I to ask for that, I will just say "Jane Q Public" ! My economic development plan brings capital to the town but does not cost the taxpayers a dime. My plan is not a master plan for the whole region because I do not believe in totalitarian government but part of my plan is this petition. Please sign it- you do not have to be from Maine to sign it! HERE is the response from the group developing their own agenda as a master plan for my home town- paid for by John & Jane Q, Public: Note Wendy Wolf misspells my last name- which is also the last name of ceramic design and slip-casting company, Andersen Design ( manufacturing), which was established in the region in 1952 ! Ms. Anderson: In order to thoroughly answer the questions you have raised regarding the JEDC, we contacted the Boothbay Harbor Town Attorney and she provided the following information: The JEDC was created as a result of an Economic Development Agreement between the Towns of Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor (see attached Agreement). The JEDC is composed of volunteer members of the public and one member of each Town Board of Selectmen. The JEDC is tasked with making recommendations to the each Town Board of Selectmen, who then vote on whether to implement the recommendations and how. Each year for the past three Town Meetings, the Warrant has contained an article authorizing the appropriation of funds for economic development. The Board of Selectmen is then able to spend those funds on economic development projects, provided they fall within the budget and within the scope of the Board’s jurisdiction. To date, the Boothbay Harbor BOS has voted to spend economic development funds on professional services for marketing and event planning, the creation of wayfinding signs, and the development of an economic development plan. Should the economic development plan result in recommendations that would require further town meeting approval, such authorization articles would be on a future warrant. With regard to the specific question about Article VIII, Part Second, Section 2 of the Maine Constitution, that provision permits the registered voters to authorize the issuance of notes or bonds for the purchase of purchasing land or constructing buildings for industrial use. The JEDC has not been authorized to issue bonds. In the event the committee recommends any development project that would require the issuance of bonds or additional expenditure of funds, the proposal will be put forth to the voters at Town Meeting. Regards - Wendy Wolf, Co-Chair |Joint Economic Development Committee