Title 24APPENDIX, Title 24APPENDIX: Municipal Charters

§ 173. Officers; appointive All offices in the Village of Hyde Park not required by Vermont statute to be filled by election or according to specific provision of this charter shall be deemed appointive offices to be filled by a majority vote of the trustees. The terms of such ap…

§ 174. Terms of office All officers under this charter shall hold their respective offices until their successors are chosen. No officer shall be qualified until ready to assume the normal duties of his or her office. (Added 1999, No. M-11 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 9, 2000.)

§ 175. Construction The provisions of this charter shall be construed liberally in favor of the Village and in such manner that the effect of this charter will be to make government more efficient and more responsive to the citizens of the Village. In such liberal construction of…

§ 176. Amendment or repeal No section of this charter may be amended or repealed without such amendment or repeal making specific reference to this charter and to the sections or provisions to be amended or repealed. Any proposed amendment or repeal of this charter must be submit…

§ 177. Effective date The charter shall become effective upon approval in accordance with 17 V.S.A. § 2645 and when so approved, two copies shall be maintained in good condition in the Lampher Memorial Library. Further copies shall be made available to the public at cost. (Added …

§ 178. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Trustees” means the duly elected members of the trustees of the Village acting as a group and in their official capacity. (2) A “vacancy” in any office is deemed to exist if the holder of the office resigns, dies, moves from the Vi…

§ 2. Village meetings (a) An annual Village meeting for the consideration of the budget and other Village business shall be held on the first Tuesday of May according to State law except as hereinafter provided. (b) A special Village meeting: (1) may be called by a majority of th…

§ 3. Postponement and combining of Village meetings The trustees may postpone the vote on any question to be voted at a special meeting to the annual meeting if such special meeting would fall within 75 days of the annual meeting. (Added 1999, No. M-11 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May…

§ 31. General powers (a) The Village of Hyde Park shall have all the powers granted to villages by the Constitution and laws of this State, together with all the implied powers necessary to carry into execution all the powers granted; the Village may enact ordinances pursuant to …

§ 32. Boundaries The bounds of said Village of Hyde Park shall be as presently constructed and described in the Report of Selectmen dated May 14, 1895, as the boundaries may subsequently be altered by acts of Village and Town meetings adding real estate to and deleting real estat…

§ 4. Australian ballots At an annual or special Village meeting, the voters may decide whether the provisions of the Australian ballot system shall apply pursuant to 17 V.S.A. § 2680. A meeting at which any question is to be decided by Australian ballot shall be preceded by a pub…

§ 5. Warnings (a) Public notice of every annual or special Village meeting or Village election shall be given by a warning posted in at least three places in the Village at least 30 days but not more than 40 days prior to the meeting; and published at least five days before the m…

§ 51. Elected officers (a) At the annual meeting, the following officers shall be elected by the voters of the Village of Hyde Park, and unless the voters have previously voted to proceed by Australian ballot pursuant to 17 V.S.A. § 2680, voting for all such officers shall be by …

§ 52. Trustees (a) Except as otherwise provided in this charter, all the powers of the Village shall be entrusted to and exercised by the trustees consisting of five members chosen by the voters of the Village of Hyde Park. Three members shall be elected for terms of three years …

§ 53. Auditors Auditors shall be elected for terms of three years, with one elected each year. They shall be responsible for the proper financial accountability of the Village, and, for this purpose, all Village officers shall, within 20 days after the close of the fiscal year, s…

§ 54. Bliss Fund trustees The Bliss Fund trustees shall consist of three trustees, one elected each year for a term of three years. The trustees shall have the powers and duties prescribed for the Bliss Fund and those listed in the Village bylaws. (Added 1999, No. M-11 (Adj. Sess…

§ 55. President A President shall be elected for a term of one year and shall perform all duties required by this charter, and to the extent not in conflict with this charter, all duties required by laws of the State of Vermont. (Added 1999, No. M-11 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 9…

§ 6. Conduct (a) The President shall preside at all Village meetings, but in the President’s absence, the Village Clerk shall call the meeting to order, and the first order of business shall be the election of a President Pro Tempore to preside for the duration of the meeting. Th…

§ 7. Reconsideration of actions taken A question considered at any Village meeting or election may not be submitted to the voters for reconsideration or rescission except at a subsequent annual or special meeting or election, specifically warned for the purpose and called by the …

§ 71. Appointed officers (a) Within 14 days following the annual Village meeting, the Board of Trustees shall meet and, by a majority vote, shall appoint other Village officers as allowed by law, including the following: (1) One Village Clerk. (2) One Village Treasurer. (3) One D…

§ 72. Village Clerk (a) The Village Clerk shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees for a one year term and shall: (1) maintain a record of all action taken at special or annual Town meetings; (2) maintain all Village records and an index to those records if appropriate; (3) ma…

§ 73. Village Treasurer (a) The Village Treasurer shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees for a one year term and shall: (1) receive taxes, assessments, charges, and levies, and maintain a record of monies collected and uncollected; (2) serve in the capacity of Tax Collector …

§ 74. Delinquent Tax Collector A Delinquent Tax Collector may be appointed for a one-year term by the Board of Trustees. Taxes assessed and collected shall be as stated in section 93 of this charter, entitled—“Taxes”. In the absence of an appointed Tax Collector, the duties of su…

§ 75. Constable A Constable may be appointed for a one-year term by the trustees. The Constable’s training and duties shall be set by the trustees. (Added 1999, No. M-11 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 9, 2000.)

§ 8. Board of Civil Authority (a) The Board of Civil Authority shall consist of the justices of the peace residing within the Village, the Village Clerk, and the trustees. At the first meeting following each annual Village election, the Board of Civil Authority shall elect a Chai…

§ 9. Nomination of candidates Unless proceeding by Australian ballot, nomination of persons to fill Village offices shall be from the floor at the Village meeting. (Added 1999, No. M-11 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 9, 2000.)

§ 91. Fiscal year The fiscal year shall begin the first day of January and end the last day of December unless another date is fixed by the voters at any annual Village meeting. (Added 1999, No. M-11 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 9, 2000.)

§ 92. Appropriations (a) All amounts specified in the budget and approved by the voters at the annual Village meeting are appropriated for the purpose specified. The trustees may transfer appropriated amounts between general classifications and expenditures. All unexpended and un…

§ 93. Taxes (a) All real and personal property taxes shall be paid to the Village Treasurer in full or in not more than four equal installments as set forth by specific article in the Village warning. (b) The tax rate shall be annually set by the trustees as soon as practicable a…

§ 94. Tax abatements The Board of Civil Authority, along with the Treasurer and the listers, shall constitute the Board of Abatement. The Board shall meet at least once a year, elect a Chair and Clerk, and consider all the taxpayers’ requests for abatement of their taxes, special…

§ 95. Indemnification The Village shall indemnify and hold all elective and appointive officers harmless from and against all liability claims and suits of any type brought against them as a consequence of their service, except those caused by and arising out of their intentional…

§ 1. Boundaries All that part of the Town of Whitingham as follows: Beginning at the northeast corner of A. C. Stetson’s pasture near the watering trough, thence southeasterly on the southerly side of the highway to the lands of Herbert G. Porter, thence northeasterly on lands of…

§ 10. Designation of real estate in Village by listers It shall hereafter be the duty of the listers of the Town of Whitingham in making the lists of the Town to designate therein such of the ratable estate real and personal as shall belong within the limits of the Village, and t…

§ 11. Tax assessment The Village may, at its annual meeting called for that purpose, assess a tax on the grand list of the Village for any of the purposes mentioned in this charter, and shall have all the powers and may collect the tax in such manner as is provided by law for the…

§ 12. Board of Abatement The trustees and Clerk of the Village shall constitute a Board for the Abatement of Village Taxes and shall have the same powers and proceed in the same manner as the board for abatement of taxes in towns.

§ 13. Maintenance of library The Village may establish, keep, and maintain a free public library for the improvement of its inhabitants, and to that end may purchase, hold, and dispose of real and personal property to preserve, improve, enlarge, and continue the library and erect…

§ 14. Power to borrow money The Village at an annual or a special meeting called for that purpose is hereby authorized and empowered to vote to borrow money for any of the purposes herein mentioned, and to issue its notes and bonds therefor; and such notes or bonds shall be signe…

§ 15. Bylaws The Village, at an annual or special meeting duly warned for that purpose, may make, alter, and repeal bylaws of the following subject matter, viz.: (1) Relating to their streets, sidewalks, alleys, public highways, commons, parks, and public grounds, the cleaning, r…

§ 2. Annual and special meetings (a) The annual meeting of the Village shall be held on the third Tuesday in June at seven o’clock p. m., or at such other time as shall be prescribed by the bylaws at such places as shall be prescribed by the bylaws. (b) Special meetings shall be …

§ 3. Election and duties of officers (a) At the annual meeting there shall be elected, by ballot if called for by three voters, a Clerk, a Treasurer, a Chief Engineer, First and Second Assistant Engineers, a Collector, and five trustees, who shall serve until their successors are…

§ 4. Sewers, compensation for land taken (a) The legal voters of the Village at a meeting duly warned and holden for that purpose, may vote to construct and maintain for the benefit of the Village a common sewer or sewerage system and extend the same through the highways, streets…

§ 5. Acquisition of land and water courses The Village may purchase, lease, or take by right of eminent domain, hold and convey real and personal estate, springs, water courses, and existing aqueducts, construct and maintain such aqueducts, and build and lay pipes and conduits as…

§ 6. Lighting The Village may light its streets in such way as it may determine, and construct, own, and maintain gas or electric plants for lighting them or furnishing its inhabitants and the inhabitants of the Towns of Whitingham and Halifax with lights, heating, and power and …

§ 7. Police officers (a) The trustees of the Village shall have power to and may appoint the number of police officers within the Village as the trustees may judge necessary for the interests of the inhabitants thereof, by writing under their hands, which shall be recorded by the…

§ 8. Bylaws; penalty for violations The Village may impose a fine or forfeiture not exceeding $100.00 for a violation of any bylaw or ordinance. The penalty may be recovered in an action on the case upon this statute in the name of the Village, in which action it shall be suffici…

§ 9. Fire district The Village is hereby constituted a fire district for the purpose of preventing the destructive consequences of fires, and the trustees shall have all the powers, and be subject to the same restrictions as prudential committees in fire districts, in making cont…