The administration of all fiscal, prudential and municipal affairs of the Town, with the government thereof, except the general management, care, conduct, and control of the schools of the Town, and also except as otherwise provided by this Charter, shall be vested in one body of seven members, which shall constitute and be called the Town Council. All members of the Council shall be inhabitants of the Town and shall be sworn in the manner hereinafter prescribed. Each member of the Council shall be elected by the registered voters of the entire Town. Four members shall be considered "at large" Councilors and shall be residents of any area of the Town. Three members shall be considered "area" Councilors, and one "area" Councilor shall be a resident of each of the following areas of the Town:
(a) 
Cumberland Foreside, Basket Island and Sturdivant Island, which shall consist of the area bounded on the south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Falmouth, on the east by Yarmouth and on the north by the railroad now or formerly known as the Grand Trunk Railroad (railroad located between Middle Road and Route One).
(b) 
Cumberland Center, which shall consist of the area bounded on the south by the railroad now or formerly known as the Grand Trunk Railroad, on the west by Falmouth, on the east by Yarmouth and North Yarmouth, and on the north by a line bisecting the Bruce Hill Road and extended west to the Falmouth town line and east to the North Yarmouth town line.
(c) 
West Cumberland, which shall consist of the area bounded on the south by a line bisecting the Bruce Hill Road and extended west to the Falmouth town line and east to the North Yarmouth town line, on the west by Falmouth, on the north by Windham and Gray, and on the east by North Yarmouth.
Each member shall be elected for a term of three years and until a successor is elected and qualified.
(a) 
Councilors shall be qualified voters of the Town and must have been residents of the Town for one year immediately prior to the time of election and shall reside in the Town during their term of office.
(b) 
Holding other office. Except where clearly authorized by law, or pursuant to an agreement under the Interlocal Cooperation Act,[1] no Councilor shall hold other Town elected office or employment, and no Councilor shall serve on a Council-appointed committee, except as an ex officio member, during the term for which he or she was elected to the Council. No former Councilor shall hold any compensated appointed Town office or employment until one year after the expiration of the term for which he or she was elected to the Council. With the exception of the Fire Chief and Rescue Chief, membership in the Cumberland Fire and Rescue Department, alone, shall not be grounds for disqualification from holding office as a Councilor.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 30-A M.R.S.A. §§ 2201 to 2208.
(c) 
Forfeiture of office. A Councilor shall forfeit office if he or she:
1) 
Lacks at any time during his or her term of office any qualification for the office prescribed by this Charter or by law;
2) 
Violates any express prohibition of this Charter;
3) 
Is convicted of a crime or offense which is reasonably related to an inability to serve as a Councilor; or
4) 
Fails to attend three consecutive regular meetings of the Council without being excused by the Council.
An "area" Councilor shall forfeit office if he or she ceases to be a resident of the area of Town which he or she was elected to represent.
(d) 
Vacancies. The office of Councilor shall become vacant upon nonacceptance, resignation, abandonment, death, recall, or removal from office in any manner authorized by law, forfeiture of office, or permanent physical or mental disability causing inability to perform required duties after reasonable accommodation has been made by the Town pursuant to state and federal law.
(e) 
Filling of vacancies. If a seat on the Town Council becomes vacant more than six months prior to the next regular election, the Council shall call a special election to fill the unexpired term to be held within 60 days from the date that the vacancy occurred. If a seat on the Council becomes vacant less than six months prior to the next regular election, the Council shall, at its option, either:
1) 
Call a special election to fill the unexpired term to be held within 60 days from the date that the vacancy occurred; or
2) 
Appoint a qualified voter of the Town to serve as Councilor until the next regular election, at which time an election shall be held to fill the unexpired term, provided that the appointment must be made within 60 days from the date that the vacancy occurred.
If a vacancy occurs in a seat previously held by an "area" Councilor, the person elected or appointed to fill the vacancy must be a resident of that same area.
Without limitation of the foregoing, the Council shall have power to:
(a) 
Appoint the Manager for an initial term not to exceed three years, reappoint the Manager for additional terms not to exceed three years, and remove the Manager for cause by a majority of its members. At least 30 days before such removal shall become effective, the Council shall, by a majority vote of its members, adopt a preliminary resolution stating the reasons for the Manager's removal. The Manager may reply in writing and may request a public hearing, which shall be held not earlier than 20 days nor later than 30 days after the filing of such request. After such public hearing, if one be requested, and after full consideration, the Council by majority vote of its members may adopt a final resolution of removal. By the preliminary resolution, the Council may suspend the Manager from duty, but the regular salary of the Manager shall continue to be paid to the Manager during the period of suspension. If removal is voted the Council shall cause to be paid to the Manager, forthwith, any unpaid balance of his salary for the next one calendar month. The Council shall review annually the performance of the Town Manager and present said review to the Town Manager in executive session.
(b) 
Appoint the Town Attorney and the Town Auditor to serve at the will of the Council.
(c) 
Appoint the Board of Assessment Review, the Board of Adjustment and Appeals, the Planning Board, the Personnel Appeals Board, and all statutory and advisory boards to serve such terms of office and subject to removal under such conditions as may be established by ordinance or statute.
(d) 
Appoint the Town Assessor for an initial term not to exceed three years, reappoint the Assessor for additional terms not to exceed three years, and remove the Assessor by a majority of Council members.
(e) 
Create, change, and abolish offices, departments and agencies, other than the offices, departments and agencies established by this Charter. The Council may assign additional functions or duties to offices, departments or agencies established by this Charter but may not discontinue or assign to any other office, department or agency any function or duty assigned by this Charter to a particular office, department or agency. The Council may, however, where not prohibited by law, vest in the Town Manager all or part of the duties of any office under this Charter.
(f) 
Make, alter and repeal ordinances, including the power to enact ordinances providing for the grant of licenses and permits for the conduct of any business, as set forth in the laws of the State of Maine, for such periods of time and in accordance with such rules and regulations not inconsistent with the law and upon payment by the licensee of such fees as the Council may establish in such ordinance.
(g) 
Make investigations into the affairs of the Town and the conduct of any Town department, office or agency. For this purpose the Council shall enact an ordinance providing for the compulsory attendance of witnesses, the administering of oaths, the taking of testimony, and the compulsory production of evidence.
(h) 
Adopt, modify and carry out plans proposed by the Planning Board.
(i) 
Adopt the annual budget.
(j) 
Provide for an annual audit.
(k) 
Exercise all the legislative, financial, borrowing and other powers now or hereafter given by statute to inhabitants of towns acting in town meeting and also exercise all the powers now and hereafter given by statute to municipal officers of towns.
(l) 
Establish the salaries of officials appointed by the Council, including the salary of the Town Manager.
(m) 
Provide for necessary and actual expenses of the Town officers and officials in the exercise of their official duties.
Councilors shall receive $100 for each Council meeting attended, not to exceed in the aggregate $2,000 per year in full for their services, and shall be paid quarterly. The Council Chairman shall receive $2,400 per year. Such compensation shall be changed by ordinance, but no such ordinance increasing the salary of members of the Town Council shall take effect during the then current municipal year.
The Council shall meet at the municipal building on the first Monday following the regular Town election, and at said meeting Councilors-elect shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of their duties by a notary public or by the Town Clerk.
The Council shall be the judge of the election and qualifications of its members and for such purposes shall have power to subpoena witnesses and require production of records. The Council shall also determine whether the office of Councilor has become vacant or has been forfeited as provided herein; provided, however, that the Council shall conduct a public hearing and give notice and an opportunity to be heard prior to determining that a seat on the Council has become vacant or has been forfeited.
The Council shall establish a regular place and time for holding its regular meetings and shall meet regularly at least once a month. It shall also provide a method for calling special meetings. During each meeting there shall be opportunity for public discussion upon each item on the agenda. The agenda for each Council meeting shall be posted and distributed in such public places and private establishments as the Council shall determine.
The Council shall determine its own rules and order of business. It shall keep a record of its proceedings and the record shall be open to public inspection.
The Council shall elect from among its members officers of the Town who shall have the titles of Chairman and Vice Chairman, each of whom shall serve at the pleasure of the Council. The Chairman shall preside at meetings of the Council, shall be entitled to vote on all questions and shall be recognized as head of the Town government for all ceremonial purposes, and by the Governor for purposes of military law, but shall have no administrative duties. The Vice Chairman shall act as Chairman during the absence or disability of the Chairman.
A majority of the Council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. At least four votes shall be registered in favor of passage of any ordinance, order or resolution. A smaller number may adjourn from time to time or may compel attendance of absent members by subpoena. At least 24 hours' notice of the time and place of holding such adjourned meeting shall be given to all members who were not present at the meeting from which adjournment was taken.
(a) 
Form. Every proposed ordinance shall be introduced in writing and in the form required for final adoption. The enacting clause shall be "The Town of Cumberland hereby ordains..." Any ordinance which repeals or amends an existing ordinance shall set out in full the ordinance sections or subsections to be repealed or amended and shall indicate matter to be omitted by enclosing it in brackets or by strikeout type and shall indicate new matter by underscoring or by italics.
(b) 
Procedure. A proposed ordinance may be introduced by any member at any regular or special meeting of the Council. Upon introduction of any ordinance, the Secretary to the Council shall distribute a copy to each Council member and to the Town Manager, shall file a reasonable number of copies in the office of the Clerk and such other public places as the Council may designate, and shall publish the same as defined in Section 11(d) together with a notice setting out the time and place for a public hearing thereon and for its consideration by the Council. The public hearing shall follow the publication by at least seven calendar days, or by such longer period as may be required by statute, and may be held separately or in connection with a regular or special Council meeting and may be adjourned from time to time. All persons interested shall have a reasonable opportunity to be heard. After the hearing the Council may adopt the ordinance with or without amendment or reject it, but if it is amended as to any matter of substance, the Council may not adopt it until the ordinance or its amended sections have been subjected to all the procedure hereinbefore required in the case of a newly introduced ordinance.
(c) 
Effective date. Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, every adopted ordinance shall become effective immediately when adopted or at such other date as established by the Town Council in its adoption.
(d) 
"Publish" defined. As used in this section, the term "publish" means to print in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the Town:
1) 
The ordinance or a brief summary thereof prepared by the Council Secretary;
2) 
The places where copies of it have been filed and the times when they are available for public inspection; and
3) 
The date, time and place of the public hearing.
(e) 
Emergency ordinances. To meet a public emergency affecting life, health, property or public peace, the Council may adopt one or more emergency ordinances. An emergency ordinance may be adopted with or without amendment or rejected at the meeting at which it is introduced, but the affirmative vote of at least the majority plus one member shall be required for adoption. After its adoption the ordinance shall be posted in three public places. It shall become effective upon adoption or at such later time as it may specify. Every emergency ordinance except one authorizing the issuance of emergency notes shall stand repealed as of the 61st day following the date on which it was adopted, but this shall not prevent reenactment of the ordinance in the manner specified in this section if the emergency still exists. An emergency ordinance may also be repealed by adoption of a repealing ordinance in the same manner specified in this section for adoption of emergency ordinances.
(f) 
Authentication and recording. All ordinances adopted by the Council shall be authenticated by the signature of the Secretary of the Council and recorded in full in a properly indexed book kept for that purpose.
(g) 
Codification. At least every 10 years after adoption of this Charter the Council shall provide for the preparation of a general codification of all ordinances. The general codification shall be adopted by the Council by ordinance and shall be printed promptly in bound or loose-leaf form, together with this Charter and any amendments thereto, and any pertinent provisions of the Constitution and the laws of the State of Maine as the Council may specify. Any codification ordinance may be published by title. This compilation shall be known and cited officially as the "Cumberland Code." Copies of the Code shall be furnished to officials, placed in libraries and public offices for free public reference and made available for purchase by the public at a reasonable price fixed by the Council.
(h) 
Printing of ordinances. The Council shall cause each ordinance and each amendment to this Charter to be printed promptly following its adoption, and the printed ordinances and Charter amendments shall be distributed or sold to the public at reasonable prices to be fixed by the Council. Following publication of the first Cumberland Code and at all times thereafter, the ordinances and Charter amendments shall be printed in substantially the same style as the Code currently in effect and shall be suitable in form for integration therein. The Council shall make such further arrangements as it deems desirable with respect to reproduction and distribution of any current changes in or additions to the provisions of the Constitution and other laws of the State of Maine, or other rules and regulations included in the Code.
The Town Manager shall appoint a Council Secretary who shall serve as the recorder of the Council meetings and keep record of all Council proceedings.
The Council shall designate the State Department of Audit or private certified public accountants who, as of the end of the fiscal year, shall make an independent audit of accounts and other evidences of financial transactions of the Town government and shall submit their report to the Council and the Town Manager. Such accountants shall not maintain any accounts or records of the Town business but shall post-audit the books and documents kept by any office, officer, department or agency of the Town government.