The Town of Wayne Select Board spent significant time on July 15 reviewing two drafts of a town ethics policy — the 2007 code currently on the town website and a longer, unsigned updated draft that staff found in the office. The board discussed a third, streamlined draft produced by an editing tool and compared the three-column presentation side-by-side.

Shannon (Town Manager) reported finding an unsigned, more recently revised draft in staff files and confirmed the 2007 code remained on the website. Board members said the right-hand (streamlined) draft read more clearly, but several members asked for more time to compare the newer drafts with the 2007 version. “I’d like more time to review it because it wasn’t what I expected,” said Mary Anne (Select Board member).

Because the board did not complete a line-by-line comparison or a redline showing specific deltas between versions, members agreed to put the ethics code comparison — the 2007 version versus the streamlined right-hand draft — on the agenda for the next meeting. Staff and board members flagged a known typographic citation error in the draft (a statute cited as “20 a. MRSA” that should read “21-A M.R.S.A.”) and asked staff to prepare a clear comparison for the next meeting.