By Amanda Estes
Staff Writer
    The South Portland City Council repealed a 1965 resolve prohibiting residents from simultaneously serving on more than one board, commission or committee at a time.
    At Monday’s meeting, the council, with a vote of 4-2, made a decision to allow service on more than one board, commission or committee with the exception of the planning board, board of appeals and conservation commission, which frequently handle overlapping issues.
    “I seem to have gotten us into this,” said Councilor Jim Hughes.
    He said he did not know about the resolve until he received an application for an open position on the conservation commission from a resident who is currently serving on the library advisory board.
    He said he recently received another application so regardless of the council’s vote, he would be able to fill the position.
     Hughes said he favored implementing term limits rather than prohibiting multiple assignments. He also proposed the council use a workshop to discuss the best way to involve more residents in public service.
    Councilors Linda Boudreau and Jim Soule voted against repealing the resolve.
    Soule said the 1965 council demonstrated good rationale in creating an inclusive resolve. He said he has seen the advantages of allowing people to serve on multiple committees, such as the knowledge they bring to the table, but he stressed the distinction between an elected official and an appointed official.
    Earlier in the meeting, during public comment, Gary Crosby said the residents serving on more than one committee are not elected officials, but they have an opportunity to make a lot of decisions within the city.
    Drawing on Crosby’s concerns, Soule said, “Why is one person making so many decisions on so many boards?”
    Boudreau said allowing residents to serve on multiple committees, “lessens the opportunity for our public to see a free and open government.” Having served as a district bound and an at large councilor, Boudreau said she felt there are plenty of people in the city to choose from.
     Councilor Kay Loring, who is district bound, disagreed with Boudreau and favored future action to allow councilors to choose citywide.
    “When in you’re in a small district, just trying to get two people…that you feel are qualified-I had a hard time with that,” she said.
    Mayor Claude Morgan, who said Hughes has been postponing the conservation commission appointment for as long as he has been mayor, said the council should always be looking for diverse perspectives, but in practice that does not always happen.
    “Part of me says we shouldn’t delude ourselves-we do draw from the usual suspects.”
    Councilor Ralph Baxter was absent from Monday’s meeting.