Commission flags unclear sanitary-district charter language, seeks Title 38 references

The commission devoted a substantial portion of the meeting to the town’s sanitary district, questioning whether the charter language and local practice match state law.

Commissioners raised Title 38 (sanitary districts) as the controlling law and said they had not been able to find a separate sanitary-district charter or definitive boundary description in town records. One member said the sanitary district appears to have been combined under state action in 1977, and that Title 38A, chapter 11, section 5 governs election of trustees when a district’s territory lies entirely within a single municipality. The commission asked staff to compile the specific state citation and any historical charter documents so they can accurately describe trustee residency requirements and the district’s territorial limits in the revised charter.

Why this matters: If the charter’s language about sanitary-district trustees differs from state statute, the town could be following an inconsistent election or certification process. Commissioners highlighted a practical consequence: trustee candidacy and certification may require verification that candidates are district customers and registered voters within the district.

Next steps: The commission tasked staff to locate the district charter and to provide the cited Title 38A language to the commission and attorney so the charter text can be corrected or clarified at a later meeting.