Title 24APPENDIX, Title 24APPENDIX: Municipal Charters

§ 504. Creation of St. Johnsbury downtown district There is hereby created in the Town of St. Johnsbury a special district to be known as the St. Johnsbury Downtown Improvement District which shall be that area set forth on a map approved by the voters of St. Johnsbury and filed …

§ 505. Downtown district; purpose and powers (a) The District is created for the general purpose of maintaining and improving the economic, social, cultural, and environmental vitality and quality of the Town of St. Johnsbury, in particular, the District created by section 506 of…

§ 506. Downtown district; annual budget The Town Manager shall submit each year an operating budget of anticipated expenditures and revenues to the Select Board for approval for the next fiscal year. In the event the Select Board does not approve the budget as submitted, the Sele…

§ 507. Downtown district; taxes (a) District taxes are charges levied upon the owners of taxable properties located in the District, excepting properties used exclusively for residential purposes, which taxes shall be used to defray the expenses incurred in connection with the op…

§ 508. Assets transferred; liabilities; taxation; special services (a) All assets of the Village of St. Johnsbury on the date 1957 Acts and Resolved No. 345, as amended, becomes effective shall become the property of the Town of St. Johnsbury, except that those assets shall be su…

§ 601. Town powers The Town may make, alter, and repeal ordinances relating to management, operation, maintenance, replacement, and extension of a Town water and wastewater system and may fix, and from time to time alter, water and wastewater rates. (Added 2023, No. M-27 (Adj. Se…

§ 701. Charter Review Committee At least once every five years, the Select Board shall appoint a Charter Review Committee of not fewer than five nor more than nine members from among the residents of the Town. The Committee shall review the charter and recommend any changes it fi…

§ 702. Merger of Village and Town The Village of St. Johnsbury and the Town of St. Johnsbury are hereby consolidated and merged, and the Village of St. Johnsbury shall, except as hereinafter provided, cease to exist as a political entity or body corporate. (Renumbered from 24A V.…

§ 703. Severability If any provision of this charter is for any reason held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the remaining provisions that can be given effect without the invalid provision. To this end, the provisions of this charter are declared to be severable. (Renumb…

§ 704. Preparation of budgets; Australian ballot (a) The Selectboard shall prepare an annual budget for the Town, including a Town annual budget and a former Village District special services budget. The School Director shall prepare an annual School District budget. The annual b…

§ 705. Fire District; process for abolition The St. Johnsbury Center Fire District No. 1 is abolished when a majority of the legal voters of said Fire District present and voting on the question at a regular or special meeting of said Fire District warned for said purpose so vote…

§ 706. Department of Assessment (a) Creation. There is hereby created a Department of Assessment headed by a person experienced in the appraisal of real estate, who shall be appointed by the Town Manager with the approval of the Selectboard. (b) Appraisal of property. The Departm…

§ 707. Appeals A person aggrieved by the final decision of the Department of Assessment under the provisions of section 706 of this charter may appeal in writing under the provisions of 32 V.S.A. chapter 131. (Added 2005, No. M-14 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; renumbered from 24A V.S.A. § 1…

§ 1001. Appointment and removal (a) Subject to the provisions of this charter, all employees other than elected officials and appointees of the Selectboard shall be appointed, suspended, or removed by the Town Manager without interference by the Selectboard. The Town and its empl…

§ 1002. Personnel rules and regulations (a) The Town Manager or his or her designee shall be the personnel director. He or she may prepare personnel rules and regulations protecting the interests of the Town and of the employees. These rules and regulations must be approved by th…

§ 1003. Prohibitions No person in the service of the Town shall either directly or indirectly give, render, pay, or receive any service or other valuable thing for or on account of or in connection with any appointment, proposed appointment, promotion, or proposed promotion. (Ame…

§ 1004. Conflict of interest All appointed Town officials and employees, including commissioners and employees of the Electric Department, shall be governed by and adhere to an ethics policy duly adopted by the Selectboard. (Amended 2001, No. M-7, § 2, eff. May 21, 2001; 2009, No…

§ 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…