Title 24APPENDIX, Title 24APPENDIX: Municipal Charters

§ 15. Moderator A Moderator shall be elected for a term of one year and shall perform all duties required by this charter and, to the extent not in conflict with this charter, all duties required by laws of the State of Vermont.

§ 16. Town Clerk (a) The Town Clerk shall be elected for a three-year term and shall: (1) receive fees for filing copies of records and other instruments and shall cause these fees to be paid to the General Fund of the Town; (2) maintain a record of all action taken at special or…

§ 17. Town Treasurer (a) The Town Treasurer shall be elected for a three-year term, and shall: (1) receive taxes, assessments, charges, and levies and maintain a record of monies collected and uncollected; (2) serve in the capacity of collector of current taxes and collector of d…

§ 14. Board of Listers (a) The Board of Listers shall consist of three listers, one elected each year for a term of three years. The Board of Listers shall have the same powers and duties prescribed for listers under the laws of the State of Vermont and this charter. (b) The list…

§ 19. Town Manager (a) The Selectboard shall appoint a Town Manager in accordance with the provisions of State law and this charter. The Town Manager: (1) may serve for a fixed or an indefinite term at the discretion of the Selectboard of the Town; (2) before entering upon his or…

§ 2. Town meetings (a) An annual Town meeting for the consideration of the budget and other Town business shall be held according to State law except as hereinafter provided. (b) A special Town meeting: (1) may be called by a majority of the Selectboard; or (2) shall be called by…

§ 21. Fiscal year The fiscal year shall begin the first day of July and end the last day of June, unless another date is fixed by the voters at any annual Town meeting.

§ 22. Budget preparation (a) The Town Administrator shall submit a proposed budget for the ensuing year to the Selectboard at least 60 days before the annual Town meeting. It shall contain all information required by the Selectboard. (b) A Budget Committee of at least five but no…

§ 23. Appropriations (a) All amounts specified in the budget and approved by the voters at the annual Town meeting are appropriated for the purposes specified. The Selectboard may transfer appropriated amounts between general classifications of expenditures. All unexpended and un…

§ 24. Purchasing policy The Town Administrator may expend an amount determined by the Selectboard, and the Selectboard may expend up to one-half of one percent of the then current General Fund budget for any established program without requesting competitive bids. Any other expen…

§ 25. Taxes (a) All real and personal property taxes shall be paid to the Town Treasurer in full or in not more than four equal installments as set forth by specific article in the Town warning. Taxes shall be considered late as established by vote at an annual Town meeting. Taxe…

§ 26. Tax abatements The Board of Civil Authority, along with the Treasurer and the listers, shall constitute the Board of Abatement. The Chair and the Clerk of the Board of Civil Authority shall serve as the Chair and Clerk of the Board of Abatement. The Board of Abatement shall…

§ 27. Meetings; open government It shall be the policy of the Town of Windsor to afford to all 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 committees…

§ 28. Ordinances (a) Town ordinances or rules may be adopted, amended, repealed, or enforced as provided by law or this charter. The Selectboard shall have the power to enact any ordinance or rule that it specifically finds necessary and desirable for the promotion of the public …

§ 29. Appointed officers (a) The Selectboard, by a majority vote, shall appoint the following Town officers for the terms indicated: (1) 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, except as provided …

§ 3. Postponement and combining of Town meetings (a) The Selectboard may postpone the vote on any question to be voted at a special meeting to the annual meeting or November federal elections if the special meeting would fall within 75 days of the annual meeting or November feder…

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

§ 31. Conflict of interest (a) If there is a specific written complaint of conflict of interest, the Selectboard shall conduct an investigation in accordance with the ordinance that states the procedure and arrive at a decision. (b) No elected or appointed officer or employee of …

§ 32. Public lands (a) With approval of the voters given at any duly warned special or annual Town 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. Such autho…

§ 33. Application of general law All provisions of the laws of the State of Vermont relating to towns, town officers, and elections shall apply to the Town of Windsor and its officers except as altered, enlarged, or modified by the provisions of this charter, or by any current or…

§ 34. Severability If any provision of this charter is held invalid, the other provisions of this charter shall not be affected. If the application of this charter or any of its provisions to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such application of this charter and its pr…

§ 35. Officers—appointive All offices in the Town of Windsor not required by Vermont statute to be filled by election or according to specific provision of this charter shall be deemed appointed offices to be filled by a majority vote of the Selectboard. The terms of such appoint…

§ 36. Terms of office All officers under this charter shall hold their respective offices until their successors are chosen. No officer shall be qualified until ready to assume the normal duties of his or her office.

§ 38. Construction The provisions of this charter shall be construed liberally in favor of the Town and in such manner that the effect of this charter will be to make government more efficient and more responsive to the citizens of the Town. In such liberal construction of the ch…

§ 39. Amendment or repeal (a) No section of this charter may be amended or repealed without such amendment or repeal making specific reference to this charter and to the sections or provisions to be amended or repealed. Any proposed amend- ment or repeal to this charter must be s…

§ 4. Australian ballots At any annual or special Town meeting, the Selectboard may cause any question to be decided by Australian ballot, provided that the warning for the meeting specifies the questions to be decided in that manner. A meeting at which any question is to be decid…

§ 40. Effective date The charter shall become effective upon approval in accordance with 17 V. S. A. § 2645. Copies shall be available to the public at cost at the Town Clerk’s office. (Amended 2005, No. M-13 (Adj. Sess.), § 18, eff. May 17, 2006.)

§ 41. Definitions (a) “Board” or “Selectboard” means the duly elected members of the Selectboard of the Town acting as a group and in their official capacity. (b) A “vacancy” in any office is deemed to exist if the holder of the office resigns, dies, is removed from office, moves…

§ 42. Residency The Town Manager and the department heads are not required to be residents of the Town. (Amended 1999, No. M-12 (Adj. Sess.), § 18, eff. May 9, 2000; 2005, No. M-13 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. May 17, 2006.)

§ 6. 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…

§ 7. 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 or special meeting or election, specifically warned for the purpose and called by the Sel…

§ 9. Nomination of candidates All Town elections shall be nonpartisan and no party designation or slogan shall be printed on any Town ballot or petition. (Amended 2005, No. M-13 (Adj. Sess.), § 9, eff. May 17, 2006.)