Title 24APPENDIX, Title 24APPENDIX: Municipal Charters

§ 23.2. Powers and duties of Fire Chief The Chief Engineer shall have jurisdiction and control of the administration, disposition, and discipline of the Fire Department and of the firemen within the Department. He or she shall have the power to make such rules and regulations as …

§ 23.3. Absence of Fire Chief In the event of temporary (24 hours or less) absence of the Chief of the Fire Department, the duties of the Chief shall fall upon the subordinate officers, according to their rank, as established by the rules and regulations of the Fire Department. I…

§ 23.4. Regular firemen; appointment (a) All applicants for position with the Fire Department, except for the position of Chief Engineer, shall file with the Chief Engineer an application in writing on forms approved by the Chief Engineer, and shall be examined in such manner as …

§ 23.6. Call firemen The Chief Engineer shall have sole power to appoint such number of call firemen as he or she may consider necessary for the proper protection of the City. Call firemen shall be subject to the call of the Chief Engineer of such Department when in his or her op…

§ 23.7. Compensation The compensation of all members of the Fire Department, including the Chief Engineer, shall be fixed by the Board of Aldermen. The Board shall further fix the compensation for a call fireman, after the recommendation of the Chief Engineer.

§ 23.8. Suspensions The Chief Engineer shall have the power, for disciplinary purposes, to suspend any member of the Department without pay for a period not to exceed four weeks. (Amended 2011, No. M-5, eff. May 6, 2011.)

§ 23.9. Emergency powers Whenever any building in the City shall be on fire, it shall be lawful for the Chief Engineer of the Fire Department or any officer in charge of said Department, in their discretion, to order any building or part thereof not on fire but that they may deem…

§ 23.10. Political activity No member of the Fire Department of the City of Rutland shall act as an executive committeeman, attend any political convention as a delegate, participate in any manner whatever in any canvass in behalf of or against any candidate for any City, county,…

§ 24.1. Appointment of Commissioner The Commissioner of Public Works shall be appointed by the Mayor for a term of two years. He or she shall be experienced in areas of administration and management. The Commissioner shall be entitled to salary as fixed by the Board of Aldermen.

§ 24.2. Powers and duties of Commissioner The Commissioner of Public Works shall be the Superintendent of Streets, Superintendent of Sewage and Disposal, Superintendent of Water Works, and City Tree Warden. Together with the City Engineer, the Commissioner shall be responsible fo…

§ 24.3. Staff and employees The Commissioner of Public Works shall employ a registered professional civil engineer who shall be the City Engineer. The Commissioner shall have the power to employ such staff assistants, supervisors, forepersons, agents, employees, and laborers as h…

§ 24.4. Commissioner; control of water supply (a) The Commissioner of Public Works shall have the exclusive general management and supervision of the City water works and may make and enforce regulations regarding the use and control of water. He or she shall have authority to en…

§ 24.5. Water rates (a) The Board of Aldermen shall establish rates to be paid for the use of water supplied by the City water works, which shall be called “service rates.” Such service rates shall be a lien in the nature of a tax upon the real estate so supplied with water and s…

§ 24.6. Sewers The Board of Aldermen is authorized and empowered to establish, construct, and maintain public sewers in said City, and may establish, construct, and maintain public sewers in and through the lands of individuals and corporations, on making compensation therefor in…

§ 24.7. City Engineer The City Engineer shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Public Works for an indefinite period. The Engineer shall be a professional civil engineer licensed in the State of Vermont whose duties shall include: (1) responsibility for all public surveys of t…

§ 25.1. Membership and duties The Commissioner of Public Works, President of the Board of Aldermen, and the Mayor shall constitute the Board of Highway Commissioners and shall have the same power to lay out, alter, resurvey, and discontinue streets and highways as is vested by la…

§ 25.2. Acceptance of streets (a) Streets and highways in the City may be laid out, opened, accepted, and established by the Board of Highway Commissioners, provided the owners having a majority of the frontage on the proposed street or highway file their petition therefor with t…

§ 25.3. Discontinuance of highways In case the Board of Highway Commissioners shall decide to discontinue any street or highway in the City, any person owning or interested in the lands abutting said street who is dissatisfied with such decision may within 60 days thereafter inst…

§ 25.4. Altering highways The said Board of Highway Commissioners shall have the power to raise or lower the surface of any street or highway of the City. The same proceedings shall be had in respect to awarding damages to the abutting owners upon such street or highway that they…

§ 25.5. Procedure Whenever under the provisions of this charter the Board of Highway Commissioners is required to give notice of the time and place of any examination or hearing before it touching the laying out, altering, or discontinuing any street or public highway in the City…

§ 25.6. Notice, citation, service (a) The citation shall be made at least 21 days prior to the time appointed for such examination or hearing, except when otherwise specially provided for in this charter. (b) Service of the citation may be accepted by any or all persons therein n…

§ 25.7. Nonresident service (a) The citation may be served by the sheriff or constable upon a person not an inhabitant of this State by leaving a true and attested copy of the citation with his or her return endorsed, with, or at the residence of, his or her known agent or attorn…

§ 25.8. Evidence of service The return of the sheriff or constable upon the original citation, and the certificate of the Clerk and the receipts, shall be prima facie evidence of the service of the citation as herein provided. The citation and return thereon, with the certificate…

§ 25.9. Defective notice; remedy (a) If at any stage of the proceedings before the Board of Highway Commissioners or in any proceedings subsequent thereto, it shall appear that any person owning or interested in such land shall not have been duly notified, the Board of Highway Co…

§ 25.10. Failure of notice No proceedings instituted by the Board of Highway Commissioners under the citation, nor any proceedings subsequent and pertaining thereto, shall be void on account of any failure to give notice to any person or persons interested therein or shall for th…

§ 26.1. Curbs and sidewalks assessment Whenever the owners of the greater part of the lands or buildings abutting upon any accepted street, or part thereof in said City, shall present their petition in writing to the Board of Aldermen, praying that such street, or part thereof as…

§ 26.2. Notice of hearing Assessments for public improvements other than those made in response to petition, shall be made only following a public hearing, after giving 21 days’ notice to interested parties in the same manner as herein provided in respect to laying out or alterin…

§ 26.3. Assessment of property liens After said hearing, the Commissioner of Public Works shall make up a statement of all assessments, describing the lands or buildings assessed, and forthwith cause the same to be recorded in the City Clerk’s office and when so recorded such ass…

§ 26.4. Collection of assessment (a) It shall be the duty of the City Clerk to place said list of assessments in the hands of the City Treasurer for collection, as soon as he or she has recorded the same. The City Treasurer shall thereupon forthwith notify in writing the owner or…

§ 27.1. Duties There shall be three cemetery commissioners, who shall have the management and control of the public cemeteries of the City, and have the same powers as are provided by the general laws of the State respecting cemetery commissioners, subject to the orders and ordin…

§ 28.1. Duties The Board of Airport Commissioners of the City of Rutland shall consist of three legal voters of said City to be appointed to serve for three years and until their successors are appointed and qualified. The Board shall have the exclusive general management and con…

§ 29.1. Duties (a) The Board of Health shall consist of the Health Officer appointed for a term of three years by the State Board of Health as provided by law, and of three persons appointed by the Mayor. One member shall be appointed annually for a term of three years. The Board…

§ 3.1. Powers of the City of Rutland The powers of the City of Rutland under this charter shall be construed liberally in favor of the City and, except as expressly limited herein specific mention of particular powers in this charter shall not be construed as limiting in any way …

§ 30.1. Composition of Board The Board of School Commissioners of the City shall be composed of 11 school commissioners, who shall be elected as hereinbefore provided.

§ 30.2. Vacancy Any vacancy of the Board of School Commissioners occasioned by death, resignation, removal from the City, or other disability shall be filled until the next annual election, upon nomination by the Mayor. The Mayor shall make such nomination to the Board of School …

§ 30.3. Officers The school commissioners shall appoint one of their own members President, and shall appoint another of their own members as Clerk to keep a full and complete record of all their proceedings. They shall by general regulations provide for the holding of regular an…

§ 30.4. Duties (a) Said Board shall have in general all the powers and authority, and perform all the duties, pertaining to school officers in towns of this State, not inconsistent with the provisions of this charter. (b) The Board shall have the care and custody of all property …

§ 31.1. Appointment (a) The Board of School Commissioners shall appoint a Superintendent of Schools who shall not be a member of the Board. The appointment shall be consistent with and pursuant to the written Board of School Commissioners’ policy. The Board may contract with said…

§ 31.2. Duties (a) The Superintendent of Schools shall be the Purchasing Agent for the School Department and shall perform such other duties in connection with the public schools as shall be assigned him or her by the Board of School Commissioners. (b) As Purchasing Agent for the…

§ 32.1. Duties Said Board shall annually appoint such truant officers as in its judgment may be required, who shall have the same powers and perform the same duties as prescribed by the general law of this State for truant officers in towns and cities, and shall have such further…

§ 33.1. Location and management It shall be the duty of the City, acting through the Board of School Commissioners, to provide and maintain suitable school facilities for the accommodation of all the public schools of the City. The location and construction of school facilities, …

§ 33.2. Purchase The Board of School Commissioners shall provide the money for the purchase of land for school purposes or for the construction of school buildings or both pursuant to the general laws of the State of Vermont. (Amended 2007, No. M-17 (Adj. Sess.), § 12.)

§ 34.1. Appropriations and expenditures The voters of the City shall annually approve a budget for the use of the schools pursuant to the general laws of the State of Vermont. The Board of School Commissioners shall not expend any money or incur any debt for any purpose by contra…

§ 34.2. School financing (a) The voters of the City shall annually approve a budget for the use of Rutland City schools pursuant to the general laws of the State of Vermont. (b) Any bonded indebtedness approved by the voters after January 1, 2004, shall not be considered as part …

§ 35.1. Establishment A Traffic Court is hereby created and established for the City of Rutland with the jurisdiction of conducting an administrative type hearing when so requested by any person charged with violation of any parking related ordinance, for the purpose of determini…

§ 35.2. Judge The person holding the Office of City Attorney, or acting as such, shall be the Traffic Court Judge and shall have the authority and power to conduct hearings when requested by a charged violator who requests said hearing and said Judge shall determine whether the c…