CARIBOU, Maine — Councilors re-elected the incumbent mayor and deputy mayor, and one new councilor was sworn in, in the first Caribou City Council meeting of the year on Thursday.
Thursday’s meeting primarily dealt with procedural matters, including appointing department heads and ironing out the City Council schedule. All of the decisions made occurred unanimously.
City Clerk Jayne Farrin swore in incumbent councilor Joan Theriault and freshman Douglas Morrell after they won seats in November’s general election. In a five-way race for two seats, Morrell inched out his nearest competitor, Milo Haney, by only 10 votes.
Councilors re-elected Mark Goughan as mayor in a unanimous vote. It was a far cry from the tight 4-3 Goughan won last year to beat out incumbent mayor David Martin.
The council voted unanimously to appoint councilor Thomas Ayer deputy mayor, replacing Jody Smith, who did not run for the position. After the vote on Ayer, Goughan thanked Smith for his great public service at the job within the last year.
The council re-elected Carl Grant as Caribou treasurer and tax collector, while Jayne Farrin was re-elected as city clerk.
Caribou-based accounting firm Felch & Company were again chosen for the city auditor position. Solman & Hunter were re-elected as the city’s legal officer.
Mayor Mark Goughan scheduled an economic development workshop for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7, in the city hall chambers.
