Title 24APPENDIX, Municipal Charters

§ 16. Clerk (a) The Clerk shall be elected for a period of three years. He or she shall: (1) maintain a record of all action taken at special or annual Town meetings; (2) maintain all Town records and an index to those records; (3) maintain and file all reports required by law; a…

§ 17. Town manager; appointment; term A Town Manager shall be the Chief Administrative Officer of the Town. He or she shall be appointed by a majority of the full Selectboard. He or she shall be selected with special reference to his or her training, experience, education, and ab…

§ 18. Removal of the Town Manager The Manager may be removed by a majority vote of the full Selectboard. At least 30 days before the proposed removal of the Manager, the Board shall adopt a resolution in executive session, stating its intention to remove him or her and the reason…

§ 19. Oath and bond Before entering into the duties of his or her office, the Town Manager shall be sworn to the faithful and impartial performance of his or her duties, and a certificate to that effect shall be filed with the Town Clerk. He or she shall execute a bond in favor o…

§ 2. Meetings and elections (a) The second Tuesday in May shall be the date for the annual election of Town officers and for voting upon all questions to be decided by Australian ballot. Polls shall be open no less than nine consecutive hours. The Selectboard may designate one or…

§ 20. Responsibilities of the Town Manager in general The Town Manager shall be accountable to the Selectboard. He or she shall have general supervision of the property and business affairs of the Town and expenditure of all monies appropriated for Town purposes subject to prior …

§ 21. Powers and duties in particular The Town Manager shall have power, and it shall be his or her duty: (1) To organize, operate, continue, or discontinue any departments as the Selectboard may determine. (2) To carry out the policies laid down by the Board, to keep the Board i…

§ 22. Noninterference with administration (a) Except for emergencies and for the purpose of inquiries or investigations authorized under this charter, the Board, its members, and committees shall deal with Town officers and employees who are subject to the direction and supervisi…

§ 23. Filling of a vacancy Any vacancy in the Office of Town Manager shall be filled as soon as practicable by the Selectboard and, pending the appointment, or in case of the Manager’s absence or disability, the Board shall designate some person to perform the duties of the offic…

§ 24. Compensation of the Town Manager The compensation of the Town Manager shall be set by resolution of the Selectboard, within any budgetary limitations set by the voters at Town meeting. As used in this section, the term “compensation” includes salary, additional benefits, ti…

§ 25. Administrative Code (a) Within two years following the effective date of this charter, the Town Manager shall prepare and submit to the Selectboard a proposal for an ordinance to be known as the Administrative Code of the Town of Barre. For the purpose of preparing the prop…

§ 26. Fiscal year The fiscal year of the Town and all its departments shall begin on the first day of July and end on the last day of June unless another date is fixed by voters at any annual Town election.

§ 27. Committee of Five Annually, prior to January 31, a committee of five voters shall be appointed to review, with the Selectboard members, the proposed Town budget. Their terms shall expire upon final adoption of the budget. The Selectboard members shall appoint two members an…

§ 28. Budget preparation (a) At such time as may be prescribed by the Selectboard, the Town Manager shall propose a budget and submit a line itemized estimate of the income and expenditures required for the operation of the Town government for the next ensuing fiscal year. (b) Th…

§ 29. Appropriation (a) All amounts specified in the budget and approved by the voters at an annual Town election are appropriated for the purpose specified in the budget. Adoption of the budget shall constitute appropriations of the amounts specified therein as expenditures from…

§ 3. Warnings (a) Public notice of every annual or special Town meeting or Town election shall be given by a warning posted at the municipal building, on the official Town website, and at three public places in the Town, as designated by the Selectboard, at least 14 days prior to…

§ 30. Budget control At the beginning of each quarterly period during the fiscal year, and more often if required by the Board, the Manager shall submit to the Board data showing the relation between the estimated and actual income and expenses to date, together with outstanding …

§ 31. Purchasing policy The Town Manager may expend an amount determined by the Selectboard, and the Selectboard may expend $10,000.00 for any established program without requesting competitive bids. Any expenditures other than those specified above shall be open to competitive b…

§ 32. Tax rate (a) If the municipal and school budgets have been adopted by July 1, then as soon as practicable after the final adoption of the last budget and the filing by the listers of the grand list, the Selectboard shall annually vote a uniform rate of tax sufficient to rai…

§ 33. Collection of taxes (a) Real and personal property taxes and other taxes, assessments, charges, or levies by the Town shall be due either in one payment or in not more than four installments, as equal as possible, on dates specified by the voters at the annual Town election…

§ 34. Board of Abatement (a) The Board of Civil Authority, together with the Treasurer and the Assessor, shall constitute the Board of Abatement. The Chair and Clerk of the Board of Civil Authority shall serve as the Chair and Clerk, respectively, of the Board of Abatement. (b) T…

§ 35. Bonded indebtedness The limits of bonded indebtedness of the Town and the procedures for incurring a debt shall be governed by the general laws of the State of Vermont.

§ 35a. Bonding; Aldrich Public Library By a majority vote of those present and voting at an annual or special meeting warned for the purpose, the Town may issue municipal bonds for the cost of capital improvements to the Aldrich Public Library, which is located in the City of Bar…

§ 36. Meetings; open government It shall be the policy of the Town of Barre to afford to all of its citizens the opportunity to participate in the government of their Town as fully and completely as may be possible. To this end, all meetings of agencies, boards, citizen committee…

§ 37. Ordinances (a) Town legislation shall be by ordinance. The Selectboard shall constitute the legislative body of the Town, except as otherwise provided herein, to adopt, amend, repeal, and enforce ordinances. Each ordinance, when introduced, shall be in writing and shall be …

§ 38. Appointed officers (a) The Selectboard, by majority vote, shall appoint the following Town officers for the terms indicated: (1) A Town Attorney for a term of one year, to fulfill the duties prescribed by law for the grand juror and town agent of a town, and to perform othe…

§ 39. Compensation and fees (a) The Town election shall annually vote the compensation to be paid to the following officers: (1) Selectboard members; (2) [Repealed.] (3) Moderator. (b) The Selectboard shall annually consider and from time to time shall set the compensation of the…

§ 4. Conduct (a) The Moderator shall preside at all Town meetings, but in the Moderator’s absence, the Town Clerk shall call the meeting to order, and the first order of business shall be the election of a Moderator Pro Tempore to preside for the duration of the meeting. The Mode…

§ 40. Conflict of interest No elective or appointive officer or employee of the Town shall be beneficially interested directly or indirectly in any contract with the Town, regardless of amount, or furnish any material, or perform any labor, except in the discharge of his or her o…

§ 41. Public lands With the approval of the voters given at any duly warned meeting, the Selectboard may sell any portion of real estate owned by the Town and not needed for Town purposes or change the use of any real property owned by the Town. The authorization may be given in …

§ 42. Mergers and consolidation of municipalities The procedures for mergers or consolidation of municipalities shall be as provided for in the general laws of the State of Vermont.

§ 43. Application of general law Except as altered, enlarged, or modified by the provisions of this charter or by any lawful ordinance or regulation of the Town of Barre, all provisions of the laws of the State of Vermont relating to towns and town officers shall apply to the Tow…

§ 44. Definitions As used in this charter, except where the context or express terms require a contrary interpretation: (1) “Board” shall mean the duly elected Selectboard of the Town, acting as a group and in its official capacity. (2) “Day” shall mean a calendar day. (3) A “vac…

§ 45. Offices abolished The Offices of Road Commissioner, tree warden, fence viewer, grand juror, inspector of lumber-wood-shingles, second constable, Town agent, and weigher of coal are all hereby abolished. Except as otherwise provided in this charter, the Town Manager or his o…

§ 46. Separability The sections of this charter and the parts thereof are separable. If any portion of this charter or its application to any person or circumstance shall be held invalid, the remainder thereof or the application of such invalid portions to other persons or circum…

§ 47. Construction The provisions of this charter shall be construed liberally in favor of the Town and in such manner as to give effect to the intent of this charter to make government more efficient and more responsive to the citizens of the Town.

§ 48. [Transitional Provisions]

§ 49. Amendment or repeal No section or provision of this charter may be repealed or amended unless the act making the repeal or amendment refers specifically to this charter and to the sections or provisions so repealed. Any amendment to this charter must be submitted to the vot…

§ 5. Reconsideration of actions taken A question considered at any Town meeting or election may not be submitted to the voters for reconsideration or rescission except at a subsequent annual meeting or special meeting or election specifically warned for the purpose and called by …

§ 50. [Effective Date]

§ 6. Board of Civil Authority (a) A Board of Civil Authority shall consist of the justices of the peace residing within the Town, the Town Clerk, and the Selectboard. At the first meeting on or after February 1 of each year, the Board shall elect a Chair and Vice Chair from among…

§ 7. Nomination of candidates Nominations of persons to fill Town offices shall be by petition containing the signatures of at least 30 voters or one percent of the voters, whichever is less. Petitions shall be filed with the Town Clerk, together with a written assent signed by t…

§ 8. General powers The Town shall have all powers that Towns have under the Constitution and laws of the State of Vermont, as fully and completely as though they were specifically enumerated in this charter, together with all powers that may hereafter be granted to towns by the …

§ 9. Intergovernmental relations Subject only to any applicable superior laws or constitutional provisions, the Town through the Selectboard may exercise any of its powers or perform any of its functions and may participate in the financing thereof, jointly or in cooperation, by …