AUBURN — A two-page City Council code of conduct has been proposed that would encourage future elected officials to respect each other, keep an open mind and measure their interactions with city staff and the public.

Councilors accepted copies of the proposed code Tuesday at their special workshop meeting, and City Manager Clinton Deschene said they will take it up again at a workshop meeting in March.

“It shows councilors what their objectives and roles are,” Deschene said. “It’s a nice two-page summary on the key components of the city charter, ethics and a lot of different pieces. It’s a simple summary that would be part of their orientation plan.”

The code was prepared by city attorney Dan Stockford.

Better orientation information for city councilors was one of the suggestions they made at a Saturday retreat meeting this month. Deschene said it’s especially important for a city like Auburn, which does not have staggered council terms. All positions are up for election every two years, meaning all seven councilors could be new to the job.

“You have that potential to lose every councilor every two years,” Deschene said. “When new people come in, there is a baseline that people have to understand. For example, the manager hires and fires the staff and the council hires and fires the manager. Direct contact with staff is supposed to go through the manager, so there are clearly defined roles.”

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