Select Board asks subcommittee to revise ethics code after members flag unclear examples and conflict language
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Summary
Board members asked a subcommittee to rewrite portions of a proposed code of ethics to remove unclear examples and to address employee treatment and conflict‑of‑interest timing; Lloyd and the town manager will draft language to return to the board.
The Select Board agreed Aug. 6 to have a small subcommittee redraft portions of a proposed municipal code of ethics after members raised concerns that some example scenarios in the draft created ambiguity about when a conflict applies.
Members said two examples in the draft — language about town officials hiring local contractors who also do private work and about purchase of town property — read as indefinite prohibitions and could be interpreted to bar officials from private activity forever. One member said the examples as written "sound like it means forever," and the board discussed whether the policy should apply only while an official holds office or for a narrower time window.
Board members recommended removing the clarifying examples that were generating confusion and asked staff to consult Maine Municipal Association guidance on perception and disclosure of conflicts of interest. Members also requested explicit language or a cross‑reference addressing the ethical treatment of employees and the board's expectations for workplace conduct; several members said they wanted that topic included or tied to existing personnel policies.
The board asked Select Board member Lloyd and Town Manager Shannon to serve as a drafting subcommittee to produce a revised single‑column draft with those changes and return it at a future meeting. The board did not adopt a final code at the Aug. 6 meeting.