An Act To
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0675
Committee Amendment CA_A_H138 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "Ft" to H.P. 467, L.D. 675, Bill, "An Act To 
Amend the Charter ofthe Veazie Sewer District To Expand Its Boundaries" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Amend the Charter of the Veazie Sewer District' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 1 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. P&SL 1951, c. 114, §1, as amended by P&SL 1979, c. 86, §l, is further 
amended to read: 
Sec. 1. Incorporation. The portion of the territory of the tewa Town of Veazie 
aRd the inhabitaats within the same, exeepting the area in the most nortwNesterly eomer 
of the town 'i'lhieh is bounded by the Veazie BaRgor town line, the southeasterly line of 
Stillwater A'Iell1:le, the Veazie Orono town line aRd a line extending from the interseetion 
of the northeasterly line of Chase road, so ealled, vlith said Veazie BaRgor to'Nn line to 
said Veazie Orono town line, and being parallel 'Nith said southeasterly line of said 
Stilhvater A'fell1:le, shall eonstit1:lte that lies between the Penobscot River and Interstate 95 
constitutes a body politic and corporate under the name of the "Veazie Sewer District~ 
referred to in this Act as "the district." The purpose of the district shall be to take over, 
control, manage and operate the sanitary sewers now owned by the Town of Veazie with 
all appurtenances thereto; to extend, increase, enlarge and improve the drains and sewers; 
to extend the present system or systems so as to furnish sewerage facilities to portions of 
the town not now served with such facilities; to provide for removal of sewage; to 
discharge sewage into the Penobscot River at points most reasonable and convenient for 
the district; to provide for treatment of sewage in whole or in part before discharging it 
into the river when, as and if such treatment becomes necessary; and generally to provide 
a system of sanitary sewerage drainage for public purposes and for the health, comfort 
and convenience of the inhabitants of the district; provided that as long as nothing 
contained herein shall in this Act may be construed so as to vest the district with any duty 
of providing surface or storm water drainage. 
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o~s 
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COMMITIEE AMENDMENT" A 
.. to H.P. 467, L.D. 675 
Sec. 2. P&SL 1951, c. 114, §7, as amended by P&SL 1999, c. 17, §1, is further 
amended to read: 
Sec. 7. Trustees; how elected, tenure of office; organization of board; 
officers; vacancies; compensation; reports. 
As soon as may be after the 
acceptance of this aet Act as hereinafter provided, the municipal officers of the tewB 
Town of Veazie shall appoint 3 trustees of said district, to hold office as follows 
respectively: 1 until 2 days after the annual town meeting in 1952, 1 until 2 days after the 
annual town meeting in 1953 and 1 until 2 days after the annual town meeting in 1954. 
At each annual meeting of the district, 1 trustee shalI be elected by the iflfiaeitaats ef the 
distriet thea aad there preseat aad vetiag by the registered voters in the Town of Veazie, 
for a term of 3 years as successor to the trustee whose term expires that year. AlI trustees 
shall serve until their successors are appointed and qualified. No trustee shall be a 
member of the board ofseleetHiea municipal officer, other municipal official or employee 
of said to't'm the Town of Veazie. When any trustee ceases to be a resident of said district 
he the trustee vacates the office of trustee. Any vacancy upon the board of trustees 
occurring because of change of residence of trustee, resignation, death or any cause 
except normal expiration of term of office shall be filled by the municipal officers of the 
tewft Town of Veazie in the same manner in which the original board was appointed and 
for the unexpired portion of the term of the vacant office. All trustees shall be eligible for 
reelection or reappointment. 
The I st meeting of the board of trustees shall be held as soon as convenient after they 
have been appointed as above provided. At this original meeting, they shall elect from 
their membership a ehaiFHiaa chair, a clerk and a treasurer, shall adopt a corporate seal, 
may ordain and establish such bylaws consistent with the laws of the state as are 
necessary for their own convenience and the proper management of the affairs of said 
district, and may do all other acts, matters and things necessary to perfect their 
organization. Withia 2 "'reeks after At the next meeting of the board of trustees following 
each annual meetiBg ef the distriet election, the trustees shall meet for the purpose of 
electing a ehaiFHlaB chair, clerk and treasurer for the ensuing year and until their 
successors are elected and qualified. The trustees shall have the right and authority to 
employ and fix compensation of such officers and agents as they may deem necessary for 
the proper conduct and management of the affairs of the district. The trustees may also 
set a schedule for regular meetings. 
Notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 1252, the trustees 
receive compensation as fixed by the board of trustees, except that the chair of the board 
of trustees may receive not more than $500 per year and the other trustees may receive 
not more than $400 per year. The treasurer shall give bond to the district in such sum and 
with such sureties as the trustees may determine, which bond remains in the custody of 
the chair. 
The treasurer's salary trustees' salaries, bond premimn premiums and all 
expenses of the district must be paid from funds of the district. 
At the close of each fiscal year of said district (which shall coincide with the fiscal 
year of the tewB Town of Veazie), the trustees shall make a detailed report of their 
doings, of the financial condition of said district, of the physical condition of its property, 
and also of such other matters and things pertaining to said district as shall show the 
inhabitaats thereef how said the trustees are fulfilling the duties and obligations of their 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A "to H.P. 467, L.D. 675 
trusts. Such report shall be made and filed with the municipal officers of the tewft Town 
of Veazie on or before March 1 of each year. 
Sec. 3. P&SL 1951, c. 114, §8, as amended by P&SL 1999, c. 71, §§l and 2 and 
affected by §3, is further amended to read: 
Sec. 8. How financed. To procure funds for the purposes of this Act, and for such 
other expenses as may be necessary to carry out those purposes, the district, by its 
trustees, is authorized from time to time to borrow money and to issue its bonds and notes 
for the money, but shall not incur a total indebtedness exceeding the sum of $2,000,000 at 
anyone time outstanding, unless a higher debt limit is established pursuant to this section. 
Each bond and note shall have inscribed upon its face the words "Town of Veazie Sewer 
District," shall bear interest at such rates as the trustees shall detennine, payable 
semiannually, and shall be subject to such other provisions as the trustees shall detennine. 
Said bonds and notes may be issued to mature serially or made to run for such periods as 
said trustees may determine, but none of which shall run for a longer period than 30 years 
from the date of original issue thereof. All bonds and notes issued by said district shall be 
signed by the treasurer and countersigned by the chairmaa chair of said district, and if 
coupon bonds be issued, each coupon shall be attested by the facsimile signatures of the 
chairman chair and treasurer printed thereon. 
Said bonds and notes shall be legal 
obligations of said district, which is hereby declared to be a quasi-municipal corporation 
within the meaning of section 132 of chapter 49 of the revised statutes of 1944, and all 
the provisions of said section shall be applicable thereto. The said bonds and notes shall 
be legal investments for savings banks. 
The said district is hereby authorized and 
empowered to enter into such an agreement with the state or federal government, or any 
agency thereof or any corporation or board authorized by the state or federal government 
to loan money or otherwise assist in the financing of such projects as this sewer district is 
authorized to carry out, as may be necessary or desirable to accomplish the purposes of 
this act Act. 
In order to establish a higher debt limit for the district, the trustees shall propose a 
new debt limit for the district, which the trustees shall submit for approval in a 
distriotwide townwide referendum. The referendum must be called, advertised and 
conducted according to the law relating to municipal elections, except the registrar of 
voters is not required to prepare or the clerk to post a new list of voters. For the purpose 
of registering voters, the registrar of voters must be in session on the secular day next 
preceding the election. The town clerk of the Town of Veazie shall prepare the required 
ballots with the following question: 
"Do you favor changing the debt limit of the Veazie Sewer District from 
(insert current debt limit) to (insert proposed debt limit)?" 
The voters shall indicate by a cross or check mark placed against the word "Yes" or 
"No" their opinion on the question. The results must be declared by the trustees and 
entered upon the district's records. Due certificate of the results must be filed by the clerk 
with the Secretary of State. 
A debt limit proposal becomes effective upon its acceptance by a majority of the 
legal registered voters within the district voting at the referendum. Failure of approval by 
the majority of voters voting at the referendum does not prevent subsequent referenda 
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from being held for the same purpose. The district may increase its debt limit as often as 
approved pursuant to this section. The costs of referenda are borne by the district. 
Sec. 4. P&SL 1951, c. 114, §11, 3rd and 4th sentences are amended to read: 
In case of a failure on the part of the treasurer of the town to pay said sum, or in case of 
his the treasurer's failure to pay any part thereof on or before said 31st day of December 
of the year in which said tax is levied, the treasurer of said district may issue his ~ warrant 
for the amount of said tax or so much thereof as shall then remain unpaid to the sheriff of 
Penobscot county, requiring hlm the sheriff to levy by distress and sale on real and 
personal property of aRY of the iRHabitaats of said within the district, and the sheriff or 
any of his the sheriffs deputies shall execute said warrant, except as is otherwise 
provided herein. The same authority as is vested in county officials for the collection of 
county taxes, under the provisions of the revised statutes, is hereby vested in the trustees 
of said district in relation to the collection of taxes withiR said distriet. 
Sec. 5. P&SL 1951, c. 114, §12, as amended by P&SL 1999, c. 17, §2, is further 
amended to read: 
Sec. 12. 
Election of trustees; meetings; qualification of voters of the 
district. The annual meetiRg of the distriet m-ast be Held iR tHe distriet OR the date aRd at 
tHe HOur aRd !llase as may be desigtlated by resoll:ltioR of the board of tflistees. Notiee of 
tHe meetiflg, sigtled by the eHair or slerk of tHe board, m-ast be eOfls!lieuously !losted iR 2 
!lublie plaees witlliR tHe distriet, Rot less tHaa 7 days before tHe meetiRg. election of 
trustees must be held on the same date and time as the regular election of municipal 
officers of the Town of Veazie. The nomination and election of trustees must follow the 
same process as required for the municipal officers of the Town of Veazie. New trustees 
must be sworn in at the district's next meeting following the election. Regular meetings 
may be held as established by the board. Special meetings may be called by the board ffi 
like ffiaflfler at any time, and notice of special meetings must state the business to be 
transacted at the special meeting. Eleven persons qualified to vote in these meetings 
constitute a quorum. Notice of any special meetings, signed by the chair or clerk of the 
board, must be conspicuously posted in 2 public places within the district, not less than 7 
days before the meeting. 
Emergency meetings may be called by the board at any time in a manner consistent 
with the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 1, section 406. 
All persoRs resideBt Recognizing that all residents of the Town of Veazie support the 
district by means of the district's assessment upon the Town of Veazie, all registered 
voters in said distriet aRd qualified to vote for gO'r'emor ooder the Ia'Ns of tHis state shall 
ee the Town of Veazie are entitled to vote in any election or meeting of the district, 
including the ~ meeting for acceptance or amendment of this charter. 
Sec. 6. P&SL 1951, c. 114, §12-A is enacted to read: 
Sec. 12-A. Trustee recall. Any 5 registered voters of the Town of Veazie may 
begin at any time proceedings to recall a trustee by requesting in writing to the district 
clerk the appropriate petition blanks. These 5 registered voters are referred to as the 
recall committee. All papers of the petition must be uniform in size and style and must be 
assembled as one instrument for filing. The papers must contain or have attached thereto 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to H.P. 467, L.D. 675 
throughout their circulation a statement detailing the reason or reasons for recall and the 
names of the 5 registered voters or name of the recall committee. 
The recall committee has 30 days from the acceptance date of the request by the 
district clerk to have the petition signed by 25% of the registered voters of the Town of 
Veazie. The petition must be available only at the district clerk's office during normal 
business hours and must be signed by registered voters in the presence of the district clerk 
or the clerk's deputy. Each voter's signature must be followed by the voter's address. 
Within 7 days after the petition circulation period ends, the district clerk shall certify 
to the board of trustees that the petition has been signed by not less than 25% of the 
registered voters of the Town of Veazie, that all signatures were affixed in the presence of 
the district clerk or the clerk's deputy, that the clerk believes the signatures to be the 
genuine signatures of the persons whose names they purport to be and that each signer 
had an opportunity to read the statement detailing the reason or reasons for the recall. 
If fewer registered voters than required by this section sign the petition in the 
specified time, the petition has no further force or effect, and all proceedings thereon 
must be terminated and a subsequent request for recall may not be accepted by the district 
clerk until 180 days after the expiration of the previous filing period. 
Upon receipt of certification, the board of trustees shall within 30 days hold an 
election for the purpose of submitting to a vote the question of recall. 
Pending action by the voters of the Town of Veazie, a trustee against whom recall 
proceedings have been initiated may continue to exercise all the privileges of that 
trustee's office. 
The ballot for recall must contain the following question: "Shall (name of trustee 
being subjected to recall) be recalled from the Board of Trustees of the Veazie Sewer 
District?" Immediately below the question must appear in the following order the words 
"Yes" and "No" and to the right of each a square in which the voter may place a cross or 
check mark to cast a vote. 
A trustee is recalled when a majority of those voting thereon have voted in the 
affirmative. The unexpired portion of the term of a trustee who has been recalled must be 
filled by the municipal officers of the Town of Veazie in accordance with section 7. 
Sec. 7. P&SL 1951, c. 114, §13, first sentence, as amended by P&SL 1979, c. 
86, §5 and affected by §6, is further amended to read: 
The registrar of voters shall prepare and submit to the trustees a correct list of persons 
qualified to vote in the district elections and for that purpose may use the list as compiled 
by the registrar of voters of the legal voters in the Town of Veazie. 
Sec. 8. Election of trustees; transition. Notwithstanding the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 30-A, section 2528, subsection 4, for the first election of trustees held 
following the effective date of this Act, the board of trustees of the Veazie Sewer District 
may set the date by which nomination papers must be made available to prospective 
candidates and the date by which completed nomination papers must be filed.' 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,~" to H.P. 467, L.D. 675 
SUMMARY 
This amendment requires the Veazie Sewer District to conduct the election of its 
trustees in the same manner and at the same date and time as the Town of Veazie elects 
its municipal officers and repeals the requirement that the election be held at an annual 
meeting. This amendment allows the trustees to establish a regular meeting schedule and 
establishes notice requirements for special and emergency meetings. This amendment 
authorizes the trustees of the Veazie Sewer District to set the date by which nomination 
papers must be made available to prospective candidates and the date by which 
completed nomination papers must be filed. The amendment also establishes a process 
for the recall of a member of the board of trustees. 
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