HOULTON, Maine — For the third time in the past month-and-a-half, a meeting of the Houlton Town Council had to be postponed due to a lack of enough members.
Monday night’s regularly-schedule council meeting, slated to begin at 6 p.m., was postponed at about 5:15 p.m. when town officials learned they would not have enough members to conduct business. Three of the seven councilors were unable to attend the meeting, according to council chairman Wade Hanson.
Although four of the seven councilors would have been present, which would constitute a majority in most communities, the meeting could not take place because according to the town’s charter, which states four members, not including the chairman, must be present.
Houlton Town Manager Butch Asselin said Tuesday that it was unusual to have this many meetings postponed due to a lack of a quorum, but stated sometimes absences are unavoidable. One member of the council was away on vacation Monday, while another was out for a family emergency. The third member contacted Hanson at 5 p.m. to state they were unable to make the meeting due to work commitments.
Asselin said there were no pressing action items that needed to be addressed immediately. The next meeting will be Monday, Aug. 10, at 6 p.m.
