CAMDEN — Basic rules for governing Camden were established when the Charter was adopted in 1985. Included were a listing of the duties of the Select Board, Town Manager, department heads and committees. Since that time amendments have been added to the Charter as approved at Town Meeting, frequently to bring it into agreement with revised State and Federal Statutes.

Over the past few years the Select Board and Town staff have discussed whether the entire Charter should be reviewed and revised to modernize it and fully reflect the needs of Camden in the 21st century. 

Subsequently a Charter Commission of nine citizen volunteers was formed and began meeting in August 2019 to work on the task of rewriting the Charter.

Three of those members have subsequently left the group because of other time constraints so the commission is now looking for three new Camden citizen volunteers with some experience serving on town committees or Boards. 

The Charter Commission meets the first and third Thursday of each month to review revisions and receive input from any interested Town citizens.  The commission expects to complete its work in 12 months and present the updated Charter to the Town citizens for acceptance.

If you are interested in participating, fill out a Committee Interest form available at the Town Manager’s office.

If you have questions about the process,  contact the Town Manager’s Assistant, 207-236-3353, and a commission member will respond to your inquiry.

— Deb Dodge and Lowrie Sargent, Charter Commission