Title 24, Title 24: Municipal and County Government

§ 135. County tax; payment by town Each town treasurer shall present such warrant to the selectboard which, within the time required by the warrant, shall draw an order on the town treasury for the amount of such tax and such treasurer shall forthwith pay the county treasurer the…

§ 136. Actions by and against county; process; attorney Actions in which a county is the party in interest shall be brought by or against the county, and service of process against a county shall be made by leaving copies with the county clerk or county treasurer. The assistant j…

§ 137. Jurisdiction Superior Courts, within their respective jurisdictions, may take cognizance of actions in favor of or against the county. (Amended 1965, No. 194, § 10, operative Feb. 1, 1967; 1973, No. 193 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 9, 1974; 1973, No. 249 (Adj. Sess.), § 7…

§ 138. Local option taxes (a) Local option taxes are authorized under this section for the purpose of affording municipalities an alternative method of raising municipal revenues. Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, and subject to certification by the Commission…

§ 139. Assistant judge judicial education The assistant judges, either collectively or through a duly authorized committee of assistant judges established by a majority vote of the assistant judges after consultation with the Chief Superior Judge, shall, by majority vote: (1) ide…

§ 171. Appointment The assistant judges shall appoint a county clerk who shall be sworn and hold his or her office during the pleasure of such judges and until his or her successor is appointed and has qualified. (Amended 1973, No. 193 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 9, 1974; 2009,…

§ 172. Certificate of appointment Upon the appointment of a county clerk, such judges shall transmit to the Secretary of State their certificate of appointment and qualification of such clerk signed by them. Such certificate shall bear on its face the signature and impression of …

§ 173. Certificate of Secretary of State Upon request, the Secretary of State shall certify under seal to the appointment, qualification, and authority of a county clerk described in a certificate on file in his or her office, and as to the genuineness of the signature and seal o…

§ 175. Bond to county Before entering upon the duties of his or her office, a county clerk shall become bound to the county in the sum of $3,000.00, with sufficient sureties, by way of recognizance, before the assistant judges, or give a bond to the county executed by principal a…

§ 176. Deputy clerk A county clerk may, subject to the approval of the assistant judges, appoint one or more deputies who may perform the duties of clerk for whose acts he or she shall be responsible and whose deputations he or she may revoke at pleasure. A record of the appointm…

§ 177. Certification of election and qualification of officers Upon request, a county clerk shall certify under seal to the election or appointment of officers or magistrates, certificates of whose election or appointment and of having taken the oath of office, when such oath is …

§ 178. Record of sheriff’s commission; copies; evidence The county clerk shall record, in a book kept for that purpose, sheriffs’ commissions with the oath of office indorsed thereon. In case of loss or destruction of an original commission or recognizance, a certified copy of th…

§ 180. Claim; clerk to draw orders Claims against a county shall be examined and allowed by the assistant judges, unless other provision is made by law. A statement of each claim with the amount allowed shall be certified by them to the county clerk, who shall draw an order there…

§ 181. Settlements; record; filing Such clerk shall keep on file in his or her office the statements furnished him or her by the assistant judges, upon which he or she has drawn orders, and shall keep a record of such orders, within the number of each, its date, amount, to whom p…

§ 184. Processing of passport applications The county clerk shall, if so directed by the assistant judges, accept and process applications for U.S. passports pursuant to memorandums of understanding entered into under 4 V.S.A. § 691. (Added 2011, No. 1, § 11, eff. February 2, 201…

§ 211. Appointment; vacancy Biennially, on February 1, the assistant judges shall appoint a treasurer for the county who shall hold office for two years and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified. If the treasurer dies or in the opinion of the assistant judges beco…

§ 212. Bond Before entering upon the duties of his or her office, a county treasurer shall become bound to the county in the sum of $5,000.00, with sufficient sureties, by way of recognizance, before the assistant judges, or give a bond to the county executed by principal and sur…

§ 213. Accounts; disbursements The treasurer shall keep proper entries of monies received and paid out, under appropriate accounts, so that the revenue of the county and the disbursements shall appear in detail. No money shall be paid out of the county treasury except upon the or…

§ 214. Care of lands in unorganized towns and gores; lease lands The treasurer shall have the care of the lands in unorganized towns and gores in the county, granted as glebes, lands granted to the use of the ministry or the social worship of God, lands granted to the first settl…

§ 215. Lands in unorganized towns and gores; power to sue and defend actions During the time the towns or gores described in section 214 of this subchapter remain unorganized, the treasurer may commence and prosecute or defend in the name of the county any action necessary to rec…

§ 216. Lands in unorganized towns and gores; rents (a) The treasurer may lease the lands described in section 214 of this subchapter in such manner as he or she judges beneficial, reserving rents for the same, which shall annually be paid into the treasury of the county, until th…

§ 217. Disposal of rents of lands in unorganized towns and gores When paid into the county treasury, the rents described in section 216 of this subchapter shall be disposed of as other funds in the treasury. (Amended 2017, No. 74, § 67.)

§ 218. Rents for county property The county treasurer shall collect rents due from persons holding county property by lease or otherwise.

§ 219. Treasurer to levy tax to meet execution When demand is made of a county treasurer for the payment of an execution against the county and there are not funds in the treasury sufficient to satisfy such execution, such treasurer shall forthwith issue the certified statement r…

§ 220. Tax warrant; payment by town Each town treasurer shall present the warrant described in section 219 of this subchapter to the selectboard, which shall, within the time required by the warrant, draw an order on the town treasury for the amount of such warrant and that treas…

§ 221. Annual statement; penalty (a) Annually, on or before February 5, a county treasurer shall make settlement with the county auditor and deliver to the assistant judges of the county a statement of his or her accounts for the year ending on January 31 preceding, exhibiting th…

§ 222. Neglect to settle; penalty A treasurer who refuses or neglects to settle with the auditor, after being notified, shall be fined $20.00, and a like sum for each month’s refusal or neglect thereafter.

§ 223. Statement compared, corrected, and filed The assistant judges shall compare such statement with the record of the county clerk of orders drawn upon the treasurer for such year, and after correcting errors therein shall cause the same to be recorded in the office of the cou…

§ 224. Annual reports; publication; penalty (a) Within 14 days after the receipt of such statement, the assistant judges shall publish annually such a summary as will show the source and amount of the income of the county, the items and amount of expenditures by the treasurer for…

§ 261. County financial audit (a) Biennially, all of the accounts of the county treasurer, including any reserve funds, shall be subject to a financial audit conducted according to the generally accepted government accounting standards as established by the federal government acc…

§ 290. County sheriff’s department (a) A sheriff’s department is established in each county. It shall consist of the elected sheriff in each county and such deputy sheriffs and supporting staff as may be appointed by the sheriff. Full-time employees of the sheriff’s department, p…

§ 290b. Audits (a) [Repealed.] (b) The Auditor of Accounts shall adopt and sheriffs shall comply with a uniform system of accounts, controls, and procedures for the sheriff’s department, which accurately reflects the receipt and disbursement of all funds by the department, the sh…

§ 291. Bond; oath Before entering upon the duties of his or her office, a sheriff shall become bound to the treasurer of the county in the sum of $100,000.00, with two or more sufficient sureties by way of recognizance, before the two assistant judges in such county, or give a bo…

§ 291a. Contracts (a) In the name of the sheriff’s department, the sheriff may enter into written contracts with the State of Vermont, an agency of the United States, one or more towns within or without the county, or any nongovernmental entity, to provide law enforcement or othe…

§ 292. Office vacant When such sheriff neglects to become so bound within 15 days from the beginning of his or her term of office, the office of sheriff shall be vacant.

§ 293. Duties (a) A sheriff so commissioned and sworn shall serve and execute lawful writs, warrants, and processes directed to the sheriff, according to the precept thereof, and do all other things pertaining to the office of sheriff. (b) A sheriff shall maintain a record of the…

§ 294. Sheriff imprisoned If a sheriff is confined in prison by legal process, his or her functions as sheriff shall be suspended. When the sheriff is released from imprisonment during his or her term of office, he or she shall file a certificate of his or her discharge signed by…

§ 296. Transportation of prisoners All commitments to a State correctional facility or to any other place named by the Commissioner of Corrections or committing court shall be made by any sheriff, deputy sheriff, State Police officer, police officer, or constable in the State, or…

§ 296a. Civil liability resulting from escaped prisoner A jailer or other officer who, through negligence, suffers a prisoner in his or her custody, convicted of or charged with a crime, to escape, shall be civilly liable to any person proximately damaged as a result thereof to t…

§ 299. Duties as peace officer A sheriff shall preserve the peace using force only as permitted pursuant to 20 V.S.A. chapter 151. A sheriff may apprehend, without warrant, individuals assembled in disturbance of the peace and bring them before the Criminal Division of the Superi…

§ 300. May require assistance A sheriff or other officer in the discharge of the duties of his or her office, for the preservation of the peace, or the suppression or prevention of any criminal matter or cause, may require suitable assistance.

§ 302. Power to search; return In the daytime, a sheriff may enter and search houses, buildings, or other places for a person for whose apprehension he or she has a warrant, issued in a criminal prosecution, a prosecution for bastardy, or on a bailpiece. He or she may so enter wi…

§ 303. Obstructing sheriff; penalty A person who refuses a sheriff entrance to his or her house or other buildings as provided in section 302 of this title, or threatens him or her or abuses him or her or his or her assistants before or after he or she has entered such buildings,…

§ 304. Liability for misfeasance of deputy Actions for official misfeasance or neglect of a deputy sheriff, or for cause affecting his or her administration of the office, shall be sustained only against the sheriff; but the sheriff shall not be amenable criminally for the conduc…

§ 305. Not to appear as counsel, or make writ A sheriff or deputy sheriff shall not appear in any court as counsel, nor make a writ, complaint, answer, or other precept or process, except in his or her own cause. A writ, complaint, or other process herein prohibited made by him o…

§ 306. Term of office A sheriff shall execute his or her official duties until his or her successor is qualified to act.