Title 24APPENDIX, Title 24APPENDIX: Municipal Charters

§ 102. Annual local education spending The City Council and the City Chief Administrative Officer shall comply with the requirements of section 168 of this charter and the Equal Educational Opportunity Act of 1997, including specifically the requirements of 16 V.S.A. § 428, as th…

§ 102a. Annual assessment for Fire and Police Departments use authorized The City Council shall annually assess upon the property grand list of the City to meet the appropriation made for the use of the Police Department a tax that will, in the judgment of the City Council, be su…

§ 102b. Annual assessment for streets use authorized The City Council shall annually assess upon the property grand list of the City to assist in meeting the appropriation made for the use of the Streets Division of the Public Works Department, a tax that will, in the judgment of…

§ 102c. Annual assessment for library use authorized The City Council shall annually assess upon the property grand list of the City to assist in meeting the appropriation made for the use of purchasing books and other media for the Library Department, a tax that will, in the jud…

§ 102d. Local option sales tax authority The Burlington City Council is authorized to impose a one percent sales tax upon sales within the City that are subject to the State of Vermont sales tax with the same exemptions as the State sales tax. The City sales tax shall be effectiv…

§ 102e. Annual assessment for park use The City Council shall annually assess upon the property grand list of the City to assist in meeting the appropriation made for the use of the capital improvement needs of City parks and community gardens a tax that will, in the judgment of …

§ 102f. Annual assessment for Housing Trust Fund use authorized The City Council shall annually assess upon the property grand list of the City to assist in meeting the appropriation made for distributions and uses of the Housing Trust Fund as set forth in Article 18-404 of the C…

§ 103. Taxes to be paid in money All taxes assessed upon the grand list of said City shall be paid in money.

§ 104. Taxes to be paid in installments Except when otherwise provided, whenever any tax shall be assessed on the property grand list by the City Council, the tax bill shall be delivered to the Chief Administrative Officer, to whom the taxes so assessed shall be paid, one-quarter…

§ 105. Chief Administrative Officer to give notice upon receipt of tax bills The Chief Administrative Officer, upon the delivery of a tax bill to him or her, shall forthwith give notice thereof, and of the place where and times when and in what proportions such tax is payable to …

§ 106. Delinquency assessments Except when otherwise provided, if at the expiration of the time within which any installment of such tax is to be paid to the Chief Administrative Officer under the preceding section, any person against whom such tax has been so assessed shall be d…

§ 107. When Treasurer to issue warrant against delinquent persons Except when otherwise provided, after the expiration of 10 months and 25 days from the time of the delivery of a tax bill to the Clerk/Treasurer, he or she shall thereupon issue his or her warrant against such deli…

§ 108. Chief Administrative Officer to collect delinquent taxes It shall be the duty of the Chief Administrative Officer to collect all legal taxes contained in such tax bill, the amount thereof being determined as hereinbefore provided on or before the time when such warrant is …

§ 109. Collection after time warrant returnable permitted The Chief Administrative Officer, or any successor to whom such original warrant may, under the provisions of the general laws of the State, be delivered for execution, may collect on such warrant after the expiration of t…

§ 11. Performance of duties; terms The ward officers shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of their respective duties and shall hold their offices until their successors are chosen and qualified.

§ 110. Chief Administrative Officer to proceed in manner prescribed by law Such Chief Administrative Officer shall proceed in the same manner, perform the same duties, be subject to the same liabilities, have the same power, authority, and privileges touching the collection of al…

§ 111. Fees for collection of delinquent taxes The Chief Administrative Officer shall be entitled to collect from delinquent taxpayers the same fees for collection of all taxes for which a warrant has been issued as are allowed by the laws of this State to collectors of taxes in …

§ 112. Failure of owners to pay assessments; warrant to be issued; Chief Administrative Officer to collect If the owner or owners of any land or buildings assessed under any provisions of this charter shall neglect or refuse to pay any such assessment or any installment thereof w…

§ 113. Assessments may be collected by suit Such assessments and installments may also be collected by an action at law in the name of the holder of such assessment certificates or in the name of the City of Burlington. A declaration setting forth in substance that the action is …

§ 114. Council to establish and prescribe nature of connections The City Council shall establish rates to be paid for the use of water supplied by the City water works that shall be called “service rates.” Such service rates and the rates for electricity supplied at retail by the…

§ 115. Descriptions recorded in Chief Administrative Officer’s office sufficient for assessment purposes Whenever a description of lands or buildings is required for purposes of making assessments under the provisions of this charter, reference to the conveyance to the owner, giv…

§ 116. Duties generally The Mayor shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the City. The Mayor shall use his or her best efforts to see that the laws and City ordinances are enforced and that the duties of all subordinate officers are faithfully performed. The Mayor shall take car…

§ 117. Order of succession; Mayor to notify Chief Administrative Officer of his or her intended absence In case of a temporary absence of the Mayor from the City or the Mayor’s temporary inability to serve, the President of the City Council shall act as Mayor. It shall be the dut…

§ 118. Mayor to administer oaths The Mayor shall have power to administer oaths in all cases proper for the administration of an oath before the City Council, and official oaths to the several officers of said City, when such oaths are required by law; and the President of the Ci…

§ 119. Remission of fines authorized The Mayor, with the consent of the City Council, shall have power to remit fines and costs, in whole or in part, in cases where the same are payable into the City Treasury, and shall cause the reasons for such remissions to be entered on the C…

§ 120. Enumerated There shall be maintained in said City a Board of Assessors consisting of the City Assessor and two legal voters of said City; a Board of Tax Appeals normally consisting of seven legal voters of said City; a Board of Public Works Commissioners consisting of seve…

§ 120a. Merger of boards Notwithstanding section 120 of this charter, the Mayor shall have power and authority, when authorized by resolution of the City Council, to effect a merger of any one or more of the boards of commissioners enumerated in section 120, or of any other City …

§ 122. Enumerated (a) On the first Monday in June 1998, the Mayor shall appoint a City Assessor and a Director of the Human Resources Department for a one-year term commencing July 1, 1998. Commencing on the first Monday in June 1999, and biannually thereafter, the Mayor shall ap…

§ 124. Chair; clerk, records Each of the boards and commissions named in section 120 of this charter shall organize by the election of a chair and by the appointment of a clerk and, with the exception of the Board of Assessors and the Board of Tax Appeals, the clerk shall keep a …

§ 125. Mayor and City Councilors (a) Term of Mayor. On the first Tuesday in March 2003 and triennially thereafter, the legal voters of the City shall, from among the legal voters thereof, elect a Mayor who shall hold office for the term of three years from the first Monday in Apr…

§ 126. Commissioners and Board of Tax Appeals (a) Except as specified in section 179 of this charter with respect to the library commissioner elected from the library staff, each public works commissioner, cemetery commissioner, police commissioner, fire commissioner, light commi…

§ 127. Department heads and other officers All officers whose terms of office are not herein or by general law otherwise specified, shall, except as herein otherwise provided, hold their offices for the specified terms from the first day of July following their appointment, and u…

§ 128. Manner of filling (a) In case of a vacancy in the Office of Mayor, occasioned by death, resignation, removal from said City, permanent inability to serve, failure to elect, or disqualification of the person chosen, the President of the City Council shall act as Mayor until…

§ 129. Appointing body or person has power to remove The City Council with Mayor presiding shall have power, for such causes of incapacity, negligence, or bad conduct as to it shall seem sufficient, to suspend or remove from any office any City officer who may be appointed by the…

§ 13. Vacancies to be filled by City Council In case of a vacancy in any ward office occasioned by death, removal from the ward or City, resignation, inability to serve, failure to elect, or other cause, the same shall be filled by the City Council.

§ 130. Manner of filling vacancy and residency requirement (a) In case of a vacancy for any cause in any office referred to in section 129 of this charter, such vacancy shall be filled in the manner herein provided for appointment thereto, but only for the remaining months of the…

§ 131. Dual positions prohibited No City councilor may serve as a City employee or as a commissioner of a City department. However, a City councilor may be appointed to serve as a member of a regional board such as the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, the Chittende…

§ 132. Mayor, City Council, and other City officials (a)(1) The Mayor shall receive such annual compensation as shall be voted by the City Council, but the same shall not be less than $12,000.00 per year. (2) Each member of the City Council, beginning on July 1, 2017 and thereaft…

§ 133. Conflicts of interest (a) No City officer shall participate in any fashion or cast a vote on any matter in which either a direct or indirect conflict of interest is present. Nor shall a City officer participate or vote on any question in which such participation or vote wo…

§ 134. Required of Treasurer and other officers handling City funds The Treasurer and all other City officers who receive or disburse any of the funds of the City shall annually, before entering upon the duties of their office, give bonds to the City in amount satisfactory to the…

§ 135. City Council to approve surety company; costs to be paid by City All City officers from whom bonds are required shall furnish bonds of a surety company satisfactory to the City Council. The Chief Administrative Officer shall pay the cost of such bonds from the money approp…

§ 136. Officer to be removed from neglect to give bond after notice In case of the neglect of any officer to give bonds as above specified after 10 days’ notice from the City Council that he or she is required so to do, his or her office shall thereupon become vacant and the vaca…

§ 137. Form All officers of the City shall, before assuming office, take, subscribe, and file with the City Clerk the following oath: “I solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office (duty or trust), of ______ of the City of Burlington to the best of my judgment and ab…

§ 138. Duties of Chief Administrative Officer generally (a) The Chief Administrative Officer shall, subject to the authority of the Mayor as Chief Executive Officer, have direct responsibility for those administrative, financial, and record keeping responsibilities that are not a…

§ 139. Public records to remain in Chief Administrative Officer’s office; Council may regulate removal Such records shall not be taken out of or away from said Chief Administrative Officer’s office except upon the order or process of a court of competent jurisdiction; but said Ci…

§ 14. List of voters to be prepared; posting Preceding each annual or special City or ward or City district election to be held in said City, it shall be the duty of the Board for Registration of Voters to prepare full and complete lists of the voters in the respective wards or C…