Wiscasset voters will be asked to reconsider the $66,764 planning budget and town planner’s job, but just when and how rests with a forthcoming legal opinion.

A petition spearheaded by the Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce calls for an open special town meeting for the same article voters rejected 464-256 at the polls June 13. It asks voters to raise $57,764 through taxation and $9,000 from Rynel’s tax-increment financing.

By a 4-1 decision Tuesday evening, with Selectman Jeff Slack dissenting, the board opted to seek legal advice before setting a date. Selectman Ben Rines Jr. motioned to place the article on the ballot of the November general election. The motion drew a second from Selectman Bob Blagden.

“There were 764 people who voted on this in June and the article was soundly defeated. I don’t think it’s appropriate to hold a town meeting where only 30 people would show up and pass this. It’s not fair,” Rines said.

Blagden said placing the item on the November ballot would obviously allow more residents to vote. “If you have a special town meeting this will pass in a heartbeat because not everyone will be able to attend,” he said.

Town Manager Marian Anderson said she had consulted Maine Municipal Association’s legal team. “They indicated we have to respond to what the petition asks,” she said, adding the petition calls for holding an open town meeting.

But holding a town meeting rather than a special election wouldn’t allow for absentee voting. “This guarantees not everyone will able to vote,” added Rines.

Selectman Katharine Martin-Savage and Chair Judy Colby said they were inclined to stick with MMA’s recommendation and hold an open special town meeting. “It’s what the petition asks for,” Martin-Savage commented.

Monique McRae, WACC board chair, urged the select board to honor the petition’s request and schedule the special town meeting. If the article passes, she hoped selectmen might consider rehiring Ben Averill as planner.

Former selectman Judy Flanagan said a town meeting would allow for greater discussion on the article. She also urged the board to follow the MMA recommendation and schedule one.

“If we allow this to go through we can expect a petition every time someone is dissatisfied with a vote,” warned Rines.

Earlier in the evening, Bill Barnes, another former selectman, asked the board to hold off considering the article until November. Anderson said she will ask to have the legal opinion ready in time for the board’s next meeting.

Funding for the planner job ended June 30, the close of the 2016-17 fiscal year.