The Board of Assessment Review shall have all the powers and
duties given to it by the Constitution and laws of the State of Maine,
by the Charter of the Town of Bar Harbor and by this article.
No qualifications or skills have been specified.
A general boards and committees application is available from
the Town Clerk or at barharbormaine.gov. Applications should be returned
to the Town Clerk for consideration by the Town Council Appointments
Committee. The Appointments Committee will contact candidates with
interview times and make their recommendation to the Town Council
at the next Town Council meeting. The Town Council will vote on the
nominations. It is best to attend the nominating meeting, in case
Councilors have questions. Approved members will need to be sworn
in by the Town Clerk and take an ethics training exam. Members cannot
vote in their committee until these steps have been completed.
This Board has five members. All members must be Bar Harbor
residents. All members are voting members.
The term of each member shall be three years. There are no limits
to the number of terms served. All appointments run from August 1
to July 31.
Vacancies occurring during the middle of a term served shall
be filled by the Town Council from recommendations from the Appointments
Committee. The candidate will serve out the remainder of the vacated
term. Board openings shall be filled by vote of the Town Council from
recommendations from the Appointments Committee.
All absences must be excused prior to the start of the meeting,
and all attendance shall be recorded in meeting minutes. If a member
missed more than 75% of the regular meetings within a twelve-month
period, regardless of being excused, the member forfeits their membership
on the Board.
All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public, and notice
thereof shall be given that all members shall have reasonable opportunity
to make plans to attend. Notices shall be posted on the bulletin board
in the Town Hall, on the Town calendar, and on social media at least
three days prior to the meeting.
Following its organizational meeting, the Board of Assessment
Review shall meet on an as-needed basis and always within 30 days
after the Town Office receives an appeal pursuant to 36 M.R.S.A. § 843.
No meeting of the Board of Assessment Review shall be held without
the presence of a quorum, which shall consist of at least three members.
The Board shall act by a majority vote of the members present and
voting.
A Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary should be elected at the
first meeting of the Board after August 1. The Chair is responsible
for calling meetings, the meeting agenda, and leading meetings. The
Vice Chair will take over the responsibilities for the Chair if the
Chair is unable to preside over a meeting. The Secretary shall take
minutes at each meeting and send approved minutes to the Town Clerk.
Meetings are open to the public and shall be electronically or stenographically
recorded. No elected official can act as an officer of this Board.
Bylaws may be adopted and amended only by the Town Council.
The Board may suggest bylaws to the Town Council for its consideration.
All meetings of the Board shall be conducted in accordance with
30-A M.R.S.A. § 2691, Subsection 3, and in accordance with
Robert's Rules of Order, unless the Board shall adopt its own rules
which shall supersede Robert's Rules of Order to the extent they are
contrary to the same. Board procedures for hearings and meetings are
stated in their guidelines. The Board may, at its own discretion or
on advice of counsel, apply, not apply, or waive application of any
of the guidelines. These guidelines are advisory in nature and not
intended to be strictly applied or dispositive on any issue or procedure
before the Board.
All Board members, voting and nonvoting, are subject to the
Town-Council-approved social media policy found at barharbormaine.gov
and in the Committee Handbook.
