The Maine Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling dismissing a case filed against the town of Waldoboro challenging the legality of budget appropriations that were enacted in 2011 open town meeting, rather than by secret ballot.
The plaintiffs, resident Dennis Blanchet and others, maintained that a 2008 secret ballot vote established a binding voting procedure for future municipal elections and was a valid exercise of the town’s municipal home rule authority.
On Nov. 14, 2011, Justice Jeffery Hjelm dismissed the lawsuit, which was originally brought in Lincoln County Superior Court.
In his decision, Hjelm determined the 2008 vote did not establish a ordinance, noting that “Any effort to regulate municipal voting methods … through some means other than a municipal charter is ineffective” because it violates state law.
Waldoboro does not have a town charter.