The Caribou City Council completed its organizational business Jan. 2, electing leadership for 2026, confirming a slate of administrative officers and board appointments, and taking several procedural votes.

Leadership election: Councilors nominated Courtney Beaumont for mayor and Jody Smith for deputy mayor. In a secret ballot for mayor the council recorded six votes for Councilor Courtney Beaumont and one for Councilor Watson; Beaumont was declared mayor for 2026.

Administrative appointments and staffing: The council approved required charter appointments, naming Penny Thompson as city manager; Carl Grant as city treasurer and tax collector; Danielle Brissett as city clerk and registrar of voters; RHR Smith and Company as city auditor; Solomon and Hunter as city legal counsel for general matters; Bernstein Shur as legal counsel for personnel and collective bargaining; and Brian LaJoy as health officer for the required three‑year term. The council also approved administratively appointed deputy positions, including Christina Bridal as deputy city clerk and Holly Doody as deputy treasurer.

Board and committee appointments: The council approved multiple citizen and council appointments to advisory boards and authorities, including Ken Mertison and Jody Smith to the Aroostook Waste Solutions board (one‑year term); Michael Quinlan to the board of assessors; Shane McDougall to the airport advisory committee (three‑year term); appointments to the Caribou Housing Authority board; and Travis Michaux and Coleen Murphy to the library board of trustees (three‑year terms). The library trustees motion carried with six ayes and one abstention (Smith).

Procedural and fiscal motions: The council approved a schedule for additional January meetings (Jan. 12 and Jan. 26, 2026) and discussed meeting frequency and budget workshops for early 2026. It authorized the tax collector to accept early 2026 property tax payments with 0% interest applied to prepayments, authorized the city manager to review and approve all treasurer warrants for 2026, and authorized the 2026 tax club (12 equal payments with no interest applied for participants); all procedural motions carried on recorded ayes.

Closing: Councilors provided brief reports and welcome remarks to newly sworn members and adjourned with the next meeting set for Jan. 12.

All vote outcomes and motions described here reflect the recorded actions and roll calls taken on Jan. 2, as entered in the meeting transcript.