Title 24APPENDIX, Title 24APPENDIX: Municipal Charters

§ 1005. Vacancy in the Office of City Manager (a) During times of vacation and planned absences, the City Manager shall designate an acting City Manager to perform the duties of the Office. In the event of a vacancy in the Office of City Manager, or during the temporary absence o…

§ 1006. Powers and duties of City Manager The City Manager shall be the administrative head of the City government. The City Manager shall be responsible to the City Council for the administration of the affairs of the City and for carrying out the policies of the City Council. T…

§ 1007. Appointments (a) Except for those appointments made by the City Council as provided for in this charter, the City Manager shall appoint and remove all City employees, including Chief of the Fire Department, Chief of Police, Director of Public Works, Director of Planning a…

§ 1009. Noninterference by City Council (a) Neither the City Council as a body nor any of its members shall dictate or attempt to dictate the appointment of any person to office or employment, nor the removal of any person from office or employment by the City Manager. The City M…

§ 101. City of Montpelier The inhabitants of the territory formerly the Town of Montpelier, and that portion of the Town of Berlin annexed to the City of Montpelier, by an act entitled, “An act to annex an adjacent portion of the Town of Berlin to the City of Montpelier,” which a…

§ 102. General powers The City shall have all the powers given to towns by the general law; and may purchase, hold, and convey any real estate and erect and keep in repair any buildings necessary or convenient for its purposes; and may acquire, construct, and maintain such infras…

§ 103. Form of government (a) The municipal government provided by this charter shall be known as council-manager form of government. Pursuant to its provisions and subject only to the limitations imposed by the State Constitution and by this charter, all powers of the City shall…

§ 105. Intergovernmental relations The City, through its City Council, may enter into agreements with the United States of America or the State of Vermont to accept grants, loans, and assistance to make public improvements, and the City may make appropriations consistent with thi…

§ 1101. Powers The City may issue bonds or notes for any improvement authorized by general or special law, including this charter. The word “improvement,” as used in this subchapter, shall have the meaning ascribed to it by the general laws of the State and shall include the acqu…

§ 1102. Submission to voters; public improvements (a) When the City Council shall determine that the public necessity or interest demands improvements, and that the cost of the same will be too great to be paid out of the ordinary revenue of the City, the Council may by vote of t…

§ 1104. Warning The warning calling such meeting shall state the object and purpose for which the indebtedness is proposed to be incurred, the estimated cost of the improvements, and the maximum amount of debt to be incurred therefore and shall fix the place where and the date on…

§ 1105. Notice of meeting The City Clerk shall cause the warning of such meeting to be published as provided by the general laws of the State. (Amended 2013, No. M-19 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 20, 2014.)

§ 1106. Authorization When a majority of all the voters voting on such proposition at an annual meeting or special City meeting shall vote to authorize such improvements and the incurring of debt to pay for the same, the City Council shall be authorized to make such improvements.…

§ 1107. Conduct of meetings The qualifications of voters at all such City meetings shall be the same as the qualifications of voters at annual City meetings, and such meetings shall be conducted in the same manner as City meetings are conducted. The vote on the question of making…

§ 1108. City Council action When the incurring of a debt has been authorized by the voters in the manner provided in this subchapter, the City Council shall determine by resolution whether notes or bonds are to be issued and the terms thereof. (Amended 2013, No. M-19 (Adj. Sess.)…

§ 1109. Bonds; maturities All bonds issued under this subchapter shall be payable serially, the first payment to be deferred not more than five years after date of issue and subsequent payments to be continued annually in equal or diminishing amounts so that the entire debt will …

§ 1110. Debt limits The City’s debt limits shall be calculated as provided by general laws of the State. (Amended 2013, No. M-19 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 20, 2014.)

§ 1111. Specifications The City Council shall approve the rate of interest, the date, the denominations, the time and place of payment, and the form of such bonds or notes. The City Council may provide that the bonds or notes be sold on a competitive bid basis or by negotiated sa…

§ 1112. Taxes to meet interest and payments At the time of voting a general tax levy, the City shall provide annually for the assessment and collection each year, until such bonds or notes are paid, of a tax sufficient to pay the interest on such bonds or notes and the part of th…

§ 1113. Advertisement Bond of the City shall be advertised for sale as provided by the general laws of the State. (Amended 2013, No. M-19 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 20, 2014.)

§ 1114. Execution All bonds and notes issued under this subchapter shall be signed by the Mayor and Treasurer of the City and in addition bonds shall bear the Seal of the City. The bonds or notes shall contain a statement that they were issued for the purposes mentioned in and in…

§ 1115. Record by Treasurer The City Treasurer shall keep a record of every bond or note issued under this subchapter, stating the number and denomination of each bond or note, when issued, and the rate of interest. The Treasurer shall also keep a record of payments of interest o…

§ 1117. Use of unexpended bond proceeds (a) The proceeds of all bonds or notes shall be used for the purpose for which they were authorized. However, any unexpended balance remaining after carrying out the purpose for which they were authorized may, by vote of any annual or speci…

§ 1118. Bonds or notes for refunding; authorization; procedure The City may issue bonds or notes to refund the principal and interest of bonds or notes then outstanding and for any other purpose authorized by the general laws of the State. Such refunding bonds or notes shall be a…

§ 1119. Temporary loans in anticipation of taxes and for current expenses The City Council shall have the authority to borrow in anticipation of the receipt of taxes and other revenue, in anticipation of the receipt of grants, in anticipation of the issuance of bonds, and for cur…

§ 1121. Limitations The credit of the City shall not be pledged, except in the manner herein provided, and the City Council shall not expend in any year a sum of money in excess of the revenues of the City for that year or increase the indebtedness of the City, except as provided…

§ 1122. Special indebtedness for water purposes, sewage disposal, and heat improvements For the purpose of owning, operating, improving, and managing its public water works system, a public sewage disposal system, heat facilities and devices, facilities, and other measures intend…

§ 1123. Powers of the City not limited The powers granted in this subchapter shall not be construed in limitation, diminution, or in substitution for, but in addition to, power provided by law for municipalities generally in authorizing and incurring indebtedness for public impro…

§ 1124. City finances Except as hereinafter provided, the money raised by taxation from fines and penalties and from other lawful sources shall constitute the entire sum for which appropriations and payments are to be made by authority of the City Council, except that money raise…

§ 1125. Budget surplus and deficit Unless otherwise disposed of in the manner provided by law or set in reserve by the City Council, any surplus existing at the end of the fiscal year shall be carried forward as revenue in the General Fund for the next ensuing fiscal year. Any de…

§ 1201. Assessment of taxes and establishment of tax rate (a) The City Council shall assess such taxes upon the grand list of the City as the voters at any annual or special meeting warned for that purpose have approved for the payment of debts and current expenses of the City, f…

§ 1202. Notice of tax bill and due date Thirty days before the due date for the payment of taxes or before the first installment payment thereof, the City Treasurer shall send all municipal taxpayers notice in writing of the tax bill, the amount thereof, and the “due date” by whi…

§ 1203. Tax payment schedule Except as hereinafter provided, taxes assessed upon the grand list of the City shall be due and payable in equal installments or as the City Council may provide by ordinance. Default in payment of any installment due shall render a penalty based on th…

§ 1205. Warrants on delinquent taxes and water, sewer, and thermal energy bills Within 30 days following the due date, the Treasurer shall prepare warrants for taxpayers and property owners delinquent in payment of taxes or water, sewer, or thermal energy bills. The Treasurer sha…

§ 1206. Lien upon real estate All taxes lawfully assessed upon real estate in the City as well as charges for water, sewer services, heat, and any special assessments shall constitute an underlying lien on such real estate, and shall enjoy priority in law over all other liens reg…

§ 1207. Application of payment on delinquent taxes Payments made on the account of a delinquent taxpayer shall be applied: first, to all outstanding personal property taxes for which said delinquent taxpayer is responsible; second, to real estate taxes for which said delinquent t…

§ 1208. Water and sewer rates The City Council shall establish rates to be paid for the use of water supplied by the City water system and sewage disposal and benefit charges. Water rates and sewage disposal charges shall be and are hereby made a lien in the nature of a real esta…

§ 1209. Water meters The City Council may provide for use of meters or other mechanical devices as a basis of charging users of water supplied by the City water system and may in its discretion provide for use of such devices by all users of specified classes.

§ 1210. Thermal energy rates The City Council shall establish rates to be paid for the use of heat and improvements supplied by the City for the production and distribution of heat, and such rates shall be called heat rates. Such heat rates shall be a lien in the nature of a real…

§ 1211. Heat meters The City Council may provide for use of meters or other devices as a basis of charging users of heat supplied by the City system and may in its discretion provide for use of such devices by all users of specified classes. (Added 2007, No. M-11, § 2, eff. April…

§ 1212. Tax Collector Delinquent taxes, fees, charges, and assessments shall be collected by the City Tax Collector, appointed under section 1007 of this charter whose powers and duties shall be those provided by general law. (Amended 2013, No. M-19 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 20…

§ 1213. Property tax credits; sprinklers By resolution or ordinance, the City Council may grant credits equal to no more than 10 percent of the annual municipal property tax, or reductions of up to 10 percent of the appraised valuation, for residential and nonresidential building…

§ 1214. Local option taxes Local option taxes are authorized under this section for the purpose of affording the City an alternative method of raising municipal revenues. Accordingly: (1) The City Council may assess rooms, meals, and alcohol taxes of one percent. (2) Any tax impo…

§ 1301. Taking property for public purposes The City Council, upon notice to persons affected, may lay out, make, maintain, alter, establish, install, construct, discontinue, or repair the following: any street, road, highway, lane, alley, transportation path, or sidewalk; any he…

§ 1302. Procedure for taking property (a) Highways and urban renewal. In taking land and other property for the purposes of laying out roads and highways, the City Council shall proceed in the same manner as is provided by law for municipalities in taking land for highways. In ta…

§ 1303. Special assessments; streets, sidewalks, heat production, and distribution improvements The City Council, in laying out or establishing new streets, highways, or facilities for the production and distribution of heat, and in making, altering, or repairing sidewalks, and i…