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Pownal Select Board plans short civics course, schedules attorney training and confronts abusive tax-bill calls
Summary
The board agreed to pursue a short Civics 100 program with local schools, scheduled town-attorney training for Oct. 27, and addressed resident anger over tax bills, with the chair removing his home phone from the public directory after receiving obscene calls.
Pownal — At its Aug. 11 meeting the Town of Pownal Select Board discussed civic-engagement programming, scheduled town-attorney training and addressed complaints tied to this year's tax bills.
Chair Jon Morris proposed a short Civics 100 series run by RSU instructor Peter Wagner in two to three sessions aimed at fifth graders and their parents to explain the town-meeting form of government and encourage participation. "If you can make it interesting for a fifth grader, it's going to be interesting to everybody," Morris said. Selectperson George Pottle and Selectperson Kate Day favored a shorter set of focused sessions and suggested involving departmental presentations (for example, about how roads are plowed and how the fire department responds to calls).
The Town Administrator said the town attorney's next available date would be Oct. 27 for a roughly 90-minute session beginning at 5 p.m.; she will confirm the date and invite boards and committees. The Town Administrator will also enroll Pottle and Day in the Maine Municipal Association Academy online training.
The board addressed public frustration over tax bills: Taylor-Chase said tax bills were mailed the previous Wednesday and staff have fielded walk-ins and calls, and she asked residents to conduct themselves civilly with deputy clerks. Chair Morris said he is removing his home phone number from the official directory after receiving obscene calls and said he will instead provide a flip-phone contact.
Morris also raised whether the town should adopt an AI-use policy for official communications after residents asked how they can be sure code-enforcement advice is not AI-generated; the Town Administrator said the question merits a policy discussion and noted other municipalities are drafting guidance.
The administrator reported five chickens loose on Allen Road and advised residents to contact the Cumberland County sheriff's office if needed. A resident reportedly praised the fire department's response to a recent call on Elmwood Road; the board noted the compliment.
Next steps: the administrator will confirm attorney training dates, enroll selectpersons in MMA Academy and work with RSU contact Peter Wagner to scope a short civic-education series.
