This fall, citizens of the Town of Camden will be asked to decide on how the town is to be governed in the future when they vote on  changes and updates to the town’s Charter being proposed by the Camden Charter Commission. 

A charter is not a static document.  Making changes means the town must review their charter every five to ten years which is what the current Charter Commission has been working on these past two years, reviewing the existing charter and recommending changes to reflect the current and future needs of the Town.    

Like the United States and the State of Maine,  a town has a constitution—it's called a Charter. This document defines how a municipality is organized and how it functions. 

The Charter contains information about how a municipality operates.  Camden’s has a town meeting form of government where residents elect the Select Board, vote on the annual budget and all ordinances. The Select Board appoints the town manager and is responsible for policy. The charter also defines their terms and duties, the handling of public services and municipal departments, and deals with financial matters, such as the power to tax and to incur and pay for debt. The charter contains information regarding the town's boards, commissions and committees and addresses charter amendments and other issues dealing with how a municipality operates.

A few examples of what the Commission has been working on include compliance with State of Maine laws, the adjusting and updating the charter to be more in line with current governance reflecting current municipal needs and focusing on the tightening of guidelines that seemed too vague.

Public information meetings will be held later in July and in early August to review the Commission’s recommendations for updates to the charter, and solicit citizen comments on the proposed changes. There will be specific information on where and when this public hearing will be held in the next several weeks on the town’s website, Facebook page, and in news releases. An annotated version of the revised charter will soon be posted on the Town’s website and made available in the Town Office.

These meetings are an opportunity for Camden residents to learn about the proposed changes to the town charter affecting how their town will be governed in the coming years.

Camden Charter Commission

Deb Dodge, Chair

Lowrie Sargent, Vice-Chair

John French

Nancy Caudle-Johnson

Karen Grove

Mark Haskell

Jim Heard

Bob Oxton

Jean White