WATERVILLE – When Waterville City Council members received their June 22 meeting packets on June 19 at 7 p.m., one agenda item took them by surprise: a proposed amendment that would allow voters to decide whether the number of terms the mayor can serve should be increased from two to three.
“This has been discussed off and on for some time, but not recently,” said Mayor Tim Pedro, who will complete his second four-year term at the end of 2027. “This is an opportunity to be consistent with our council seats and our mayor seats.”
The number of terms allowed for one person to serve consecutively on council was increased from two to three on January 1, 2018. The Charter Review Committee recommended that council put the matter on the ballot in November 2017, and voters approved it. While council at the time discussed whether to ask voters to look at increasing the mayor’s terms to three as well, then-mayor Lori Brodie, who was in her second term, opposed the change…