Title 24, Title 24: Municipal and County Government

§ 1402. Appraisers; oath; file Each appraiser shall take and subscribe to an oath in form and substance as required of listers in towns and file the same in the office of the county clerk where he or she is to exercise the duties of his or her office. (Amended 2017, No. 74, § 77;…

§ 1403. Supervisors; appointment Biennially, on February 1, to hold office for two years therefrom, the Governor shall appoint and commission one supervisor for the unorganized towns and gores in each county who shall give a bond to the State. Such supervisor shall not be an appr…

§ 1404. Supervisors; commission and oath; record The commission and oath of each supervisor shall be recorded in the office of the county clerk where such towns and gores are situated. (Amended 2017, No. 74, § 78.)

§ 1405. Supervisor not liable for mistakes A supervisor shall not be liable to an action which may accrue in consequence of any illegality in the assessment or apportionment of a tax, or any mistake, mischarge, or overcharge in any tax bill, or any illegality or informality in an…

§ 1406. Taxes expended; how Upon allowance of the accounts of supervisors and appraisers for unorganized towns and gores, the Commissioner of Finance and Management shall certify forthwith the amount as allowed to the State Treasurer and the balance, if any, of the monies receive…

§ 1407. Abatement of taxes Appraisers for unorganized towns and gores shall have the same power to abate a tax in the hands of a supervisor that the board for the abatement of town taxes has to abate town taxes, and shall certify such abatement to the State Treasurer.

§ 1408. Supervisor; general duties The supervisor shall act as a selectperson in matters of road encroachment, planning, and related bylaws, as school director and truant officer, as constable, as collector of taxes, as town clerk in the matter of licensing dogs, and as town cler…

§ 1409. Supervisor’s account Quarterly, on the first Tuesday in February, May, August, and November, each supervisor shall render to the Commissioner of Finance and Management an account showing in detail the time spent and expenses necessarily incurred by him or her in the perfo…

§ 1421. Appointment of committee The selectboard of any town may appoint a committee to study the feasibility and desirability of the consolidation of such town, or parts of such town, with another town, or towns, or parts thereof. (Added 1963, No. 146, § 1.)

§ 1422. Assistant judges; cooperation with committee A committee appointed under the authority of this chapter shall confer with the assistant judges of the Superior Court within which county the town is located, who shall cooperate with such committee to study the feasibility an…

§ 1423. Town committees; joint plan for consolidation (a) Any committee appointed at the suggestion of the assistant judges shall meet and confer with the committee of the town proposing consolidation, and the two committees acting jointly, if they determine that a consolidation …

§ 1424. Approval by assistant judges Any plan drawn up as provided in section 1423 of this title shall be submitted to the assistant judges for their approval, and if they find that the plan, if carried out, would result in greater governmental efficiency for the areas involved t…

§ 1425. Consolidation plan; publication; voting When any plan of consolidation has been approved by the assistant judges, the selectboard of each of the towns involved shall publish such plan by posting a copy of the same in at least three public places in each town for three con…

§ 1426. Voting qualifications The qualifications for voting on any proposed consolidation shall be the same as those for the election of town officers. (Added 1963, No. 146, § 6.)

§ 1427. Result of vote; certification The town clerk of each town voting on a proposed consolidation shall certify the result of the vote to the county clerk, and if the majority of voters in each of the respective towns involved shall have voted in favor of the plan, the county …

§ 1428. Consolidated town; first meeting If a new consolidated town shall be established by the General Assembly, the county clerk of the county in which such consolidated town is located shall call a meeting of the qualified voters of such town, who shall be the residents of the…

§ 1429. State Treasurer; duties The State Treasurer shall act as fiduciary for any towns consolidated under the provisions of this chapter. He or she shall determine the bonds of the consolidating towns outstanding, shall give written notice to the consolidated town not less than…

§ 1430. Consolidation of areas in different counties Should any proposed consolidation involve towns or parts of towns situated in different counties, it shall be the duty of the assistant judges of both counties to act jointly in carrying out the purposes of this chapter. Upon c…

§ 1461. Location or alteration of municipal lines; monuments (a) When the legislative bodies of adjoining municipalities are able to agree as to the location of a municipal line, each legislative body shall vote in meetings duly warned for the purpose to adopt the location. Prior…

§ 1481. Definitions The term “municipalities” as used in this chapter means cities, incorporated villages, special purpose districts, and school districts. (Added 1965, No. 184, § 3.)

§ 1482. Preliminary plan A plan of merger shall be prepared which shall be approved by a majority of the legislative body of each of the parties to the proposed merger before being promulgated. (Added 1965, No. 184, § 2(a).)

§ 1483. Contents of plan The plan of merger shall include provisions relating to structure, organization, functions, operation, finance, property, and other appropriate matters; shall include special provisions contained in a charter of any municipality included in the plan, whic…

§ 1484. Notice and hearing Not less than 30 days prior to the meetings referred to in section 1485 of this title, copies of the plan of merger shall be posted in three or more public places in each of the areas involved. Two public hearings on the proposed plan of merger shall be…

§ 1485. Vote of approval (a) Adjoining municipalities within a town may merge upon the approval of a plan of merger by a majority vote of each municipality concerned at a meeting duly warned for that purpose and held in each of such municipalities. (b) One or more municipalities …

§ 1486. Notice to Secretary of State The clerk or equivalent officer of the municipality into which other municipalities have merged shall so notify the Secretary of State within ten days following the last of the meetings referred to in section 1485 of this title. (Added 1965, N…

§ 1487. Alternative merger provisions Notwithstanding the existence of any special act authorizing the merger of two or more municipalities, the legislative bodies of those municipalities which plan to merge may elect to proceed either under this chapter or under the special act …

§ 1521. Tax bills and warrants The selectboard shall seasonably make out and deliver to the proper collector, or to the town treasurer, if the town has voted to collect its taxes by that officer, tax bills for State, county, town, town school district, and highway taxes, with the…

§ 1522. Receipt for tax bills Upon the delivery of such tax bills to the collector, the selectboard shall take from him or her a receipt therefor, and shall deliver the same to the town treasurer.

§ 1523. Tax bills; duties of selectboards as to a deficit (a) When a town at the end of the fiscal year contemplated by section 1683 of this title has a deficit, unless the voters of said town have voted a special tax to make up said deficit or unless said deficit shall have been…

§ 1524. Tax levies; how kept The town treasurer upon receiving from the selectboard a town tax bill under the provisions of 32 V.S.A. § 4791 or the receipt of the tax collector for such bill under the provisions of section 1522 of this title shall credit the town highway departme…

§ 1525. Tax levies; credit for gains The treasurer shall thereafter credit to the general fund all gains over the total sum of such rate bill by reason of fractional discounts under the provisions of 32 V.S.A. § 4774 or of interest charges upon delinquent tax payments under the p…

§ 1526. Tax levies; debit of general fund The treasurer shall debit thereafter such general fund with: (1) all collection fees allowed such treasurer for receiving taxes and issuing his or her warrant to the collector; (2) any other lawful costs of collection; (3) abatements made…

§ 1527. Tax levies—Officers’ duties (a) In all towns having therein neither an incorporated village nor an incorporated school district, the town treasurer shall deal with the usual tax levies as provided in sections 1524-1526 of this title. (b) In any town having therein an inco…

§ 1528. Collector of taxes When a town at its annual meeting elects a collector of taxes, he or she shall collect State, county, town, and town school district taxes. Warrants and rate bills for the collection of such taxes shall be directed to the collector, and he or she shall …

§ 1529. First constable as collector The first constable shall be collector of State, county, town, and town school district taxes when a collector of taxes is not elected at the annual town meeting, and shall pay over the taxes collected agreeably to the warrants for their colle…

§ 1530. Compensation If a municipality votes to pay a salary or other compensation for collecting taxes in lieu of fees and commissions, the latter shall be turned in to the municipal treasurer at least once a month. (Amended 1997, No. 156 (Adj. Sess.), § 28, eff. April 29, 1998;…

§ 1531. Payment of money; inspection of tax book When requested by notice in writing signed by a majority of the selectboard, the collector of taxes shall pay to the town treasurer the money belonging to the town and the town school district collected by him or her. He or she sha…

§ 1532. Settlement; disqualification for neglect Annually, on or before February 1, the collector shall pay over all monies collected by him or her to the treasuries to which they belong and settle his or her account with the treasurers. When he or she refuses or neglects so to d…

§ 1533. Town board for the abatement of taxes (a) The board of civil authority, with the listers and the town treasurer, shall constitute a board for the abatement of town and property taxes and water and sewer charges. (b) The act of a majority of a quorum at a meeting shall be …

§ 1534. Meetings; how notified Meetings of such board shall be notified like meetings of the board of civil authority, except that at least one of the listers shall have personal notice of such meetings.

§ 1535. Abatement (a) The board may abate in whole or part taxes, water charges, sewer charges, interest, collection fees, or any other municipal charges or fees for utilities or services, or any combination of those, other than those arising out of a corrected classification of …

§ 1536. Abatement; record; discharge The board for the abatement of taxes shall make a record of taxes, interest, and fees so abated, which shall be recorded in the office of the town clerk and a certified copy shall be forwarded forthwith to the collector of taxes and the town t…

§ 1537. City or village board of tax abatement The board for the abatement of taxes of a city shall consist of the mayor, city clerk, and aldermen thereof and the justices of the peace and assessors residing therein; of a village, of the trustees and clerk thereof and the justice…

§ 1538. Assessment of tax to pay execution When a demand is made upon a city, town, town school district, or incorporated village for payment of an execution issued against it, and funds are not available in its treasury to pay the same, the mayor and board of aldermen, selectboa…

§ 1571. Accounts; reports (a) The town treasurer shall keep an account of monies, bonds, notes, and evidences of debt paid or delivered to him or her, and of monies paid out by him or her for the town and the town school district, which accounts shall at all times be open to the …

§ 1572. City accounts The accounting officers of the several cities within the State shall keep uniform accounts in a manner prescribed by the Auditor of Accounts.