Title 24APPENDIX, Title 24APPENDIX: Municipal Charters

§ 101. General law; application Except as modified by the provisions of this charter or by any lawful regulation or ordinance of the Town of Stowe, all provisions of the statutes of this State applicable to towns shall apply to the Town of Stowe. (Amended 2013, No. M-4, § 2, eff.…

§ 1101. Electric Utility Commission (a) There shall be a Town of Stowe Electric Department. (b)(1) The Electric Commission shall be composed of three commissioners appointed by the Town of Stowe Selectboard for staggered terms of three years each. (2) It shall be the policy of th…

§ 1201. Water Utility Commission (a) There shall be a Town of Stowe Water Department that shall be responsible initially for continuing the present specific water services in existence and being provided on June 30, 1996. (b) The water system taken over from the Village of Stowe …

§ 1301. Laws governing No section or provision of this charter may be repealed or amended unless the act making such repeal or amendment refers specifically to this charter and to the sections or provisions so repealed or amended. Any amendment to this charter must be submitted t…

§ 1401. Effective date This charter shall become effective upon approval in accordance with 17 V.S.A. § 2645. Any amendment to this charter shall become effective in accordance with the laws of Vermont then in effect. (Amended 2009, No. M-18 (Adj. Sess.), § 18, eff. May 5, 2010; …

§ 1501. Merger of the Village and Town of Stowe Effective as of July 1, 1996, the Village of Stowe as constituted by 1896 Acts and Resolves No. 168, as amended, shall merge with and into the Town of Stowe, within its present geographic limits, as a single municipal corporation un…

§ 1508. Merger of Stowe Fire District No. 3 and the Town of Stowe Effective as of July 1, 2019, Stowe Fire District No. 3 shall merge with and into the Town of Stowe. Stowe Fire District No. 3 shall, except as provided otherwise for transition purposes, cease to exist as a munici…

§ 201. Corporate existence retained The inhabitants of the Town of Stowe within the corporate limits now established shall continue to be a municipal corporation by the name of the Town of Stowe. The Town’s entire governmental jurisdiction includes the entire area that was previo…

§ 202. Powers of the Town (a) The Town shall have all of the powers granted to towns and municipal corporations by the Constitution and laws of this State. It may enact ordinances, bylaws, and regulations not inconsistent with the Constitution of Vermont or with this charter, and…

§ 203. Particular powers In addition to powers otherwise conferred upon it by law, the Town is, for the purpose of promoting the public health, safety, welfare, and convenience, authorized: (1) To adopt and enforce ordinances relating to the making and installation of local impro…

§ 204. Ordinances (a) Method of adoption and enforcement. (1) Ordinance-making authority granted to the Town by this charter and general law shall be exercised pursuant to the provisions of subsections (b) through (e) of this section. (2) The Selectboard may provide penalties for…

§ 205. Reservation of powers to the Town Nothing in this subchapter shall be so construed as in any way to limit the powers and functions conferred upon the Town of Stowe and the Selectboard of the Town by general or special enactments in force or effect or hereafter enacted by t…

§ 301. Application of general law Provisions of the laws of the State of Vermont relating to the qualifications of voters, the manner of voting, the duties of election officers, and all other particulars respective to preparation for, conducting, and management of elections, so f…

§ 302. Annual Town report and warning Copies of the annual Town report and warning shall be made available not later than 10 days prior to the annual meeting.

§ 303. Time of holding (a) The annual Town meeting for the consideration of the budget and other Town business shall be held on the first Tuesday of March, or on any of the three immediately preceding days, as determined by the Selectboard. (b) The election of officers by Austral…

§ 401. Officers generally; elected officers; recall (a) The elected officers of the Town of Stowe shall be: Selectboard members, Moderator, and listers. These officers shall have all the powers and authority necessary to carry out their duties and responsibilities under this char…

§ 402. Selectboard; number of members; terms of office; election (a) There shall be a Selectboard consisting of five members. (b) The term of office of a Selectboard member shall be as follows: Three Selectboard members shall serve for terms of three years and two Selectboard mem…

§ 403. Organization of Selectboard (a) Forthwith after their election and qualification, the Selectboard shall organize and elect a Chair, Vice Chair, and Clerk by a majority vote of the entire Selectboard, and shall file a certificate of such election for record in the office of…

§ 404. Meetings of the Selectboard (a) As soon as possible after the election of the Chair and Vice Chair, the Selectboard shall fix the time and place of its regular meetings. Such meetings shall be held at least once a month. (b) The Selectboard shall determine its own rules an…

§ 405. Record of proceedings of the Selectboard (a) An official record of the proceedings of the Selectboard shall be kept by its Clerk, which shall be kept in the office of the Town Clerk and shall be open for public inspection within five days of the meeting. (b) The minutes of…

§ 406. Appointments by the Selectboard (a) Before making appointments, the Selectboard shall make public a list of all vacancies. (b) The Selectboard shall appoint the following: (1) members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment or Development Review Board; (2) members of the Plannin…

§ 407. Compensation of officers; appointees (a) Compensation paid to the Selectboard members and other elected officials shall be set by the voters at the annual meeting. Officers’ salaries must be set forth as a separate item in the annual budget presented to the meeting. (b) Th…

§ 408. Powers and duties of the Selectboard (a) The members of the Selectboard shall constitute the legislative body of the Town of Stowe for all purposes required by statute except as otherwise herein specifically provided in this charter, and shall have all powers and authority…

§ 409. Interference with administration Neither the Selectboard nor its members shall give orders to or seek to direct the actions of any employee who is subject to the direction and supervision of the Town Manager. (Added 2009, No. M-18 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, eff. May 5, 2010; amend…

§ 501. Board of Listers The Board of Listers shall consist of three listers, one elected each year for a term of three years. The Board shall have the same powers and duties prescribed for listers under the laws of the State of Vermont. (Amended 2013, No. M-4, § 2, eff. May 8, 20…

§ 502. Appraisal of property The Board of Listers shall appraise or cause to be appraised by the real estate appraiser appointed by the Selectboard all real property for the purpose of establishing the grand list. (Amended 2001, No. M-7, § 2, eff. May 21, 2001; 2013, No. M-4, § 2…

§ 503. Board of Library Trustees (a) The Board of Library Trustees shall consist of seven members appointed by the Selectboard to staggered three-year terms. The library trustees shall be responsible for setting general policies concerning library operations, including programs a…

§ 602. Annual audit The Selectboard shall provide for an annual independent audit by a certified public accountant. (Amended 2009, No. M-10 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. May 5, 2010.)

§ 701. Town Manager; appointment; qualifications; term The Selectboard shall appoint a Town Manager for an indefinite term. The Town Manager shall be chosen on the basis of executive, administrative, and professional qualifications and not on the basis of political affiliation. T…

§ 702. Oath; bond Before entering upon his or her official duties, the Town Manager shall be sworn to the faithful performance of those duties by the Town Clerk and shall give a bond to the Town in an amount and with sureties as the Selectboard may require. (Amended 2001, No. M-7…

§ 703. Powers and duties (a) The Town Manager shall be the chief executive officer and the head of the administrative branch of the Town government, and shall be responsible to the Selectboard for the efficient administration of the municipal affairs of the Town. (b) The Town Man…

§ 704. Compensation The Town Manager shall receive compensation as may be determined by the Selectboard, subject to the provisions of this charter. (Added 2007, No. M-1, § 7, eff. Jan. 20, 2007; amended 2013, No. M-4, § 2, eff. May 8, 2013.)

§ 705. Removal of Town Manager The Selectboard may remove the Town Manager by a vote of a least three of its members to be effective not less than 60 days after the vote. The Town Manager may be suspended during the period from initial action to remove the Town Manager by the Sel…

§ 801. Fiscal year The fiscal year of the Town shall begin on 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. (Amended 2013, No. M-4, § 2, eff. May 8, 2013.)

§ 802. General Fund budget preparation and submission (a) The Town Manager, at least 50 days before the annual Town meeting, or at such previous time as may be directed by the Selectboard, shall submit to the Selectboard a financial report containing: (1) an estimate of the finan…

§ 803. Publication The proposed budget shall be published in the Town report and copies made available at least 10 days before the annual meeting.

§ 804. Appropriations From the effective date of the budget, the several amounts stated therein, as approved by the annual Town meeting, become appropriated to the several agencies and purposes therein named.

§ 805. Amount to be raised by taxation The Town shall annually consider an article to raise by taxes on the grand list an amount equal to those expenditures to be paid by taxes which amount was appropriated by the voters at Town meeting and which expenditures are not met by funds…

§ 901. Taxes on real property Taxes on real property shall be due in four equal installments on dates established annually by the Selectboard, provided the first payment in each fiscal year is not earlier than 30 days after the date tax bills for that fiscal year are mailed to ta…

§ 902. Interest An additional charge of two percent of the unpaid tax shall be imposed per month for each month or fraction of the month as interest on any tax not paid on or before the dates specified in section 901 of this charter. (Amended 2003, No. M-13 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 200…

§ 903. Board of Abatement The Board of Civil Authority (the Selectboard members and justices of the peace) with the listers shall constitute a Board of Abatement as provided by law. (Amended 2001, No. M-7, § 2, eff. May 21, 2001; 2013, No. M-4, § 2, eff. May 8, 2013.)