Brewer rejects censure plan Measure defeated by tie vote

BREWER – A proposed ordinance amendment that would have given city councilors the authority to publicly chastise one of their own failed Tuesday for lack of support.

While the proposal initially had the backing of the council majority, it fizzled during the council’s monthly meeting for lack of support. A vote taken after the proposal’s second reading resulted in a 2-2 tie, in effect defeating it. Mayor Michael Celli and Councilor Donna Thornton voted in favor of the amendment, while Councilor Manley DeBeck Jr., the measure’s author, and Councilor Larry Doughty opposed it.

Though Doughty made no secret of his opposition to the measure before and during its initial reading on Oct. 2, saying he did not believe it was needed, DeBeck’s decision represented a change of heart.

DeBeck said that in the last few days, he’d been hearing “rumbling” against it from the constituents he was elected to represent. Though he still felt the measure was needed, he said he could not support it “at this time.”

He added, however, that he might bring the censure provision back before the council if a related charter amendment – which would give councilors the power to oust one of their own when their conduct is egregious enough to warrant it – is approved by a majority of voters in a Nov. 6 citywide referendum.

Had it passed Tuesday, the ordinance change would have provided the council a means for publicly chastising members who engage in activity that is not in the city’s best interest.

The idea behind the two proposals, which have generated some lively debate in Brewer, is that the council should have the authority to hold individual members accountable for their actions. As things stand, the city’s sole means for dispensing with councilors who do something offensive to the public is the citizen-led recall process, which requires voters’ signatures and a special recall election, but no specific cause for recall.

Councilors could have been publicly chastised for: prolonged, unexcused absence from council meetings; repeated tardiness; violating meeting procedures; rude remarks; disclosing confidential information; failing to follow the chain of command; inappropriate use of city legal information; conviction of a crime of moral turpitude; or a felony conviction.

A censure resolution would have required sponsorship by two members of the council, 48 hours notice, a hearing and a unanimous vote before it could have been implemented.

City councilors also adopted an inducement resolution to make sure expenses related to Eastern Maine Healthcare’s planned expansion here are reimbursed, should the city decide to play a role in the financing.

EMH is currently gearing up to build and equip a medical and professional building in the Brewer Professional Center on outer Wilson Street as part of its effort to ease a worsening space crunch at Eastern Maine Medical Center. EMH has teamed up to that end with the Cianbro Corp.

According to city documents, the current plan is for the city to own the building, which would total about 110,000 square feet and the first of four proposed for the Brewer site, and lease it to EMH.

The project might ultimately be financed partly through the sale of up to $17 million in revenue bonds that would be paid off through income from that project, if the city and EMH ultimately choose to go that route, according to city officials. The equipment would be financed through a conduit loan from the city to EMH.

Economic Development Director Drew Sachs said that the city’s role would be to serve as a “‘pass-through” entity for the funds. Neither the city nor its taxpayers would be liable for the payments, which would come solely through revenues connected to the building.