Town Charter Is Valid

Maine Supreme Judicial Court finds for Bar Harbor Upholding Charter Changes

Jul 02, 2024

BAR HARBOR—The Maine Supreme Judicial Court today found in favor of the Town of Bar Harbor’s appeal of a 2022 lower court decision, upholding the changes to the town’s charter, which had been approved by voters in 2020.

“We conclude that the Town acted lawfully in submitting the charter commission’s proposals to the voters in the form of separate questions and that none of the claimed procedural irregularities nullifies the vote," the justices wrote in the July 2 decision. "We therefore vacate the judgment and remand for the court to enter a judgment for the Town on Good’s complaint.”

All the changes are now considered valid. The town has been operating with the changes for the past three years.

The case, Good vs.Town of Bar Harbor, involved multiple warrant articles that have guided how the town proceeds with its business. Several Bar Harbor voters brought the case to court. They were led by Michael Good, former Warrant Committee member.

In November 2018, the town created a commission to change the town’s charter. That commission came up with nine changes, and according to an earlier brief, “which it indicated created ‘changes to 19 areas within the current structure of the charter’ and constituted a ‘vision for the future of (the town’s) governance.’” Those included the Warrant Committee’s duties and structures, as well as other staff.

The Town Council had approved the recommendations and placed them on the next November ballot as separate warrant articles.

At that 2020 election, voters passed eight of the articles. Article Two, specifically about warrants and ballots, did not pass.

Good had argued that the town’s voted-in changes were “improperly presented to the voters” violating Maine’s Home Rule Act. This, he said, “materially and substantially affected what changes were ultimately made” to the town’s charter. He was represented by Maxwell Coolidge. The town was represented by Jonathan P. Hunter, and Stephen W. Wagner of Rudman Winchell.

An October 24, 2022 decision in Superior Court with Justice William Anderson presiding had agreed with Good and said that those eight changes “should indeed be invalidated.” The town appealed.

And the Supreme Judicial Court agreed, writing, “Based on the summary judgment record before us, we conclude that the charter commission acted legally in determining that its recommendations constituted minor modifications and proposing that they be submitted to the voters in nine separate articles, and likewise that the Town and its warrant committee acted legally in presenting the commission’s recommendations to the voters in separate articles. We therefore conclude that the Superior Court erred in setting aside the modifications to the charter that the voters approved.”