Title 24APPENDIX, Title 24APPENDIX: Municipal Charters

§ 105. Ordinances; enforcement; adoption (a) The Council may provide penalties for the breach of any ordinance authorized by general law or this charter, may prosecute any person violating the same through the City Grand Juror or police officers who for such purposes shall be inf…

§ 106. Introduction; first and second readings; public hearing (a) Every ordinance shall be introduced in writing. The enacting clause of all ordinances shall be “The Council of the City of South Burlington hereby ordains . . .”. If the Council passes the proposed ordinance upon …

§ 107. Further consideration; final passage After the hearing, the Council may finally pass the ordinance with or without amendment, except that if the Council makes an amendment it shall cause a short, concise one-paragraph description of the effects of the amended ordinance, in…

§ 108. Effective date Every ordinance shall become effective upon passage unless otherwise specified or, if the ordinance be conditioned upon approval of the voters of the City, then upon a favorable vote of a majority of those voting thereon.

§ 109. Filing The City Clerk shall prepare and keep in the City Clerk’s office a book of ordinances that shall contain each ordinance finally passed by the Council together with a complete index of the ordinances according to subject matter.

§ 110. Annual City report The annual City report shall be made available to the legal voters of the City and School District not later than 20 days prior to the annual City and School District meeting. (Amended 2009, No. M-19 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 5, 2010.)

§ 1101. Membership (a) There shall be a Steering Committee, the members of which shall be the City Manager, the Superintendent of South Burlington School District, the members of the Council, and members of the Board of School Directors. (b) The Committee shall elect a Chair and …

§ 1102. Powers and duties (a) The Steering Committee shall hold public meetings on the City and School District budgets as set forth in this charter. The Committee shall review proposed programs to be implemented by the City and the School District in the next fiscal year, or for…

§ 111. Reservation of powers to the City Nothing in this charter shall be so construed as in any way to limit the powers and functions conferred upon the City of South Burlington and the Council of said City by general or special enactments in force or effect or hereafter enacted…

§ 1301. Fiscal year The fiscal year of the City and the City School District shall begin the first day of July and end on the last day of June of each calendar year. The fiscal year shall constitute the budget and accounting year as used in this charter.

§ 1302. Preparation and submission (a) The City Manager and Superintendent of Schools shall prepare the budgets for the City and School District, respectively, and submit same to the Council and Board of School Directors at such time as required by said boards. The budgets shall …

§ 1303. City and School District annual meeting warning and budget The proposed budgets of the City and School District shall be made available to the legal voters of the City and School District at least 20 days before the annual City and School District meeting. Not more than 4…

§ 1304. Amount to be raised by taxation (a) Budgets for the City and the South Burlington School District shall be adopted when approved by the voters. Upon adoption of the budgets for the City and the South Burlington School District, the amounts stated therein as the amount of …

§ 1305. Appropriation From the effective date of the budgets, the several amounts stated therein become appropriated to the several agencies and purposes therein named. (Amended 2007, No. M-14, § 7, eff. Nov. 11, 2007.)

§ 1306. Departmental budget The budget for all departments shall include all proposed expenditures, and the Council and Board of School Directors shall make a gross appropriation for each department for the ensuing fiscal year. The gross appropriation for each department of the C…

§ 1307. Transfers of appropriations The Manager and School Superintendent, respectively, may at any time transfer an unencumbered appropriation balance or portion thereof between general classifications of expenditures within an office, department, or agency under his or her juri…

§ 1501. Taxes on real and personal property Taxes on real and personal property shall be due and payable in no fewer than three equal installments on such dates of each tax year as shall be determined annually by the City Council. (Amended 1999, No. M-4, § 4, eff. April 27, 1999.…

§ 1502. Penalty A late charge of eight percent will be added to any tax not paid on or before the dates specified in section 1501 of this subchapter. In addition, interest at the rate of one percent per month will be added to any tax not paid on or before its due date, for each m…

§ 1503. Waiver of penalty (a) The City Manager may waive the penalty incurred by any taxpayer because of the late payment of the installment of real and personal property taxes, but only when all of the following requirements have been met: (1) the total amount of such installmen…

§ 1504. Business inventory and business personal property (a) The City shall exempt business inventory as defined in 32 V.S.A. § 3848 from the property tax. (b) Business personal property as defined in 32 V.S.A. § 3618(c) shall be appraised in accordance with the provisions of 32…

§ 1505. Tax stabilization agreements Notwithstanding any other provisions of this charter or the requirements of the general law of the State of Vermont, the City Council is authorized and empowered to negotiate and execute agreements between the City and taxpayers regarding asse…

§ 1506. Sales, rooms, meals, and alcoholic beverages tax (a) The City Council may impose a tax on those transactions in the City involving sales, rooms, meals, and alcoholic beverages that are subject to taxation by the State of Vermont. The authority of the City Council to impos…

§ 1701. Appointment and removal (a) All City employees not elected by the voters shall be appointed, supervised, and removed by the City Manager unless otherwise specified in this charter. There shall be no discrimination in employment on account of race, religion, or political a…

§ 1702. Personnel rules and regulations (a) The City Manager or his or her appointee shall be the Personnel Director. He or she shall prepare personnel rules and regulations protecting the interests of the City and of the employees. These rules and regulations must be approved by…

§ 1703. Ethical guideline The City Council shall further define business conduct and ethics in an approved guideline document to include at least the following: (1) No person in the service of the City shall either directly or indirectly give, render, pay, or receive any service …

§ 1901. Department of Assessment There shall be a Department of Assessment, which shall consist of the position of Chief Assessor and such assistants as are deemed to be necessary by the City Manager and approved by the City Council. The Chief Assessor and assistants will be appo…

§ 1902. Powers and duties The Department of Assessment shall have the same powers, discharge the same duties, proceed in the discharge thereof in the same manner, and be subject to the same liabilities as are prescribed for listers or the Board Of Listers under the law of this St…

§ 1904. Appraisal of unimproved land approved for commercial or industrial development (a) The requirements of general law notwithstanding, the Assessor shall not take into consideration the effect of any local or State approval authorizing commercial or industrial development of…

§ 2001. Continuation of prior law The City of South Burlington may operate a Water Department in accordance with the general laws of the State of Vermont. (Amended 1997, No. M-15 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)

§ 2002. Operations The City Manager shall manage, and be responsible for, the administrative operation of the Water Department, including maintenance, repair, replacement, and expansion of the water system and purchasing. He or she shall generally perform the management and other…

§ 2003. Accounts The City Manager shall be responsible for the accounting and billing to the Water Department, subject to the supervision and authority of the water commissioners.

§ 2004. Board of Water Commissioners The City Council shall constitute the Board of Water Commissioners, with authority to exercise all powers granted to water commissions under the general laws of the State. (Amended 1997, No. M-15 (Adj. Sess.), § 6.)

§ 2101. Authority to amend This charter may be amended in the manner provided by the laws of the State of Vermont for the amendment of municipal charters.

§ 301. Officers; general provisions The officers of the City of South Burlington shall be those provided by law for towns, except as otherwise provided by this charter. The officers shall have all the powers and duties necessary to carry out the provisions of this charter as well…

§ 302. City Council; number; terms of office; election (a) There shall be a City Council consisting of five members. (b) Three members shall have terms of office of three years; two members shall have terms of office of two years. (c) All present Selectboard members shall serve a…

§ 303. Organization (a) Forthwith after its election and qualification, the Council shall organize and elect a Chair, a Vice Chair and a Clerk by a majority vote of the entire Council and file a certificate of such election for record in the Office Of the City Clerk. (b) The Chai…

§ 304. Vacancies When a vacancy occurs on the City Council, the remaining members may fill the vacancy until the next annual meeting when the City shall fill the vacancy.

§ 305. Meetings (a) As soon as possible after the election of the Chair and Vice Chair, the Council shall fix the time and place of its regular meetings, and such meetings shall be held at least twice a month. (b) The Council shall determine its own rules and order of business. (…

§ 306. Records of proceedings (a) It shall be the duty of the City Council to keep an official record of its proceedings, which shall be open for public inspection. (b) The minutes of each meeting shall be approved by the Council at the next meeting and official copy authenticate…

§ 307. Appointments (a) The Council shall appoint and may remove the members of the following commissions and boards provided for in this charter or by State laws: (1) Development Review Board. (2) Planning Commission. (3) Board of Library Trustees, but in no event shall one-half…

§ 308. Jurisdiction over other officers or employees Neither the City Council nor any of its members shall direct or request the appointment, by any other officer or employee of the City, of any person to office or employment, or his or her suspension or removal therefrom, or in …

§ 309. Compensation of Council members; appointees (a) Compensation to be paid to the Council members shall be set forth in the proposed budget of the City. (b) The Council shall fix the compensation of all officers and employees, except as otherwise provided in this charter.

§ 310. Powers and duties (a) The members of the Council shall be and constitute the legislative body of the City of South Burlington for all purposes required by statutes and except as otherwise herein specifically provided, shall have all powers and authority given to, and perfo…

§ 311. Board of School Directors; number; terms of office; election (a) There shall be a Board of School Directors consisting of seven members. (b) Four members shall have terms of office of three years; three members shall have terms of office of two years. (c) All present Schoo…

§ 501. Application of general laws Provisions of the laws of the State of Vermont relating to the qualifications of electors, the manner of voting, the duties of elections officers, and all other particulars respective to preparation for, conducting, and management of elections, …

§ 502. Time of holding (a) The annual City meetings of the City and the South Burlington School District for the election of officers, the voting on the budgets, and any other business included in the warnings for the meetings shall be on a date established and legally warned by …