The term of any elected or appointed officer shall begin no later than the second business day following the final determination of the election or appointment of said officer. Any officer shall serve for their prescribed term or until their successor is elected or appointed.
Every Town officer or official shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of the duties incumbent upon them to the Constitution and laws of the State of Maine, and the Charter and Ordinances of the Town, and shall be sworn to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Maine.
State Law Reference: Title 30-A MRS, § 2526(9).
(1) 
Public Trust. All municipal officials and officers are sworn into public office to serve the interests of the Town of Camden as a whole, and in the municipal official and officer there is vested a public trust. A betrayal of that trust occurs when any official acts in their own interest rather than in the public interest while performing his or her job.
(2) 
Requirement to Inform. Any official of the Town who has a financial interest, direct or indirect, or by reason of ownership of stock in any corporation or business entity, in any contract with the Town, or in the sale of any land, material, supplies, or services to the Town or to a contractor supplying the Town, shall make known that interest and shall refrain from voting upon or otherwise participating in their capacity as an official, officer, or employee in making of such sale or in the making or performance of such contract.
(3) 
Appearance of Conflict. Even if no legal conflict of interest exists, an official, officer or employee of the Town should avoid even the appearance of conflict by disclosing the potential conflict and/or abstention from the issue being considered.
(4) 
Recusal. During the meeting any such Town official, officer or employee of the Town with a conflict of interest shall recuse him/herself and shall move to the public section area until such time as the matter involving the conflict of interest is closed and the Board, committee or commission is ready to move on the next agenda item. The official's recusal and reason for the recusal shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.
(5) 
Violation. Any Town official who willfully conceals such financial interest or willfully violates the requirement of this section shall be guilty of malfeasance in office or position and shall forfeit his office or position. Violation of this section, with the knowledge expressed or implied of the person or corporation contracting with or making a sale to the Town, shall render the contract or sale voidable by the Select Board.
(6) 
Application. The standards of conduct established in this section shall apply to all employees of the Town. Any inquiry or disciplinary action of an employee for violation of these standards shall be conducted solely under the terms of the Town's Personnel Policy Manual.
State Law Reference: Title 30-A MRS, § 2605.
The prohibitions in this section apply to all elected officials of the Town, its employees, committees, commissions and board members.
(1) 
Discrimination. No person shall be appointed to or removed from, or in any way favored or discriminated against with respect to any Town position or appointive Town administrative office in violation of the Town's Personnel Policy (see Article 4.01) and the Maine Human Rights Act (State reference Title 5 MRS § 4551 et. seq.)
(2) 
Falsification. No person shall willfully make any false statement, certificate, mark, rating, or report in regard to any test, certification or appointment under any personnel provisions of this Charter or the rules and regulations made thereunder or in any manner commit or attempt to commit any fraud preventing the impartial execution of such provisions, rules and regulations.
(3) 
Inducement. No person shall directly or indirectly, give, render, pay, offer, solicit, or accept any money, service, or other valuable consideration for any appointment, proposed appointment, promotion or proposed promotion to, or any advantage in, any position within the Town administration.
(4) 
Political activity.
(a) 
No person who holds a compensated appointed Town position shall solicit any assessments, contributions, or services for any political party from any employee of the Town. Staff shall not solicit donations to a political candidate or party from Town employees.
(b) 
Nothing contained in this section shall affect the ability of any person to hold membership in, and support, a political party, to vote as the person chooses, to express the person's opinion privately and publicly on political subjects and candidates, to maintain political neutrality, and to attend political meetings.
(5) 
No person shall disclose/use information not available to members of the general public and gained by reason of the person's official position for personal gain or benefit or for the personal gain or benefit of any other person or business entity.
(1) 
Organizational Meeting. All Boards, Committees and Commissions appointed by the Select Board shall hold an organizational meeting at the first meeting of the membership held after their annual appointment or as soon as practicably possible. Except where otherwise noted, the organizational meeting shall include:
(a) 
Election of officers, which shall include a chair person and vice-chair, and secretary.
(b) 
Adoption of rules of order for conducting meetings.
(c) 
Scheduling of all regular meetings for the year.
(2) 
Public Access and Records. All meetings shall be open to the public and a record of each meeting shall be maintained and submitted to the Town Office to be made available to the public in a reasonable period of time.
State Reference: Title 1 MRSA, § 401 et seq.
(3) 
Forfeiture of membership due to absence. Should any Board, Committee or Commission member have three (3) consecutive unexcused absences from regular meetings within the fiscal year, their position shall be deemed forfeited and the Select Board shall appoint a new member.
(4) 
Vacancies. After advertising for interested persons to apply for any vacancy that shall occur on any appointed Board, Committee or Commission, the Select Board shall appoint a replacement for any vacancy as soon as practicably possible.
(1) 
Judged Invalid. If any provision of this Charter is held invalid, the other provisions shall not be affected thereby. If the application of this Charter or any of its provisions to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the application of the Charter and its provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
(2) 
Statute Repeal or Revision. Should any of the provisions of this Charter that are governed by the Maine Revised Statutes (MRS) become invalid due to a change in State law after the adoption of this Charter, the new Maine Statute shall take precedence over such provision in this Charter until the Charter can be amended in accordance with Maine State law.