Title 24APPENDIX, Title 24APPENDIX: Municipal Charters

§ 301. 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 Town Agent, constables, or police officers who for such purpose…

§ 302. Ordinances; 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 Plainfield hereby ordains.” If the Selectboard passes the proposed ordinance upon first reading, it shal…

§ 303. Ordinances; consideration and passage After such hearing, the Selectboard may finally pass such ordinance with or without amendment, except that if the Selectboard amends said ordinances, it shall cause the amended ordinance to be published at least once together with a no…

§ 304. Ordinances; effective date Every ordinance shall become effective upon passage unless otherwise specified or, if the ordinance be conditioned upon approval of the voters of the Town, then upon a favorable vote of a majority of those voting thereon.

§ 305. Ordinances; filing The Town Clerk shall prepare and keep in the Town office a book of ordinances, which shall contain each ordinance passed finally by the Selectboard together with a complete index of the ordinances according to subject matter.

§ 401. Generally The officers of the Town of Plainfield 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 la…

§ 402. Elective officers (a) The elected officers of the Town shall be elected and their compensation fixed by the Town at its annual meeting. (b) All elected officers, except as provided by law or as specifically provided in this charter, shall be chosen at large from the legall…

§ 403. Appointed officers The Selectboard may appoint any officers required by the Town’s personnel regulations, this charter, or the general law of this State.

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

§ 405. Oath of office All elective officials 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 will faithfully execute the Office of ________ of the To…

§ 406. Town Clerk and Treasurer; School District officers The Clerk, auditors, and Treasurer of the Town shall perform those duties imposed upon the Clerk, auditors, and Treasurer of the Town of Plainfield School District by the general law of this State.

§ 501. Powers and duties The members of the Selectboard shall constitute the legislative body of the Town of Plainfield for all purposes required by law and except as otherwise herein specifically provided and shall have all powers and authority given to and perform all duties re…

§ 601. Transfer 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 said…

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

§ 702. Water and sewer commissioners (a) Upon the effective date of this charter, the Selectboard shall appoint three water and sewer commissioners whose duties, powers, and authority with respect to the municipal water and sewer system shall be as established by the law of this …

§ 801. Application of general laws Provisions of the laws of this State relating to voter qualification, warnings, methods of voting, the duties of Town officers at Town meetings and elections, and all other particulars relating to preparation for, conduct, and management of Town…

§ 901. 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.

§ 902. Ratification of present zoning ordinance The Town of Plainfield zoning and flood hazard regulations, as amended, are hereby ratified and approved.

§ 903. Incorporation of Village zoning ordinance The Village of Plainfield zoning and flood hazard regulations, as amended, are hereby incorporated into the zoning ordinance of the Town of Plainfield for the purpose of defining a Village district within said Town ordinance and es…

§ 904. Board of Adjustment Notwithstanding any provision of general law, two residents of the Village district as presently or hereafter defined shall serve as members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Other members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be residents of the Tow…

§ 1001. Water and sewer systems; duties of Selectboard Until such time as a separate Board or Boards of Water and Sewer Commissioners shall be established, the Selectboard shall act as such commissioners.

§ 101. Corporate existence retained The inhabitants of the Town of Poultney are hereby incorporated and continue to be incorporated and declared to be a body corporate and politic under the name of the Town of Poultney, and under that name shall have, exercise, and enjoy all such…

§ 102. General law application Except when changed, enlarged, or modified by the provisions of this charter, all provisions of the statutes of the State of Vermont relating to municipalities shall apply to the Town of Poultney.

§ 103. Recall Any elected official or official appointed to elective office holding a Town office may be recalled by the following process: (1) A petition signed by not less than 35 percent of the number of registered voters voting in the last annual Town meeting shall be filed w…

§ 104. 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 Town shall…

§ 1101. Postponement and combining of Town meeting (a) The Selectboard may postpone the vote on any question to be voted at a special Town meeting to the annual meeting if such special meeting would fall within 120 days of the annual meeting. (b) If a special Town meeting will fa…

§ 1102. Voting question by Australian ballot The election of Town officers and the consideration of all public questions shall be by Australian ballot at any annual meeting or at any special Town meeting called on motion of the Selectboard or by petition. A public question voted …

§ 1103. Annual meeting; date and time The annual meeting of the Town for the election of officers and other matters shall be held on the first Tuesday in March.

§ 1104. Town report The contents of the Town report shall be the responsibility of the Town Auditors except as otherwise provided for in this charter. The contents of the reports of the School District shall be the responsibility of the Superintendent of Schools and the School Di…

§ 1105. Highway budget Notwithstanding any other provision of general law or this charter to the contrary, annually the Selectboard shall prepare a highway budget with respect to the operation, maintenance, repair, and construction of Town highways, which budget shall be voted up…

§ 1301. Ratification of present flood hazard ordinances The Town of Poultney flood hazard regulations, revised and adopted June 9, 1980, as amended, are hereby ratified and approved, subject to the provisions of 24 V.S.A. chapter 117.

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

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

§ 1503. Appropriations The Town 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 approp…

§ 1504. Amount to be raised by taxation Upon approval of the budget under section 1503 of this charter, 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 an…

§ 1505. Transfers of appropriations At any time within the fiscal year, the Selectboard 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 to and approved under section 1…

§ 1506. 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 General Fund of the Town. All fees established by law or ordinance and…

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

§§ 1702-1704. [Transitional Provisions]

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

§§ 1706-1708. [Transitional Provisions]

§ 301. General provisions The officers of the Town 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 provide…

§ 302. Special elective officers In addition to those elective officers provided for by law, the officers elected at the annual Town meeting shall be: (1) one library trustee necessary to fill the vacancy caused by the expiration of the term established in subsection 304(c) of th…

§ 303. Terms of office—Selectboard members (a) There shall be three Selectboard members elected for a staggered term of three years, with only one of these positions vacant in any one year, and two Selectboard members elected for a one-year term. (b) At their first regular meetin…

§ 304. Other elected officers (a) Town Clerk. The Town Clerk shall be elected for a three-year term. (b) Auditors. (1) Three auditors shall be elected, who shall be responsible for a full audit of all Town funds. Such audit shall be required at least once a year and shall verify …

§ 305. Appointed officers (a) The Selectboard may appoint any officers, commissioners, or employees required by the Town’s personnel regulations or this charter. All appointments shall require as a precondition a job description. (b) The Town Manager shall function as the personn…