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Town mailer appears to rebut MMA meeting rules guide

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A mailer introducing residents to the rules of today's Lebanon Open Town Meeting seems to be at odds with rules explained in the Maine Municipal Association's Citizen's Guide to Town Meeting on their website.

In the three-page foldup mailer - which was in the works as early as May 28 but not received by most residents till just Friday - it states that "(All Lebanon articles will be open-ended on June 25th to allow for

voters to make changes)."

However, in the Maine Municipal Association guide regarding amendments it states, "It should be noted that amendments to so-called "capped" money articles - articles in which the amount of money is contained in the actual wording of the article - are limited: The amount may only be decreased.

An example given in the town mailer floats a possible amendment of adding a new fire truck, a referendum rejected by voters in May.

The mailer reads, "The voter may say 'I would like to propose Lebanon include the money for a new Fire Truck.' The select-board would then need to add the cost of a new Fire Truck to the original recommendation that has been moved and give the

resident a new dollar amount. The resident will then re-propose the amendment by stating the exact dollar amount."

Eric Conrad of the Maine Municipal Association, who said he helped write the Citizen's Guide to Open Meeting about three years ago, declined comment Friday on the apparent violation of Open Town Meeting rules.

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