By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — Regretfully, members of the Caribou City Council approved the resignation of Mary Kate Barbosa from the board during their last City Council meeting on March 11.
Barbosa did not attend the meeting and expressed her resignation in a letter, which was read into the record by City Mayor Gary Aiken.
“It is after careful consideration that I tender my resignation as councilor from the Caribou City Council. For personal reasons, I cannot currently devote the time and focus necessary to effectively represent the citizens of Caribou, particularly during the very challenging budget preparation period,” Barbosa’s letter read. “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the City of Caribou and to work with councilors, managers and staff who are so committed to our community.”
Barbosa was first elected to the council on Nov. 4, 2008; she was sworn in on Jan. 2, 2009 and re-elected on Nov. 10, 2011; her elected term expires in 2014.
Remaining councilors agreed to hold the election to fill Barbosa’s vacated seat on the council on Tuesday, Nov. 5. The city’s charter stipulates that an election to fill the vacancy can not be held sooner than 60 days.
The charter also stipulates in section 2.06 (d) that the city council must appoint a qualified individual to fill the vacancy within 30 days of accepting the resignation.
Council members are looking for interested individuals willing to be appointed to the board until a new councilor can be elected in November. Interested individuals can pick up applications at the City Clerk’s office, and applications are due back to the City Clerk’s office by 5 p.m. on Friday, April 5.
With the new vacancy, November’s ballot is looking pretty full as four council seats will be up for election — two one-year terms and two three-year terms.
The one-year terms are the result of two resignations by former councilors — Barbosa and Bryan Thompson, who resigned on Sept. 11 2012. Similar to Barbosa, Thompson had expressed to the council that he no longer felt he was able to dedicate the level of commitment that is required of a councilor due to lifestyle and professional changes.
The two three-year terms that will be on the ballot are the expiring terms of councilors David Martin and Kenneth Murchison, who were both elected in 2013.
Potential councilors must comply with the standards listed in the charter — section 2.01 (b) stipulates that “Only qualified voters of the city, who are current for all annual personal and real property taxes due to the city on or before December 31st of the previous year, shall be eligible to hold the office of Councilor.”
A copy of the new charter can be viewed on the city’s web page www.cariboumaine.org.
