The Enabling Act of 1939
This document is reprinted with permission from "The Manager Plan in Maine" published by the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy. Copies of the complete book may be obtained by calling the Center at (207) 581-1646.
Before 1939, the only method available for establishing a town manager form of government was by securing a special charter (act) from the legislature. The enabling act of 1939 made it possible for towns and plantations to adopt the manager plan at the regular town meeting or at a special town meeting that was called to vote on the manager plan. From 1939 through 1949, 79 towns and plantations adopted the manager plan. All but eight did so initially under the enabling act. Since 1949, 52 towns have adopted the manager plan, and all but three towns did so by the enabling act. Several towns, however, which initially obtained the manager plan under the enabling act now operate under charters.
It was much easier for municipalities to adopt the enabling act than to ask the legislature for a charter. The ease with which the manager plan could be abandoned under the enabling act also was used as an argument in its favor. The fact that only four towns (Orient in 1950, Brooks in 1951, Skowhegan in 1970, and Princeton in 1991 with Skowhegan re-adopting a manager form in 1988) have abandoned the plan indicates the favorable acceptance of town manager government in the communities which have adopted it.
Moreover, the manager plan under the enabling act was somewhat flexible. The role of the manager could be adjusted to local needs and conditions and could be modified at the discretion of the board of selectmen. Under the 1939 enabling act, it was not unusual to find a manager in one community responsible for the operations of several town departments. In another community, the manager might be designated as clerk, constable, road commissioner, tax collector, health officer, and overseer of the poor. In a third community, these offices might be filled by town election or by appointment of the selectmen, with the manager being more of a full-time assistant to the selectmen with little real authority over town administration.
Although the enabling act provided that towns too small for a manager may form a union and jointly hire a manager, this device has not been used. Some small towns have hired a manager on a part-time basis, however, allowing that person to serve as manager in another town. In 1970, five managers held appointments in a total of 11 municipalities (Bureau of Public Administration, 1970). Currently, a unique situation exists in which one manager serves the towns of Mapleton, Chapman and Castle Hill. In 1991 the three towns adopted a formal interlocal agreement which set the rules and formulas for sharing joint expenses. The unique agreement, set into law by an act of the Legislature, grants authority to a joint board of selectmen to set all joint expense appropriations.