Title 24APPENDIX, Title 24APPENDIX: Municipal Charters

§ 105. Reservation of powers to the Town Nothing in this charter shall be construed to in any way limit the powers and functions conferred on the Town of Hardwick, its Selectboard, or its elected and appointed officials by general or special enactments of State statutes or regula…

§ 106. Ordinances: penalties for breach thereof (a) A Town ordinance may provide: (1) for a fine in an amount no greater than $1,000.00; and (2) that each week a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense. (b) A violation of a Town ordinance shall be classified as mi…

§ 107. Ordinances; adoption by the Selectboard (a) If the Selectboard desires to adopt an ordinance, the Selectboard shall record it in the official record kept of the Selectboard proceedings, and the Selectboard shall adopt it subject to final approval after the public hearing a…

§ 108. Referendum (a) All Town ordinances, except as specified in section 110 of this charter, may be repealed by vote of the Town as follows: A petition signed by not less than 15 percent of the registered voters shall be filed with the Town Clerk requesting a vote on the questi…

§ 109. Ordinances; adoption on petition Any lawful ordinance may be enacted by vote of the Town as follows: A petition signed by not less than 15 percent of the registered voters shall be filed with the Town Clerk requesting enactment of the ordinance and accompanied by the text …

§ 110. Non-applicability of zoning and subdivision The provisions of sections 107, 108, and 109 of this charter shall not apply to the enactment, amendment, or repeal of any zoning ordinance or bylaw, any land subdivision ordinance or land subdivision bylaw, nor to the enactment,…

§ 1101. Application of general laws Provisions of the laws of this State relating to voter qualification; warnings; methods of voting; the duties of Town officers at Town meetings and elections; and all other particulars relating to preparation for, conduct, and management of Tow…

§ 1102. Eligible voters A method for the identification and designation of the eligible voters in Town meeting shall be established and enforced by the Board of Civil Authority.

§ 1103. Polling places The Board of Civil Authority shall establish a polling place or places as it shall determine appropriate whenever any annual or special Town meeting is being held for the purpose of the election of officers or the voting on questions to be decided by Austra…

§ 1104. Postponement and combining of Town meeting (a) If an application for a special Town meeting is made not more than 60 days and not less than 40 days before annual Town meeting day, the Selectboard may postpone voting on any one or more of the articles requested in the peti…

§ 1105. Voting question by Australian ballot Voting on any public question or the election of any Town officer by Australian ballot shall be as provided by the general law of the State.

§ 1106. Annual meeting; date and time The annual meeting of the Town for the consideration of all matters to be voted upon by ballot shall be held on the first Tuesday in March, commencing at 10 o’clock in the forenoon.

§ 111. Applicability of referendum and initiative The right of referendum and initiative contained in sections 108 and 109 of this charter shall apply to the amendment or repeal of an ordinance as well as to its enactment.

§ 112. Authority of police officers Police officers of the Town shall have those powers conferred upon them by 24 V.S.A. chapter 55 and by all other laws applicable to municipal police officers. (Amended 2021, No. M-17 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. June 7, 2022.)

§ 113. Open meetings Meetings of all Town boards, commissions, and formal committees shall conform with the provisions of 1 V.S.A. §§ 310–314 of Vermont’s Open Meeting Law. (Amended 2021, No. M-17 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. June 7, 2022.)

§ 114. Form of government The municipal government provided by this charter shall be known as the council manager form of government. Pursuant to its provisions and subject only to the limitations imposed by the Vermont Constitution and by this charter, all powers of the Town sha…

§ 115. Change of form of government Upon petition of a number of legal voters equal to at least 15 percent of the total registered voters of the Town may, at any annual meeting or special meeting duly warned and held for that purpose, vote to change the council-manager form of go…

§ 116. Intergovernmental relations The Town, through its Selectboard, may enter into any agreement with the United States of America or the State of Vermont, or both, or with any subdivision, department, agency, or activity of the United States of America or the State of Vermont,…

§ 118. Special service district (a) By ordinance, enacted as herein provided, the Town of Hardwick may designate, establish, enlarge, and modify the boundaries of certain special service districts, in which are provided municipal services not available elsewhere in the Town. For …

§ 1301. Applicability of State law to zoning and planning The Zoning Administrator shall be nominated by the Planning Commission and appointed by the Selectboard for a term of three years promptly after the adoption of the first bylaws or when a vacancy exists. The appointment sh…

§ 1303. Minutes (a) Copies of the minutes of the Development Review Board or the Hardwick Planning Commission, or portions of the minutes, shall be made available to any member of the public upon request to the Town Manager and at cost. (b) Copies of the minutes of the Developmen…

§ 1501. Fiscal year The fiscal year shall commence on the first day of July and end with the last day of June.

§ 1502. Preparation and submission of budget (a) The Town Manager, at least 90 days before the date of the regular annual Town meeting, shall submit to the Selectboard a budget that, except as required by law or this charter, shall be in such form as the Manager deems desirable o…

§ 1503. Saving clause Failure to perform any of the duties specified in section 1502 of this charter, or failure to perform any of such duties within the time limits above specified, shall not invalidate any action taken at a duly warned annual meeting.

§ 1504. Appropriations The Town at the annual meeting shall adopt a budget that shall include the proposed expenditure of each department for the coming fiscal year, and adoption of a budget at the annual meeting shall be deemed an appropriation to each department of the sum allo…

§ 1505. Amount to be raised by taxation Upon passage of the budget by the annual Town meeting, the amounts stated therein as the amount to be raised by property taxes shall constitute a determination of the amount of the levy for the purposes of the Town in the corresponding tax …

§ 1506. Budget limitations—borrowing (a) The incurring of bonded indebtedness, the issuing of bonds, the making of temporary loans in anticipation of bond sales, and all other matters pertaining to bonded indebtedness shall be controlled by such statutes as are applicable. (b) Th…

§ 1507. Transfers of appropriations At any time during the fiscal year, the Manager may transfer part or all of any unused appropriation balance among the programs within a department, office, or agency. Upon written request by the Manager, the Selectboard may by resolution trans…

§ 1508. Taxation (a) Taxes on real and personal property shall be paid as voted at annual Town meeting. (b) Taxes may be paid with discount if approved at annual Town meeting. (c) Taxes shall be collected as established by law. (d) Delinquent property taxes shall accrue penalty, …

§ 1701. Separability If any provision of this charter is held invalid, the other provisions of this charter shall not be affected thereby. If the application of the charter or any of its provisions to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the application of the charter and…

§ 1705. Amendment of charter This charter may be amended as set forth by the general law of the State of Vermont, 17 V.S.A. § 2645. (Amended 2021, No. M-17 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. June 7, 2022.)

§ 1706. Reference to statute If any matter mentioned in this charter is said to be controlled by a special statute, the reference to such statute shall include the statute as amended or renumbered, or any statute substituted therefore and having a similar subject matter.

§ 301. Generally The officers of the Town of Hardwick shall be those provided by law for towns, except as otherwise provided by this charter. Such officers shall have all the powers and duties necessary to carry out the provisions of this charter as well as those provided by law.…

§ 302. Elective officers (a) The officers elected and their compensation fixed by the Town at its annual meeting shall be: (1) five Selectboard members; (2) Town Meeting Moderator; (3)-(4) [Repealed.] (5) Town Clerk and Treasurer; (6)-(7) [Repealed.] (8) cemetery trustees; (9) li…

§ 303. Terms of office; Selectboard members (a) Three Selectboard members shall be elected for a three-year term and two Selectboard members for a one-year term. (b) All Selectboard members shall be elected at large. The persons with the largest number of votes for office of equa…

§ 304. Other elective offices (a) [Repealed.] (b) The Town Meeting Moderator shall be elected and shall perform those duties prescribed by the general law of this State. (c) The Town Clerk and Treasurer shall be elected for a three-year term and shall carry out the duties of the …

§ 306. Appointed officers (a) The Selectboard may appoint any officers required by the Town’s personnel regulations or this charter. (b) The Town Manager shall function as the personnel officer of the Town. (1) The Zoning Administrator shall be appointed in accordance with 24 V.S…

§ 307. Vacancies and appointments (a) When the term of any member of the Development Review Board, the Planning Commission, or any other Town board, commission, or formal committee expires, or when the term of any officer appointed by the Selectboard or the Town Manager expires, …

§ 308. Bonding of officers All officers of the Town required to be bonded by State law shall be so bonded.

§ 309. Oath of office All elective officials and all municipal police officers of the Town shall, before assuming office, take, subscribe, and file with the Town Clerk and Treasurer the following oath: “I, ______ , solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Off…

§ 310. Town Clerk and Treasurer The Clerk, auditors, and Treasurer of the Town shall perform those duties imposed upon them by the general law of this State.

§ 311. Recall of elected officials (a) Any elected Town officer may be removed from office as follows: A petition signed by not less than 25 percent of the registered voters shall be filed with the Selectboard, requesting a vote on whether the elected officer shall be removed fro…

§ 501. Powers and duties (a) The members of the Selectboard shall constitute the legislative body of the Town of Hardwick for all purposes required by law and except as otherwise herein specifically provided and shall have all powers and authority given to and perform all duties …

§ 502. Organization (a) After the election and qualification of the Selectboard, the Selectboard shall organize and elect a Chair and Vice Chair by a majority vote of the entire Board. (b) The Selectboard shall conduct its business in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order. The …

§ 504. Jurisdiction over offices and employees Neither the Selectboard nor any of its members shall direct or request the appointment, by any officer or employee of the Town, of any person to office or employment, or their suspension or removal therefrom, or in any manner take pa…

§ 701. Appointed by Selectboard The Selectboard shall appoint a Town Manager upon such conditions as they may determine.