Title 24APPENDIX, Title 24APPENDIX: Municipal Charters

§ 20.3. Records The Board of Finance shall cause full and accurate records of all meetings thereof and all business transacted by the Board to be kept by the Clerk of the Board. The records and books of the Board shall be public records. The Board shall monthly submit to the Boar…

§ 21.1. Requirements (a) All officers, boards, and departments of the City shall be subject to audit as follows: (1) at the close of each fiscal year; (2) at the expiration of the term of office of any officer, board, or department; (3) at such other times as may be directed by t…

§ 22.1. Police Commission and Police Department The Police Commission shall consist of five legal voters appointed to serve for a term of three years, unless otherwise provided herein, and until their successors are appointed and qualified. Upon creation, two members shall be app…

§ 22.2. Powers and duties of Police Commission The Police Commission shall have the jurisdiction and control of the Police Department and of the police force of the City of Rutland. It shall have the power to make such rules and regulations as are necessary to govern its own acti…

§ 22.3. Eligibility of police commissioners No person shall serve as a police commissioner who has an immediate relative employed by the Rutland City Police Department. Immediate relative shall include spouse, children, stepchildren, parents, stepparents, brothers, sisters, mothe…

§ 22.4. Chief, appointment, removal The Police Commission shall appoint a Chief of Police who shall hold that position during good behavior, and for a term not to exceed five years, and so long as the Chief shall render efficient service to the City unless sooner removed as herei…

§ 22.5. Powers and duties of Chief Subject to the authority of the Police Commission, the Chief of Police shall have jurisdiction and control of the administration, disposition, and discipline of the Police Department and of the police force of the Department. Except as herein ot…

§ 22.6. Temporary absence of Chief In the event of temporary absence of the Chief of Police, the duties of Chief shall fall upon the subordinate officers, according to their rank, as established by the rules and regulations of the Police Department.

§ 22.7. Regular police officers; appointment (a) All applicants for positions on the police force, except for the position of Chief of Police, shall file with the Chief their applications in writing, together with proof of graduation from an accredited high school or graduate equ…

§ 22.8. Tenure All members of the regular police force, now serving or who shall hereinafter be appointed other than the Chief, shall be retained as such, unless discharged for good cause or due to economic reasons.

§ 22.9. Special police officers In addition to the regular police force, the Chief of Police shall have the power to appoint such special police officers as he or she may consider desirable and that present funding will support with approval of the Police Commission. The term “sp…

§ 22.10. Compensation The compensation of all members of the Police Department, including that of Chief of Police, shall be fixed by the Board of Aldermen and all fees accruing to them under the laws of the State or the provisions of this charter shall belong to the City and shal…

§ 22.11. Suspension The Chief of Police shall have the power, for disciplinary purposes, to suspend any member of the Department, without pay, for a period not to exceed six weeks. The Police Commission shall have the power to suspend the Chief of Police for a period not to excee…

§ 22.12. Service of criminal process All police officers shall have the authority in criminal causes returnable before the Rutland District or Superior Court, to serve and return within the State said criminal process. For such duties the Police Department shall be allowed the fe…

§ 22.13. Political activities No member of the Police Department of the City of Rutland shall act as an officer of any political party, attend any political convention as a delegate, participate in any manner whatever in any canvass in behalf of or against any candidate for any C…

§ 22.14. Vehicle replacement It shall be the duty of the Police Commission through the Chief of Police to provide and maintain safe, reliable emergency police vehicles. Such vehicles, upon reaching three full years of service, shall be replaced as soon as practical. The Chief sha…

§ 22.15. Monthly meetings The Police Commission shall meet at least once a month.

§ 23.1. Fire Chief, appointment, removal The Mayor shall appoint a Chief Engineer of the Fire Department subject to the approval of the Board of Aldermen, who shall hold that position for a term not to exceed five years, and so long as the Chief shall render efficient service to …

§ 23.2. Powers and duties of Fire Chief The Chief Engineer shall have jurisdiction and control of the administration, disposition, and discipline of the Fire Department and of the firemen within the Department. He or she shall have the power to make such rules and regulations as …

§ 23.3. Absence of Fire Chief In the event of temporary (24 hours or less) absence of the Chief of the Fire Department, the duties of the Chief shall fall upon the subordinate officers, according to their rank, as established by the rules and regulations of the Fire Department. I…

§ 23.4. Regular firemen; appointment (a) All applicants for position with the Fire Department, except for the position of Chief Engineer, shall file with the Chief Engineer an application in writing on forms approved by the Chief Engineer, and shall be examined in such manner as …

§ 23.6. Call firemen The Chief Engineer shall have sole power to appoint such number of call firemen as he or she may consider necessary for the proper protection of the City. Call firemen shall be subject to the call of the Chief Engineer of such Department when in his or her op…

§ 23.7. Compensation The compensation of all members of the Fire Department, including the Chief Engineer, shall be fixed by the Board of Aldermen. The Board shall further fix the compensation for a call fireman, after the recommendation of the Chief Engineer.

§ 23.8. Suspensions The Chief Engineer shall have the power, for disciplinary purposes, to suspend any member of the Department without pay for a period not to exceed four weeks. (Amended 2011, No. M-5, eff. May 6, 2011.)

§ 23.9. Emergency powers Whenever any building in the City shall be on fire, it shall be lawful for the Chief Engineer of the Fire Department or any officer in charge of said Department, in their discretion, to order any building or part thereof not on fire but that they may deem…

§ 23.10. Political activity No member of the Fire Department of the City of Rutland shall act as an executive committeeman, attend any political convention as a delegate, participate in any manner whatever in any canvass in behalf of or against any candidate for any City, county,…

§ 24.1. Appointment of Commissioner The Commissioner of Public Works shall be appointed by the Mayor for a term of two years. He or she shall be experienced in areas of administration and management. The Commissioner shall be entitled to salary as fixed by the Board of Aldermen.

§ 24.2. Powers and duties of Commissioner The Commissioner of Public Works shall be the Superintendent of Streets, Superintendent of Sewage and Disposal, Superintendent of Water Works, and City Tree Warden. Together with the City Engineer, the Commissioner shall be responsible fo…

§ 24.3. Staff and employees The Commissioner of Public Works shall employ a registered professional civil engineer who shall be the City Engineer. The Commissioner shall have the power to employ such staff assistants, supervisors, forepersons, agents, employees, and laborers as h…

§ 24.4. Commissioner; control of water supply (a) The Commissioner of Public Works shall have the exclusive general management and supervision of the City water works and may make and enforce regulations regarding the use and control of water. He or she shall have authority to en…

§ 24.5. Water rates (a) The Board of Aldermen shall establish rates to be paid for the use of water supplied by the City water works, which shall be called “service rates.” Such service rates shall be a lien in the nature of a tax upon the real estate so supplied with water and s…

§ 24.6. Sewers The Board of Aldermen is authorized and empowered to establish, construct, and maintain public sewers in said City, and may establish, construct, and maintain public sewers in and through the lands of individuals and corporations, on making compensation therefor in…

§ 24.7. City Engineer The City Engineer shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Public Works for an indefinite period. The Engineer shall be a professional civil engineer licensed in the State of Vermont whose duties shall include: (1) responsibility for all public surveys of t…

§ 25.1. Membership and duties The Commissioner of Public Works, President of the Board of Aldermen, and the Mayor shall constitute the Board of Highway Commissioners and shall have the same power to lay out, alter, resurvey, and discontinue streets and highways as is vested by la…

§ 25.2. Acceptance of streets (a) Streets and highways in the City may be laid out, opened, accepted, and established by the Board of Highway Commissioners, provided the owners having a majority of the frontage on the proposed street or highway file their petition therefor with t…

§ 25.3. Discontinuance of highways In case the Board of Highway Commissioners shall decide to discontinue any street or highway in the City, any person owning or interested in the lands abutting said street who is dissatisfied with such decision may within 60 days thereafter inst…

§ 25.4. Altering highways The said Board of Highway Commissioners shall have the power to raise or lower the surface of any street or highway of the City. The same proceedings shall be had in respect to awarding damages to the abutting owners upon such street or highway that they…

§ 25.5. Procedure Whenever under the provisions of this charter the Board of Highway Commissioners is required to give notice of the time and place of any examination or hearing before it touching the laying out, altering, or discontinuing any street or public highway in the City…

§ 25.6. Notice, citation, service (a) The citation shall be made at least 21 days prior to the time appointed for such examination or hearing, except when otherwise specially provided for in this charter. (b) Service of the citation may be accepted by any or all persons therein n…

§ 25.7. Nonresident service (a) The citation may be served by the sheriff or constable upon a person not an inhabitant of this State by leaving a true and attested copy of the citation with his or her return endorsed, with, or at the residence of, his or her known agent or attorn…

§ 25.8. Evidence of service The return of the sheriff or constable upon the original citation, and the certificate of the Clerk and the receipts, shall be prima facie evidence of the service of the citation as herein provided. The citation and return thereon, with the certificate…

§ 25.9. Defective notice; remedy (a) If at any stage of the proceedings before the Board of Highway Commissioners or in any proceedings subsequent thereto, it shall appear that any person owning or interested in such land shall not have been duly notified, the Board of Highway Co…

§ 25.10. Failure of notice No proceedings instituted by the Board of Highway Commissioners under the citation, nor any proceedings subsequent and pertaining thereto, shall be void on account of any failure to give notice to any person or persons interested therein or shall for th…

§ 26.1. Curbs and sidewalks assessment Whenever the owners of the greater part of the lands or buildings abutting upon any accepted street, or part thereof in said City, shall present their petition in writing to the Board of Aldermen, praying that such street, or part thereof as…

§ 26.2. Notice of hearing Assessments for public improvements other than those made in response to petition, shall be made only following a public hearing, after giving 21 days’ notice to interested parties in the same manner as herein provided in respect to laying out or alterin…

§ 26.3. Assessment of property liens After said hearing, the Commissioner of Public Works shall make up a statement of all assessments, describing the lands or buildings assessed, and forthwith cause the same to be recorded in the City Clerk’s office and when so recorded such ass…