The Cape Elizabeth Town Council could decide next month whether to renew an office lease for the Law Office of Jamie Wagner after deciding last week to table the item.

Wagner, a town councilor and lawyer who leases office space from the town, has a history of paying his rent late at 343 Ocean House Road, Town Manager Michael McGovern said at an Aug. 10 council meeting. Wagner has leased the space from the town since 2010.

“It’s a concern,” McGovern told the Current Tuesday. “Greg Marles, the facilities manager spoke to me about six months ago about problems with collecting (Wagner’s) rent, and I said he needs to be treated like any other tenant. In fact, he was sent a default notice under the lease. Had he not corrected the default he would have been evicted,” he said.

“I know there were a number of times where Greg had sent him emails and made calls essentially looking for the payments,” McGovern added. “The one time he was given a formal written notice of default he corrected it as allowed in the agreement.”

McGovern did say, however, that the town has not sent Wagner a written notice every time his rent has been late. But the town hasn’t sent notices to other tenants each time they have been late in paying, either, he said.

“Every tenant needs to be held to the same standard, whether they are a councilor or not,” said McGovern.

On Monday, Wagner, who was elected to the council in 2012, admitted he did not have the best track record when it comes to paying bills on time, and said that he was planning to set up auto-pay through his bank account “to ensure on-time payments going forward.”

When asked Tuesday if the town was too tolerant of Wagner’s failure to pay on time, Council Chairman Kathy Ray said, “I can tell you from my perspective that being a councilor does not give him any special treatment.”

Councilors voted 4-1 on Aug. 10, with Councilor Caitlin Jordan opposed, and Patricia Grennon absent, to delay approving Wagner’s new three-year lease until the September council meeting, in order to gather more information about Wagner’s rental history. A new lease would include additional office space for a lawyer who’s joining his firm.

McGovern said Tuesday that under the new lease agreement, which would be valid until July 31, 2018, rent would begin at $500 per month, or about twice what he’s paying now. On Aug. 1, 2016, it would increase to $512 per month, and on Aug. 1, 2017, it would increase to $525 per month, according to the lease agreement.

When Ray opened discussion during the Aug. 10 meeting, during which Wagner recused himself from the proceedings, Jordan immediately moved to approve Wagner’s lease agreement. Councilor Jim Walsh, who did not return phone calls seeking comment, moved to table the issue, which was then seconded by Councilor Jessica Sullivan.

Jordan said Tuesday she was not aware of Wagner’s habit of not making payments on time before the Aug. 10 meeting. Since Wagner was at that meeting, she thought the council should discuss the issue rather than waiting until September.

Providing an example, Jordan said, “Whenever we approve liquor licenses, the applicant is always sitting right there and we ask them questions, so I am not sure why we didn’t just do that that night, if Jim (Walsh) has questions.”

Jordan declined to provide further comments about Wagner’s lease until additional information has been provided to the council.

McGovern said Aug. 10 that as of the previous week, the town had not yet received a payment from Wagner for July or August for his practice, which is located in front of the Community Services building next to investment firm Edward Jones. According to financial documents provided by the town, Wagner has paid $250 per month for his 160-square-foot office since 2010.

The town also rents space to four businesses in Fort Williams Park. Depending on space and location, monthly lease rentals for town-owned properties range from $110 to $1,900, according to town documents. Edward Jones, which leases about 1,000 square feet at the Community Services building, has been paying $1,400 per month.

At the meeting, McGovern said that in the past two years, Wagner has only made his payments on time once or twice. According to information provided by McGovern, from January 2013 to August 2015, a period of 32 months, Wagner made one payment within 10 days of the due date. Wagner paid his rent 25 times between 30 and 60 days, sometimes more, after the due date.

Under the town’s lease agreement, payments are due on or before the first of the month, McGovern said. Usually when rental payments are past due, Marles will contact the tenant, McGovern said at the meeting.

“In this instance, it’s happened a number of times over the last couple of years,” McGovern said. “There’s been a number of times that the rent for the lease, over the last two years in particular, have been two to three months late. I don’t know if there’s been a month in the last year that the rent has been paid on time.”

Marles, who is on vacation, was not available to provide specific information about Wagner’s past lease agreements by the Current’s Tuesday deadline.

According to the lease agreement, if a tenant fails to make a payment on time, the tenant has 15 days after receiving a written notice to make the payment.

“In the event that the tenant shall fail to cure any default within the time allowed, (the) landlord may declare the term of this lease ended and terminated by giving (the) tenant written notice of such intention,” the lease agreement states.

Wagner also rents space at the privately owned Pond Cove Shopping Center on Ocean House Road in Cape Elizabeth, where he runs a popular coffeehouse, bar and bistro, The Local Buzz.

In an email to the Current, Wagner wrote that though he understands the council’s reason for tabling the issue, he would have preferred to answer questions at the Aug. 10 meeting and get approval.

“Councilors are able to ask more questions about town business and tabling is an appropriate motion if additional information is desired,” he said.

The Town Council is scheduled to discuss, and possibly renew, Jamie Wagner’s lease at 343 Ocean House Road at its Sept. 14 meeting at 7 p.m.