Kennebunk Select Board advances proposed charter changes for attorney review

The Kennebunk Select Board has advanced a proposal to change the town charter, sending draft amendments to the town attorney for legal review after its July 21, 2026, meeting.

The proposal would completely overhaul the charter’s recall provisions and make changes to three other charter elements. The board’s action moves the draft into legal review, but it does not amend the charter or put the changes into effect.

The amendments had not been approved by Kennebunk voters as of a July 27 report. The town’s existing charter therefore remains the governing document while the proposal is reviewed.

Recall provisions are the central change

Recall provisions govern the process residents use to seek the removal of elected town officials before their terms end. A complete overhaul of those provisions could change how a recall effort is initiated and conducted if the amendments eventually move through the municipal and electoral process.

The proposal’s final effect is not settled. The Select Board sent draft language for review rather than adopting a voter-approved charter amendment, and the proposed recall changes remain subject to the next steps in the process.

Three additional charter elements would also be changed under the same proposal. Those changes are separate from the recall provisions but are included in the draft amendment package sent to the town attorney.

Legal review comes before further action

The town attorney’s review is the next known step. That review will occur before any further municipal or electoral action on the proposed amendments.

For residents, the immediate practical effect is limited: no revised recall procedure or other charter change is currently in force as a result of the July 21 meeting. The Select Board’s decision was a preliminary step toward determining whether the draft can proceed.

If the proposal advances after legal review, later municipal or electoral action would determine whether the changes become part of Kennebunk’s charter. Until then, the package remains a proposal, and the three additional changes remain under consideration alongside the recall overhaul.