Cumberland County Charter Information

In 2010, voters in Cumberland County approved a first-ever charter for the county.

The charter was drafted over the course of two years by a Charter Commission created in 2008 that had 6 members elected by the public and 3 members appointed by the County Commissioners.

Read Charter Here
A charter is the defining document of how a body of government organizes itself, select officers, officials and employees, and established departments, agencies and boards.

In addition to Cumberland County, Arrostook and Knox Counties also have charters. A charter commission creates the opportunity to inspect and propose changes to the current structure. There were previous unsuccessful attempts to create a charter in Cumberland County in 1982 and 2003.

On March 14th, 2011, the County Commissioners voted to accept the new district map proposed by the charter commission, increasing the number of districts and County Commissioners from 3 to5 starting with the November 2011 election. The new districts are: