Title 24, Title 24: Municipal and County Government

§ 1203. Conflicts of interest Local boards shall comply with the provisions of 12 V.S.A. § 61(a) when they conduct contested hearings and make findings under this chapter. For purposes of this section, prohibitions referring to those within the fourth degree of consanguinity or a…

§ 1204. Notice (a) Initial public notice of any hearing under this chapter shall be provided in accordance with applicable statutes. All parties and interested persons shall be given an opportunity for hearing after reasonable notice. (b) At any hearing held under this chapter, o…

§ 1205. Procedure at hearing (a) The chair or vice-chair of the local board shall preside at the hearing. If neither is available, the board shall elect a temporary chair. (b) The presiding officer may conduct all or part of the hearing by telephone, television, or other electron…

§ 1206. Evidence (a) All testimony of parties and witnesses must be made under oath or affirmation. (b) Irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious evidence shall be excluded. The rules of evidence as applied in civil cases in the Superior Courts of this State shall be followed…

§ 1207. Ex parte communications (a) A presiding officer shall not communicate, directly or indirectly, with any party, party’s representative, party’s counsel, or any person interested in the outcome of the proceeding, on any issue in the proceeding, while the proceeding is pendi…

§ 1208. Qualification of members (a) Members of a local board in a contested hearing shall not participate in the decision unless they have heard all testimony and reviewed all other evidence submitted for the board’s decision. (b) Members who have not attended every session of t…

§ 1209. Decisions (a) A final decision in a contested hearing shall be in writing and shall separately state findings of fact and conclusions of law. (b) Findings of fact shall explicitly and concisely restate the underlying facts that support the decision. They shall be based ex…

§ 1210. Appeals Appeals under this chapter shall be taken in the manner established for the underlying proceedings to which this chapter is applied. (Added 1993, No. 232 (Adj. Sess.), § 44, eff. March 15, 1995.)

§ 1231. “Town” construed; officers The word “town” as used in this chapter may be construed to include a city or an incorporated village. Where powers are given to or duties imposed upon a selectboard with reference to a town, the trustees of a village and mayor and board of alde…

§ 1232. Appointment; union of towns The selectboard of a town adopting the provisions of this chapter shall forthwith appoint a general town manager, who may or may not be a resident of the town for which he or she is appointed. Two or more towns may vote to form a union to emplo…

§ 1233. Qualifications; authority of selectboard Such a manager shall be selected with special reference to his or her education, training, and experience to perform the duties of such office and without reference to his or her political belief. In all matters he or she shall be …

§ 1234. Oath; bond Before entering upon a manager’s duties, a manager shall be sworn to the faithful performance of the manager’s duties and shall have crime insurance coverage or give a bond to the town in the amount and with the sureties as the selectboard may require. (Amended…

§ 1235. General authority Subject to the requirements of this chapter, he or she shall have general supervision of the affairs of the town, be the administrative head of all departments of the town government, and shall be responsible for the efficient administration thereof.

§ 1236. Powers and duties in particular The manager shall have authority and it shall be his or her duty: (1) To cause duties required of towns and town school districts and not committed to the care of any particular officer, to be duly performed and executed. (2) To perform all…

§ 1237. Examination of departments The selectboard may cause the affairs of any town office or the conduct of any officer or employee thereof to be examined. It may compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers, and other evidence. The manager shall have …

§ 1238. Additional duties The powers, duties, and liabilities imposed upon any other departments of the town inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter shall be suspended and shall be conferred and imposed upon the manager.

§ 1239. Compensation; how fixed The manager shall receive such pay as may be fixed by the selectboard, unless otherwise specifically voted by the town.

§ 1240. Operation of chapter The provisions of this chapter shall not become operative in a town unless the same are approved and adopted by a majority of the legal voters of such a town present and voting at an annual or special meeting as hereinafter provided.

§ 1241. Petition; warning When voters, in number equal to five percent of the registered voters in town, petition the selectboard in writing to adopt or rescind the town manager form of governance, the warning for the annual or special meeting that shall be called upon such petit…

§ 1242. Revocation A town that has adopted the provisions of this chapter may reject the same by a majority vote of the legal voters present and voting at a special or an annual meeting, provided a proper article therefor is inserted in the warning of such meeting. If approved, s…

§ 1243. Method of voting A town may vote at an annual or special meeting to adopt or rescind the provisions of this chapter A vote on the question shall be in substantially the following form: “Shall the [town name] [adopt/rescind] the town manager form of governance in accordanc…

§ 1301. Establishment of villages Upon a petition of a majority of the voters in town meeting residing in a village containing 30 or more houses, the selectboard shall establish the bounds of such village and cause a description thereof, by its name and bounds, to be recorded in …

§ 1302. Alteration of boundaries Such corporation may alter the boundaries of such village, with the consent of the persons included in or excluded from the same by such alteration, and a record of such alteration shall be made by the town clerk. The inhabitants included within t…

§ 1303. Voters Persons residing within the limits of an incorporated village who are qualified voters in town meeting shall be voters in village meeting.

§ 1304. First meeting; officers (a) Within 60 days after record of its name and bounds has been made, the voters in such village shall meet in the village. Notice of the day, hour, and place of the meeting, signed by the town clerk, or, upon his or her default, by a selectperson,…

§ 1305. Meetings; warnings After the first election, a meeting of such corporation shall be held in each year at the time and place designated in its bylaws, to elect officers and for the transaction of business specified in the warning of such meeting. Special meetings may be ca…

§ 1306. Oaths and bonds of officers The clerk, treasurer, and collector of such corporation shall be sworn. The treasurer and collector shall have crime insurance coverage or give a bond to the corporation in such sum and with such sureties as are prescribed and approved by the t…

§ 1307. Duties of clerk; fees The clerk shall keep records of the proceedings of such corporation and give copies of the same when required. He or she shall be paid therefor the same fees as a town clerk.

§ 1308. Duties of trustees; vacancies The trustees of a village incorporated under general or special law shall see that its bylaws are executed, direct prosecutions for breaches thereof, and generally shall take care of the affairs of such corporation and perform the duties lega…

§ 1309. Taxes; assessment and collection At a meeting legally warned for that purpose, corporations formed under this subchapter may vote a tax upon the taxable estate therein or may vote a specific amount to be appropriated for the lawful purposes of the corporation. If a corpor…

§ 1310. Bylaws An incorporated village may enact such bylaws and regulations as are expedient, not inconsistent with law, particularly such as relate to streets, sidewalks, lanes, commons, shade and ornamental trees and lights thereon, slaughterhouses and nuisances, police protec…

§ 1311. Forfeiture for breach of bylaws An incorporated village may fix the amount of forfeitures for the breach of bylaws, not exceeding $20.00 for any one offense, to be recovered by a civil action on this statute. Such action shall be brought within 90 days from the time the o…

§ 1312. Damages in laying out street; appeal The trustees of an incorporated village may lay out a street, lane, or walk within its limits, and may appraise the damages. An appeal may be taken by landowners as provided when land is taken for highways.

§ 1313. Village may indemnify officers An incorporated village, by vote, may indemnify a duly appointed public or peace officer of the village against legal proceedings for injuries committed by him or her while in the lawful discharge of his or her official duties. If an action …

§ 1314. Powers of officers Where acts of incorporation or special laws applicable to villages give to any officers of the village powers conferred upon the selectboards of towns by general law, such village officers may exercise such powers within the limits of the village.

§ 1315. Appointment of manager An incorporated village may avail itself of the provisions of chapter 37 of this title so far as applicable, if a majority of the voters thereof present and voting at any annual or special meeting so vote under a proper article in the warning theref…

§ 1316. Annexation of adjacent territory to villages The trustees of an incorporated village may petition in writing a judge of the Superior Court of the county in which such village is situated, to have commissioners appointed to determine the advisability of enlarging the limit…

§ 1317. Annexation; procedure The commissioners shall give notice of the time and place of hearing, hear parties interested, and decide whether such enlargement is advisable. When they decide in favor of the annexation, they shall fix the bounds of the territory to be annexed. If…

§ 1318. Annexation; fix time for voting At the time of making their decision, if they decide in favor of enlargement, the commissioners shall appoint a time and place at which persons residing within the bounds of the territory sought to be annexed, as fixed by the commissioners,…

§ 1319. Voting in territory proposed to be annexed At such meeting, the residents of such territory who are voters in town meeting may vote on the question of annexation. When a majority of such residents in number and amount of grand list vote in favor of such annexation, such v…

§ 1320. Village to vote on question of annexation Upon the record of such favorable vote, the trustees of such village shall cause a village meeting to be warned. At such meeting, the question of annexation shall be submitted to the voters of such village. When a majority in numb…

§ 1321. Rights of voters in annexed territory Persons residing in such annexed territory, who, at the time of such annexation, are voters in village meeting, shall forthwith become legal voters of such village and of the wards in which they reside, subject to the general provisio…

§ 1351. Definitions In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) “Appraisers” means the appraisers for the unified towns and gores in Essex County, designated in section 1355 of this title. (2) “Board of Governors” means the Board of Governors for the unified towns…

§ 1351a. Board of Governors (a) The Board of Governors shall be composed of three individuals residing in the gores. At each annual meeting, the residents of the gores shall elect a member, who shall serve for a term of three years, for each expired term. A vacancy on the Board s…

§ 1351b. Functions and duties of Board of Governors (a) The Board of Governors shall hire, direct, or fire one or more supervisors for the gores who shall reside in Essex County, and who shall not be a current member of the Board of Governors. The Board of Governors shall oversee…

§ 1353. Functions and duties of supervisor (a) The supervisor or supervisors shall perform the same functions and duties for the gores that the truant officer, constable, treasurer, collector of taxes, and town clerk perform for their municipality. (b) Except as otherwise specifi…