Bill Stockmeyer, Practice Group Leader of Drummond Woodsum’s Public Finance Group, was quoted in the Island Ad-Vantages article, “CSD Budget Meeting Nullified by Breach of Protocol, Process to Begin Again.”
The article addresses a breach of protocol during the July 15 school budget meeting.
“Maine statute requires that a cost center summary budget, consisting of specific expenditure articles, revenue articles, and a summary article, be approved by a budget meeting and then be submitted to a referendum. The law further requires a referendum be held to validate a budget approved ‘as provided by statute.’ Last night’s budget meeting failed to take action on any expenditure articles or revenue articles, approving only the total budget summary article, so there has been no budget approved ‘as required by statute.’”
Stockmeyer went on to provide a solution: “We therefore would advise that the school committee should rescind the validation referendum, call and hold a new budget meeting for action on the budget consistent with these laws, and then hold a validation referendum on that budget.”
To read the article in its entirety, please click here.
