Disclaimer: The views I express here are my own and should NOT be construed as speaking for the City of Bangor or the City Council of Bangor.
Thank you for taking the time to read this update. It is my pleasure to keep you as best informed as I can about what my work on City Council has entailed. If there are any items you would like to know more about I would be pleased to answer your questions and get you more information. You can reach me via email at michael.beck@bangormaine.gov.
City Council Workshop
You can read the meeting agenda here.
Key Discussion Points & Decisions
- City Council Guidelines:
- The council reviewed updated guidelines, incorporating changes made since November.
- Updates include: changing the council meeting start time to 7:00 PM, adding references to the council chair election policy and public comments policy, updating the remote participation policy, providing links to citizen boards, and clarifying committee authority distinctions.
- A motion was made and seconded to move the guidelines forward to be adopted as a council order, with a minor clarification requested on term limit wording.
- Legislative Update: The council discussed several state bills:
- LD 852 (County Jail Funding): The council expressed support for this bill, viewing it as a way to reduce the local property tax burden. There was no opposition to supporting it.
- LD 1645 (Legislative Access to Public Info): Concerns were raised that the bill might be too broad and could impact municipalities. The council discussed opposing it or seeking clarification to exempt municipalities.
- Biohazard Waste Disposal Grant Program Bill: Introduced by Representative Rana, this bill proposes a state grant program for disposing of syringe waste. The council appeared supportive.
- LD 1814 (Transparency/Lobbying): While supporting transparency, the council expressed concern about language that might classify city officials engaging in the state rulemaking process as lobbyists. They agreed to seek clarification.
- The council noted the rapid pace of legislative activity and the short notice for hearings and votes.
- City Manager Update:
- Housing First Program: Bangor Housing Authority and Prep Street were selected by Maine Housing to develop and operate a Housing First program in Bangor for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness.
- Refugee Services: Catholic Charities of Maine is closing its Bangor refugee and immigration services office due to federal funding changes.
- Budget Process: Staff are looking into ways to lessen the tax burden, including re-evaluating property assessments and exploring potentially lower-cost commercial insurance options for paid family medical leave.
- 287(g) Program: The City Manager clarified that Bangor has never participated in the 287(g) immigration enforcement program and does not intend to. Following councilor and public interest, the council agreed to discuss potentially codifying this stance formally.
- Other Items:
- An inquiry was made about the status of “Teresa’s Place,” which is still awaiting final inspection before opening.
- Confirmation that the joint budget meeting with the school department was rescheduled for Wednesday night.
Regular City Council Meeting
You can read the meeting agenda here.
Two actions were assigned to me in the consent agenda that released the city’s interest on real estate and personal property, since the taxes were paid. There were a total of 6 actions like these taken that night.
Other items of note from the consent agenda:
New mural on Main Street. (Order 25-145) We approved the mural that will be going up on the fence along Main Street where Waterfront Concerts take place. This was discussed during the April 23, 2025 Business and Economic Development (BED) Committee meeting. Here is a rendering of what the finished art will look like:
Adjusted Planning Fees. (Order 25-144) The other item, also discussed in that same BED committee meeting was the adjusting of planning fees. It was explained during that meeting that the current planning fees were not correctly reflecting the staff time that goes into the actions taken. For example, fees that scale with project size are not correct, as the software the city uses in certain cases take the same amount of staff time regardless of project size. Many of the fees were reduced as a result.
During the BED committee meeting it was estimated this change would result in a net reduction of $22,318 in collected fees. It is my opinion that reduction is worth it in order to attract additional development for our community. What we lose in upfront planning fees we more than make up for in future property tax revenue and economic development impact.
REFERRALS TO COMMITTEE AND FIRST READING
$75,000 in Funds from the Maine Community Resilience Partnership Program. (Resolve 25-146) Maine announced $8 million in grants to help communities fight climate change. Bangor was awarded $75,000 of that to use for municipal building energy audits and installing bicycle infrastructure. This was referred to the Government Operations Committee to be taken up on May 5, 2025. I’m looking forward to learning more about this grant and the programs they will fund. I’ll share more information with you on my blog once I have it.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Amending the Code of Ordinances to Clarify that Roberts Rules of Order Apply Only to the Council and Boards, Committees and Commissions with Decision-Making Authority. This was assigned to me for reading as Item Number 25-119.
Executive Summary: This ordinance amendment would update the City’s Code of Ordinances to clarify that Roberts Rules of Order apply only to the City Council and other boards, committees, and commissions with decision-making authority. Historically, advisory bodies have proceeded informally, as they only make recommendations to Council, thereby encouraging citizens to volunteer for these advisory boards. This amendment will also codify the long-standing practice of allowing the advisory bodies to proceed with publicly-noticed meetings where fewer than a quorum is present, provided they do not take any votes or any other formal action. This was reviewed and recommended at the Government Operations Meeting on April 7, 2025.
On my desk sits a copy of the 12th Edition of Robert’s Rules of Order. 714 pages of wonderful gems like this one, part of Robert’s Rules 37:9, “5. It is debatable whenever the motion proposed to be reconsidered would be debatable, and when debatable, opens to debate the merits of the question whose reconsideration is proposed.” Is this really what we want our citizen volunteer advisory committees spinning their wheels on? Robert’s Rules belongs with bodies that take formal action, such as City Council and the Planning Board. I do not expect the Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights (ACREIHR) to have debates that sound like “the immediately pending question on which debate is currently limited is the motion to Refer the main motion—along with its pending primary and secondary amendments—to the City Council; however, a Point of Order has just been raised regarding the germaneness of the secondary amendment.”
I question whether Roberts Rules of Order ever applied to advisory committees. The Ordinance that prescribes Roberts Rules of Order is under Chapter 9, City Council, Article I: Rules and Orders. Chapter 9 itself is born out of the Charter’s requirement: “The City Council shall keep a record of its proceedings and shall determine its own rules of procedure and make lawful regulations for enforcing the same”. Because the adoption of Roberts Rules is placed within the specific procedural rules defined for the City Council, and the Charter grants the Council the authority to determine its own rules, I believe that these rules govern the City Council’s proceedings and do not automatically extend to the independent boards and commissions detailed in Chapter 23.
The second part of this amendment addresses quorums. There has been some citizens who have taken a keen interest in the proceedings of the ACREIHR committee as of late, specifically the fact that the committee proceeded to have discussions without a quorum present the last few meetings.
If votes were being taken without a quorum, I would have shared their concern. That hasn’t been the case. No votes are being taken without a quorum. I won’t begrudge members of an advisory committee to hold an informational discussion in public at a publicly noticed meeting. These were publicly noticed meetings and streamed/recorded to YouTube. From a Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) perspective, that is legal. And most importantly, the committee took no votes. The only product of those meetings are the minutes which detail the discussion, and the YouTube video recording. The name of the game is transparency, and there is plenty of it here. As a citizen I found those meetings informative, especially during the City Manager’s updates, as many times the members present for the meeting ask questions of our City Manager that have not been asked in other committees. I appreciated learning more about particular issues.
By amending this ordinance I am glad we are able to provide clarity to all parties as we move forward.
NEW BUSINESS
Establishing an Opioid Settlement Funds Advisory Committee Special Committee. (Order 25-147) This item had passage. Now begins the work to find the right people able to serve on this committee so the work can begin. The City of Bangor is making efforts to get this money invested, and passing this item showed that. Actions speak louder than words, and it is incumbent upon staff and Councilors alike to keep the momentum by filling this committee and putting it to work.
This item was the highlight of the evening for me. We all have our opinions about how long it took to get to this point (this was one of the items I campaigned on). But the focus now should be on the fact that we are moving forward and taking action is the motivation here. As I pointed out that evening when I spoke in favor of this, the order is very clear that immediate action is intended here as well as longer term strategy. The very first task this new committee is charged with is to “develop and present immediate actionable recommendations to the City Council as urgent needs are identified”.
Let the additional work begin to save lives and change lives. Together. For Bangor.
