Title 24, Municipal and County Government

§ 3684. Indebtedness (a) General obligations. A consolidated sewer district may incur indebtedness as provided by chapter 53, subchapter 1 of this title and by chapter 101 of this title for the purpose of paying the cost of a sewer system and improvements to the sewer system or f…

§ 3685. Changes in membership—Inclusion of additional towns (a) When a majority of voters of a town, present and voting at a meeting duly warned for that purpose, shall vote to apply to a neighboring consolidated sewer district for admission as a member of the district, the vote …

§ 3686. Withdrawal from district (a) A town that is a member of a consolidated sewer district may vote to withdraw from the district if one year has elapsed since the district has become a body politic and corporate as provided in section 3673 of this title and if the consolidate…

§ 3687. Eligibility for State aid A consolidated sewer district formed under this chapter shall be eligible to receive State aid as provided in 10 V.S.A. chapter 55 and under the terms, conditions, and procedures set forth in these chapters. (1967, No. 318 (Adj. Sess.), § 16, eff…

§ 3701. Fuel and ice A municipality may establish and maintain a wood, coal, and fuel yard for the purpose of selling fuel at cost to its inhabitants. It may establish and maintain an ice plant for the purpose of manufacturing, cutting, and storing ice to sell to its inhabitants …

§ 3702. Ownership of property A municipality may acquire and hold for the purposes of section 3701 of this title, real and personal estate to the extent reasonably necessary to operate, equip, and maintain the business covered by said section.

§ 3801. Sufficient fences Fences four and one-half feet high, in good repair and so constructed as to prevent the escape of sheep, and any natural barrier equivalent to such fence shall be deemed sufficient, except fences on the sides of highways that the owners of land are not b…

§ 3802. Maintenance Owners or occupants of adjoining lands, where the lands of both parties are occupied, shall make and maintain equal portions of the division fence between their respective lands. The owner of unimproved and unoccupied land adjoining occupied land of another pe…

§ 3803. When part of land unoccupied When the selectboard decides that the owner of the unoccupied land is not bound to make a part of the fence, the owner of the occupied land may make the whole or such part as is necessary to protect himself or herself. When the other owner occ…

§ 3804. Pasturing land without division fence When the lands of two or more individuals are lying without division fence, neither party shall put horses, cattle, sheep, swine, or other animals thereon to pasture or to run at large, until they agree to occupy the lands without div…

§ 3805. When fence cannot be made on line When the dividing line between lands is so situated that a fence cannot be made thereon by reason of water or otherwise, and the owners cannot agree on a place to make the same, either party may apply to the fence viewers. After giving re…

§ 3806. Fence viewers to locate; effect In such case, the fence viewers shall establish the line of the fence as near the line between the lands as, in their opinion, is practicable. Each owner of the land, at the time of such division of the fence, shall ever after be deemed in …

§ 3807. Damage by straying animals When the lands of two or more individuals are so situated that none of them are compelled to make and maintain a fence on the dividing line between their land by reason of open or unoccupied lands or highways lying between, each owner or keeper …

§ 3808. Liability of person bound to build fence When a person bound to support a portion of the division fence does not make or maintain his or her portion, he or she shall be liable for damages done to or suffered by the opposite party in consequence of such neglect. An owner o…

§ 3809. Sudden destruction of fence; repairs; damages When a division fence is suddenly damaged or destroyed by fire, winds, or floods, a person who ought to repair the same shall do so within 10 days after being thereto requested by a person interested therein, and shall pay the…

§ 3810. Duties of fence viewers; division; penalty; appeal On request, the fence viewers, or a majority of them, shall examine fences within the town and a division shall be made by them in cases proper for them to determine. If a fence viewer neglects to perform the duties requi…

§ 3811. Notice; certificate; effect of record When called upon to act, the fence viewers shall give notice to parties interested, or to their tenants or agents, of the time when they will examine the fence or line between adjoining lands, before they make a division relating to t…

§ 3812. Agreement as to division An agreement in writing between the owners of adjoining lands, relating to their division fence, signed by the owners, witnessed by two witnesses, acknowledged by the parties and recorded in the office of the town clerk in the town where the fence…

§ 3813. When fence is on a town line; division When the line on which a division fence is to be made or maintained is the line between two towns, and the parties do not agree upon the division, the same shall be determined by a board of fence viewers consisting of one or more fro…

§ 3814. Homesteader to maintain; liability Each owner of a homestead shall be liable to make and maintain his or her portion of the division fence between his or her homestead and adjoining lands. The homestead shall be liable to attachment and levy of execution for damages and c…

§ 3815. Records Certificates and written agreements mentioned in this chapter shall be recorded and alphabetically indexed by the town clerk in a book kept for that purpose.

§ 3816. Recovery for expense When, by the provisions of this chapter, owners of adjoining lands are required to pay to another the expense of making or repairing a division fence, or damages for the neglect of making, or for one-half the value of a division fence, the same with c…

§ 3817. Unnecessary fence; maintenance prohibited; penalty A person shall not erect or maintain an unnecessary fence or other structure for the purpose of annoying the owners of adjoining property by obstructing their view or depriving them of light or air. A person who violates …

§ 3901. Soldiers’ monuments and records A town may instruct the selectboard to erect a building or monument to the memory of citizens of such town who were in the military or naval service during any wars in which the United States has been engaged and may appropriate sufficient …

§ 3902. Rooms for use of veterans’ organizations A town may appropriate the necessary funds to pay the rentals of rooms for the use of organizations of veterans of wars of the United States.

§ 3903. Military records A town may appoint a person, who need not be a resident of the town, to prepare a military record at the expense of the town, which shall contain the name of every person in the U.S. Armed Forces furnished by the town during any wars or military enterpris…

§ 3904. Printing and sale of records A town may order such records printed and kept for sale at a price not to exceed an advance of 20 percent of the cost of publication.

§ 3905. Certified copy for town clerk’s office A copy officially certified by the compiler of the record shall be kept in the office of the town clerk. (Amended 2021, No. 53, § 7.)

§ 3906. Town histories At its annual meeting, a town may authorize the selectboard to contract with some person to prepare and publish the history of the town, under such regulations as it prescribes.

§ 3907. Memorial Day and other historic events A municipality may appropriate such sums of money as it deems necessary for the proper observance of Memorial Day, for the celebration of historic events, and for the erection and dedication of monuments or tablets to commemorate the…

§ 4000. Statutory purposes The statutory purpose of the exemption for housing authorities in section 4020 of this title is to promote, provide, and preserve affordable housing. (Added 2013, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 13.)

§ 4001. Declaration of policy It is hereby declared: (1) That there exists in the State unsanitary or unsafe dwelling accommodations and that persons of low income are forced to reside in such unsanitary or unsafe accommodations; that within the State there is a shortage of safe …

§ 4002. Definitions The following terms, wherever used or referred to in this chapter, shall have the following respective meanings, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context: (1) “Authority” or “housing authority” shall mean any of the public corporations creat…

§ 4003. Housing authority; establishment (a) In each municipality there is hereby created a public body corporate and politic to be known as the housing authority; provided, however, that such authority shall not transact any business or exercise its power under this chapter, unt…

§ 4004. Housing authority, members, powers (a) When the governing body of a municipality, other than a town, adopts a resolution pursuant to section 4003 of this chapter, it shall promptly notify the mayor of such adoption. Upon receiving such notice, the mayor shall appoint five…

§ 4005. Vermont State Housing Authority; establishment, members, powers (a) The Vermont State Housing Authority is created. It is referred to in this chapter as the “State Authority.” It is a public body corporate and politic of perpetual duration and shall consist of seven commi…

§ 4006. Disqualification (a) During his or her tenure, no commissioner or employee of an authority shall acquire any direct or indirect ownership interest in any housing project or in any property included or planned to be included in any project, nor shall he or she acquire any …

§ 4007. Removal For inefficiency or neglect of duty or misconduct in office, a commissioner of an authority may be removed by the mayor (or in the case of an authority of a town, by the governing body of said town) or in the case of the State Authority, by the Governor, but a com…

§ 4008. Powers An authority shall constitute a public body, corporate and politic, exercising public and essential governmental functions, and having all the powers necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this chapter, including the foll…

§ 4009. Rentals It is hereby declared to be the policy of this State that each housing authority shall manage and operate its housing projects in an efficient manner so as to enable it to fix the rentals for dwelling accommodations at the lowest possible rates consistent with pro…

§ 4010. Duties (a) In the operation of or management of housing projects an authority shall at all times observe the following duties with respect to rentals and tenant selection: (1) It may rent or lease the dwelling accommodations therein only to persons of low income or elders…

§ 4011. Joint action Any two or more authorities may join or cooperate with one another in the exercise of any or all of the powers conferred by this chapter for the purpose of financing, planning, undertaking, constructing, or operating a housing project or projects located with…

§ 4012. Eminent domain; exemption of property from execution (a) An authority shall have the right to acquire by the exercise of the power of eminent domain any real property that it may deem necessary for its purposes under this chapter after the adoption by it of a resolution d…

§ 4013. Zoning All housing projects of an authority shall be subject to the planning, zoning, sanitary, and building laws, ordinances, and regulations applicable to the locality in which the housing project is situated. In the planning and location of any housing project, an auth…

§ 4014. Bonds, issuance of (a) An authority shall have power to issue bonds from time to time in its discretion, for any of its corporate purposes. An authority shall also have power to issue refunding bonds for the purpose of paying or retiring bonds issued previously by it. (b)…

§ 4015. Bonds authorized; conversion privileges (a) Bonds of an authority shall be authorized by its resolution and may be issued in one or more series and shall bear such date or dates, mature at such time or times, bear interest at such rate or rates, be in such denomination or…