Title 24APPENDIX, Title 24APPENDIX: Municipal Charters

§ 105. Authority of police officers The police officers of the Town shall have the same powers throughout the State with respect to criminal matters, and the enforcement of the laws relating thereto, as they have within the Town.

§ 106. Open meetings Meetings of all Town boards and commissions shall be open and held in accordance with the general law of this State relating to public meetings. The record of all official proceedings shall be available for public inspection and copying as provided by the gen…

§ 107. 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 shall be vested in an elective council, hereinafter referred to as the Selectboard, which shall enact ordinance…

§ 108. 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,…

§ 109. Town School District; establishment The Town of Richmond, as established in section 101 of this charter, shall constitute the Richmond Town School District.

§ 110. Utility services The Town shall have the power to impose rates, charges, and assessments upon property located within and without the Town of Richmond for water and sewer service, as provided herein.

§ 111. Ordinances; enforcement and adoption (a) The Selectboard 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 constables or police officers who for these purposes shall be i…

§ 112. Ordinance; introduction and readings (a) Every ordinance shall be introduced in writing. The enacting clause of all ordinances shall be “The Selectboard of the Town of Richmond hereby ordains.” The Selectboard shall cause the ordinance to be published in its entirety or a …

§ 113. Ordinance; consideration and passage After the hearing, the Selectboard may adopt the ordinance with or without amendment. (Amended 2005, No. M-10 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, eff. May 1, 2006.)

§ 114. Ordinance; effective date An ordinance shall become effective in accordance with the provisions of 24 V.S.A. chapter 59, relating to the adoption of ordinances, except that if adoption of the ordinance by the Selectboard is conditioned upon approval of the voters of the To…

§ 115. Ordinances; filing The Town Clerk shall prepare and keep in the Town office a book of ordinances that shall contain each ordinance adopted by the Selectboard or finally approved by the voters together with an index of the ordinances according to the subject matter. (Amende…

§ 1301. Applicability of State law to zoning and planning All matters pertaining to zoning, land subdivision, municipal and regional plans, shall be exclusively controlled by the general law of the State of Vermont, except as specifically provided in this charter.

§ 1302. Ratification of present zoning ordinances The Town of Richmond zoning, subdivision, and flood hazard regulations, as amended, are hereby ratified and approved, subject to the provisions of 24 V.S.A. chapter 117.

§ 1303. Incorporation of Village zoning ordinance The Village of Richmond zoning and flood hazard regulations, as amended, are hereby incorporated into the zoning ordinance of the Town of Richmond for the purpose of defining a Village District within said Town ordinance and estab…

§ 1501. Fiscal year (a) The fiscal year of the Town shall commence on the first day of July and end on the last day of June. Upon the close of each fiscal year, the Selectboard shall order an audit by an outside firm that the Selectboard chooses for that purpose. The annual audit…

§ 1503. Taxation All matters pertaining to taxation shall be exclusively controlled by the general law of the State, except as specifically provided as follows: (1) All taxes assessed on real and on personal property shall be due and payable to the Town Tax Collector in four equa…

§ 1504. Fees and fines All fines and penalties payable to the Town by reason of any violation of any law, ordinance, or bylaw shall be paid over promptly upon receipt to the Town Treasurer for inclusion in the appropriate fund of the Town. All fees established by law or ordinance…

§ 1505. Current bonded indebtedness Outstanding bonds previously issued by the Village of Richmond shall be obligations of the Town of Richmond on and after the effective date of this charter; provided, however, that until fully paid, said bonds and notes shall constitute a gener…

§ 1701. Severability If any provision of this charter is held invalid, the other provisions of the 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 …

§§ 1702-1704. [Town-Village merger transitional provisions]

§ 1705. Amendment of charter This charter may be amended as set forth by the general laws of this State.

§ 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 therefor and having a similar subject matter.

§§ 1707-1708. [Town-Village merger transitional provisions]

§ 1709. Continuation of acts amended The provisions of this charter, so far as they are the same as those of acts hereby amended, shall be construed as a continuation of such acts and not as new enactments.

§§ 1710-1715. [Town-Village merger transitional provisions]

§ 301. Generally The officers of the Town of Richmond 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. Town officers (a) The officers of the Town shall have their compensation fixed by the Selectboard. (b) All elected officers, except as provided by law or as specifically provided in this charter, shall be chosen from the legally qualified voters of the Town and shall hold …

§ 303. Appointed officers (a) The Selectboard may appoint any officers required by the Town’s personnel regulations, this charter, or the general law of this State and shall fix their compensation. (b) Notwithstanding any provision of law or Town personnel rules to the contrary, …

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

§ 305. Oath of office All elected and appointed officers and all police officers of the Town shall, before assuming office, take, subscribe, and file with the Town Clerk the following oath: “I ____ solemnly swear (or affirm) that I shall faithfully execute the Office of ______ of…

§ 306. Town Clerk; Town Treasurer; Collector of Delinquent Taxes; School District Officers; duties (a) The Clerk and Town Treasurer shall perform those duties imposed upon the Clerk and Town Treasurer of Richmond School District by the general law of this State. (b) The Town Trea…

§ 501. Selectboard; powers and duties; terms (a) The members of the Selectboard shall constitute the legislative body of the Town of Richmond for all purposes required by law, and except as otherwise specifically provided in this charter, and shall have all powers and authority g…

§ 502. Town Manager (a) Appointment. The Selectboard shall appoint a Town Manager. (b) Qualifications. The Town Manager shall be selected with special reference to his or her education, training, and experience to perform the duties of the office, and without reference to his or …

§ 503. Responsibilities and authority of Town Manager (a) General authority. The Town Manager shall be the chief administrative officer of the Town. He or she shall be responsible to the Selectboard for the administration and general supervision of all business affairs and proper…

§ 701. Transfer (a) On and after the effective date of this charter, the ownership, control, and management of the Village water and sewer systems shall be vested in the Town, subject to all indebtedness and liabilities relating thereto; provided, however, that administration of …

§ 901. Appointments The Selectboard may appoint commissions or committees as needed and delegate incidental powers necessary for the proper functioning thereof as established by law.

§ 902. Water and sewer commissioners (a) The Town shall have a single Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners consisting of five members whose duties, powers, and authority with respect to the municipal water system and sewer system shall be as established by the law of this State…