Title 24APPENDIX, Title 24APPENDIX: Municipal Charters

§ 103. Powers of the Village The Village of Poultney shall have all the powers granted to village and municipal corporations by the Constitution and laws of this State and this charter, together with all the implied powers necessary to carry into execution all the powers granted.…

§ 104. Additional powers The general grant of authority in section 103 of this charter shall include the following powers, and the enumeration thereof shall not be deemed to be in derogation of the authority conferred by this charter: (1) To adopt and enforce ordinances, and to e…

§ 105. Reservation of powers to the Village Nothing in this charter shall be construed to in any way limit the powers and functions conferred on the Village of Poultney, the trustees of said Village, or its elected and appointed officials by general or special enactments of State…

§ 106. Form of government The municipal government provided by this charter shall be known as council-manager form of government. Pursuant to these provisions and subject only to the limitations imposed by the Vermont Constitution and by this charter, all powers of the Village sh…

§ 107. Intergovernmental relations The Village, through its Board of Trustees, 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…

§ 1101. Application of general laws Provisions of the laws of this State relating to preparation for, conduct, and management of Village meetings and elections shall, so far as they may be applicable, govern all municipal elections and all annual and special Village meetings exce…

§ 1102. Polling places In any annual or special Village meeting for the purpose of the election of officers and the voting on all public questions to be decided by Australian ballot, such polling places as needed shall be established by those officers charged by State law with su…

§ 1103. Postponement and combining of Village meeting (a) The trustees may postpone the vote on any question to be voted at a special Village meeting to the annual meeting if the special meeting falls within 120 days of the annual meeting. (b) If a special Village meeting falls w…

§ 1104. Voting question by Australian ballot All public questions shall be voted by Australian ballot at any annual meeting or at any special Village meeting called on motion of the trustees or by petition. A public question voted by Australian ballot shall be preceded by a publi…

§ 1105. Annual meeting; date and time The annual meeting of the Village for the consideration of all matters to be voted upon shall be held on the second Tuesday in May, commencing at seven thirty o’clock in the afternoon, commencing in the year 1993. Annual and special meetings …

§ 1106. Village report The contents of the Village report shall be the responsibility of the Village auditors except as otherwise provided for in this charter.

§ 1301. Applicability of State law to Poultney zoning and planning All matters pertaining to zoning, land subdivision, municipal and regional plans shall be exclusively controlled by the laws of the State of Vermont.

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

§ 1502. Preparation and submission of budget and Village report (a) The Village Manager, at least 60 days before the date of the annual Village meeting, shall submit to the trustees a budget that shall contain: (1) A statement of the financial condition of the Village as of the e…

§ 1503. Appropriations The Village at the annual meeting, or a special meeting called for that purpose, shall adopt a budget that shall include the proposed expenditures of each department for the coming fiscal year, and adoption of a budget at such meeting shall be deemed an app…

§ 1504. Amount to be raised by taxation Upon approval of the budget under section 1503, the amounts stated therein as the amount to be raised by property taxes, reduced by cash surplus from excess collected property taxes, fees, charges, fines, and interest, if any, as indicated …

§ 1505. Budget limitations—borrowing (a) The incurring of bonded indebtedness, the issuing of bonds, the making of temporary loans in anticipation of the sale of bonds, and all other matters pertaining to bonded indebtedness and borrowing for current expenses or in anticipation o…

§ 1506. Transfers of appropriations At any time within the fiscal year, the Board of Trustees may transfer funds from single budget line items to other budget line items. A budget line item will be an individual budget item listed on the budget presented and approved under sectio…

§ 1507. Taxation (a) Taxes on real and personal property shall be paid as voted at the annual Village meeting. (b) Taxes shall be collected as established by law. (c) Taxes are due October 1st; and taxes unpaid by November 1st shall be considered delinquent property taxes and sha…

§ 1508. Fees and fines All fines and penalties payable to the Village by reason of any violation of any State law, ordinance, or bylaw shall be paid over promptly upon receipt to the Village Treasurer for inclusion in the General Fund of the Village. All fees established by law o…

§ 1701. Severability If any provision of this charter is held invalid, the other provisions of the charter shall not be affected thereby.

§ 1702. Continuance in office and employment All officers and employees of the Village shall remain in their positions from and after the date that this charter takes effect.

§ 1703. Pending matters All rights, claims, actions, orders, contracts, and legal or administrative proceedings shall continue except as modified pursuant to the provisions of this charter and in each case shall be maintained, carried on, or dealt with by the Village department, …

§ 1704. Municipal laws All Village ordinances, resolutions, bylaws, orders, and regulations that are in force at the time this charter becomes fully effective shall remain in full force and effect excepting only those ordinances, resolutions, orders, and regulations that are inco…

§ 1705. Amendment of charter This charter may be amended as set forth by the general law 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 the statute shall include the statute as amended or renumbered or any statute substituted therefor and having a similar subject matter.

§ 1707. Penalties; forfeitures of suits not affected This charter shall not affect a penalty or forfeiture incurred under any process or to this charter, nor any suit or proceeding had or commenced in a civil or criminal cause before this charter takes effect, but the proceedings…

§ 1708. Annexation and merger All matters relating to the enlargement of the geographical limits of the Village and the merger of the Village with one or more municipal corporations shall be controlled by the laws of the State.

§ 1709. Acts amended The provisions of this charter shall amend No. 198 of the Acts of 1886, as amended by No. 86 of the Acts of 1890, No. 199 of the Acts of 1898, No. 186 of the Acts of 1900, No. 241 of the Acts of 1904, No. 276 of the Acts of 1908, No. 315 of the Acts of 1910, …

§ 1710. 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.

§ 1711. [Transitional provisions relating to the repeal of inconsistent acts]

§ 1712. Provisions The territorial limits of the Village may be enlarged in the manner provided by the general laws of this State.

§ 1713. [Transitional provisions relating to effective date]

§ 301. General provisions The officers of the Village of Poultney 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 prov…

§ 302. Elective officers (a) The officers elected at the annual Village meeting or at a special Village meeting duly called and held for that purpose shall be: (1) one or more trustees necessary to fill one or more vacancies caused by the expiration of the term(s) established in …

§ 303. Terms of office—trustees (a) There shall be three trustees elected at the regular Village meeting in 1994, two for a term of two years, and one for a term of one year. Every year thereafter, there shall be two trustees elected for a two year term, so as to constitute a fiv…

§ 304. Other elected officers (a) Village Clerk/Treasurer. The Village Clerk/Treasurer shall be elected for a one-year term, and whose compensation shall be determined by the Board of Trustees. (b) Auditors. Three auditors shall be elected. (1) The elected auditors shall be respo…

§ 305. Appointed officers (a) The Board of Trustees may appoint any officers, commissioners, or employees required by the Village’s personnel regulations, the general law of this State, or this charter. All appointments shall require as a precondition a job description. (b) The V…

§ 306. Vacancies of elected and appointed officers (a) When an elected or appointed officer specified herein resigns, makes another town his or her residence, dies, or becomes incapacitated, his or her office shall become vacant. A person who fills such a vacancy shall serve unti…

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

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

§ 309. Compensation Salaries of employees and appointed officers of the Village shall be in accordance with a contract negotiated between the Village and an employee or group of employees for a specified term.

§ 501. Powers and duties (a) The members of the Board of Trustees shall constitute the legislative body of the Village of Poultney for all purposes required by law. (b) While the Board of Trustees shall establish policies governing the management of Village affairs, it shall be t…

§ 502. Organization (a) The Board of Trustees shall conduct its business in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order. (b) Three trustees shall constitute a quorum. No action of such board shall be valid or binding unless adopted by the affirmative vote of at least two trustees. In…

§ 503. Record of proceedings (a) It shall be the duty of the Board of Trustees to cause to be kept an official record of its proceedings. (b) The minutes of each meeting shall be approved by the trustees and shall be filed in the Village Clerk’s office. A duly certified copy of s…

§ 701. Appointed by trustees The Board of Trustees shall appoint a Village Manager whose responsibilities, powers, and terms of employment shall be as provided by State law.