Title 24, Title 24: Municipal and County Government

§ 13. Washington The County of Washington is formed of the towns of Barre, Berlin, Cabot, Calais, Duxbury, East Montpelier, Fayston, Marshfield, Middlesex, Moretown, Northfield, Plainfield, Roxbury, Waitsfield, Warren, Waterbury, Woodbury, Worcester, and the cities of Barre and o…

§ 14. Windham The County of Windham is formed of the towns of Athens, Brattleboro, Brookline, Dover, Dummerston, Grafton, Guilford, Halifax, Jamaica, Londonderry, Marlboro, Newfane, Putney, Rockingham, Stratton, Townshend, Vernon, Wardsboro, Westminster, Whitingham, Wilmington, W…

§ 15. Windsor The County of Windsor is formed of the towns of Andover, Baltimore, Barnard, Bethel, Bridgewater, Cavendish, Chester, Hartford, Hartland, Ludlow, Norwich, Plymouth, Pomfret, Reading, Rochester, Royalton, Sharon, Springfield, Stockbridge, Weathersfield, Weston, West …

§ 2. Addison The County of Addison is formed of the towns of Addison, Bridport, Bristol, Cornwall, Ferrisburgh, Goshen, Granville, Hancock, Leicester, Lincoln, Middlebury, Monkton, New Haven, Orwell, Panton, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham, Starksboro, Waltham, Weybridge, Whiting, th…

§ 3. Bennington The County of Bennington is formed of the towns of Arlington, Bennington, Dorset, Landgrove, Manchester, Peru, Pownal, Readsboro, Rupert, Sandgate, Searsburg, Shaftsbury, Stamford, Sunderland, Winhall, Woodford, and the unorganized township of Glastenbury. Benning…

§ 4. Caledonia The County of Caledonia is formed of the towns of Barnet, Burke, Danville, Groton, Hardwick, Kirby, Lyndon, Newark, Peacham, Ryegate, St. Johnsbury, Sheffield, Stannard, Sutton, Walden, Waterford, and Wheelock. St. Johnsbury is the shire town.

§ 5. Chittenden The County of Chittenden is formed of the towns of Bolton, Charlotte, Colchester, Essex, Hinesburg, Huntington, Jericho, Milton, Richmond, St. George, Shelburne, the City of South Burlington, Underhill, Westford, Williston, the City of Burlington, the City of Esse…

§ 6. Essex The County of Essex is formed of the towns of Bloomfield, Brighton, Brunswick, Canaan, Concord, East Haven, Granby, Guildhall, Lemington, Lunenburg, Maidstone, Norton, Victory, Avery’s Gore, Warner’s Grant, Warren Gore, and the unorganized townships of Averill, Ferdina…

§ 7. Franklin The County of Franklin is formed of the towns of Bakersfield, Berkshire, Enosburgh, Fairfax, Fairfield, Fletcher, Franklin, Georgia, Highgate, Montgomery, Richford, St. Albans, Sheldon, Swanton, the City of St. Albans, and that part of Lake Champlain and the islands…

§ 8. Grand Isle The County of Grand Isle is formed of the towns of Alburgh, Grand Isle, Isle La Motte, North Hero, and South Hero and is bounded as follows: beginning at the northwest corner of this State; thence running easterly on the north line of the State to the middle of th…

§ 9. Lamoille The County of Lamoille is formed of the towns of Belvidere, Cambridge, Eden, Elmore, Hyde Park, Johnson, Morristown, Stowe, Waterville, and Wolcott. Hyde Park is the shire town.

§ 71a. Courthouses (a) Except as provided herein, each county shall provide and own a suitable courthouse, pay all utility and custodial services, and keep such courthouse suitably furnished and equipped for use by the Superior Court, together with suitable offices for the county…

§ 72. Expenses of the Superior Court The expenses connected with the Superior Court, unless otherwise provided, shall be paid by the State. (Amended 1959, No. 328 (Adj. Sess.), § 8(c), eff. March 1, 1961; 1983, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 5(b); 1987, No. 243 (Adj. Sess.), § 28, eff. …

§ 73. Support of sheriff’s department (a) The county shall provide the sheriff with an adequate bond, a suitable office, office equipment and supplies, and adequate telephone service. The sheriff’s department shall also be provided with law enforcement equipment, supplies, insura…

§ 75. Telephone Each county shall provide adequate telephone service for the county courthouse, the offices of the county clerk, and the sheriff. (Amended 1967, No. 345 (Adj. Sess.), § 17, eff. April 1, 1969; 1969, No. 266 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. July 1, 1971; 2009, No. 154 (Adj.…

§ 76. County law library Each county may maintain a complete set of Vermont Reports including the digest thereof in the county clerk’s office and in each Probate office. The county may maintain in the courthouse or elsewhere such additional law books as in the opinion of the assi…

§ 77. County lands; purchase; condemnation (a) Each county may acquire and own such lands and rights in lands as in the opinion of the assistant judges are needful for county purposes. (b) A county may condemn land in situations similar to those in which a municipality may condem…

§ 81. Preliminary cost estimates (a) The assistant judges of a county may authorize the preparation of preliminary plans and cost estimates for capital construction. For this purpose, the assistant judges may employ or retain architects, engineers, and such other personnel as in …

§ 82. Submission to voters (a) Debt may be incurred and bonds issued pursuant to the limitations of this chapter for the amount of funds necessary for capital construction. (b) Any bond issue pursuant to this chapter for capital construction shall be passed by a majority of the v…

§ 83. Form, denominations, certification, and cancellation of bonds Insofar as applicable, the provisions of subchapter 1 of chapter 53 of this title relating to the form, denominations, certification, cancellation, and other matters affecting the issuance of municipal bonds shal…

§ 131. Powers and duties The assistant judges shall have the care and superintendence of county property, may provide for the acceptance and processing of U.S. passport applications by county clerks pursuant to memorandums of understanding entered into under 4 V.S.A. § 691, may t…

§ 132. United States and State flags; display Such judges shall purchase at the expense of the county and cause to be displayed in the court room in the county courthouse a United States and a State flag. On legal holidays commemorative of historic events they shall cause such fl…

§ 133. County tax; amount; assessment (a) Annually, the assistant judges shall prepare a proposed budget of the county for the ensuing year. (b) Before a budget to be proposed at the annual meeting is finalized, the assistant judges shall hold a meeting to invite discussion of th…

§ 134. County tax; county treasurer; warrant The county treasurer shall issue warrants on or before March 1 requiring the tax to be paid in two equal installments on or before July 5 and on or before November 5. (Amended 1989, No. 176 (Adj. Sess.), eff. May 12, 1990; 2011, No. 81…

§ 135. County tax; payment by town Each town treasurer shall present such warrant to the selectboard which, within the time required by the warrant, shall draw an order on the town treasury for the amount of such tax and such treasurer shall forthwith pay the county treasurer the…

§ 136. Actions by and against county; process; attorney Actions in which a county is the party in interest shall be brought by or against the county, and service of process against a county shall be made by leaving copies with the county clerk or county treasurer. The assistant j…

§ 137. Jurisdiction Superior Courts, within their respective jurisdictions, may take cognizance of actions in favor of or against the county. (Amended 1965, No. 194, § 10, operative Feb. 1, 1967; 1973, No. 193 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 9, 1974; 1973, No. 249 (Adj. Sess.), § 7…

§ 138. Local option taxes (a) Local option taxes are authorized under this section for the purpose of affording municipalities an alternative method of raising municipal revenues. Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, and subject to certification by the Commission…

§ 139. Assistant judge judicial education The assistant judges, either collectively or through a duly authorized committee of assistant judges established by a majority vote of the assistant judges after consultation with the Chief Superior Judge, shall, by majority vote: (1) ide…

§ 171. Appointment The assistant judges shall appoint a county clerk who shall be sworn and hold his or her office during the pleasure of such judges and until his or her successor is appointed and has qualified. (Amended 1973, No. 193 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 9, 1974; 2009,…

§ 172. Certificate of appointment Upon the appointment of a county clerk, such judges shall transmit to the Secretary of State their certificate of appointment and qualification of such clerk signed by them. Such certificate shall bear on its face the signature and impression of …

§ 173. Certificate of Secretary of State Upon request, the Secretary of State shall certify under seal to the appointment, qualification, and authority of a county clerk described in a certificate on file in his or her office, and as to the genuineness of the signature and seal o…

§ 175. Bond to county Before entering upon the duties of his or her office, a county clerk shall become bound to the county in the sum of $3,000.00, with sufficient sureties, by way of recognizance, before the assistant judges, or give a bond to the county executed by principal a…

§ 176. Deputy clerk A county clerk may, subject to the approval of the assistant judges, appoint one or more deputies who may perform the duties of clerk for whose acts he or she shall be responsible and whose deputations he or she may revoke at pleasure. A record of the appointm…

§ 177. Certification of election and qualification of officers Upon request, a county clerk shall certify under seal to the election or appointment of officers or magistrates, certificates of whose election or appointment and of having taken the oath of office, when such oath is …

§ 178. Record of sheriff’s commission; copies; evidence The county clerk shall record, in a book kept for that purpose, sheriffs’ commissions with the oath of office indorsed thereon. In case of loss or destruction of an original commission or recognizance, a certified copy of th…

§ 180. Claim; clerk to draw orders Claims against a county shall be examined and allowed by the assistant judges, unless other provision is made by law. A statement of each claim with the amount allowed shall be certified by them to the county clerk, who shall draw an order there…

§ 181. Settlements; record; filing Such clerk shall keep on file in his or her office the statements furnished him or her by the assistant judges, upon which he or she has drawn orders, and shall keep a record of such orders, within the number of each, its date, amount, to whom p…

§ 184. Processing of passport applications The county clerk shall, if so directed by the assistant judges, accept and process applications for U.S. passports pursuant to memorandums of understanding entered into under 4 V.S.A. § 691. (Added 2011, No. 1, § 11, eff. February 2, 201…

§ 211. Appointment; vacancy Biennially, on February 1, the assistant judges shall appoint a treasurer for the county who shall hold office for two years and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified. If the treasurer dies or in the opinion of the assistant judges beco…

§ 212. Bond Before entering upon the duties of his or her office, a county treasurer shall become bound to the county in the sum of $5,000.00, with sufficient sureties, by way of recognizance, before the assistant judges, or give a bond to the county executed by principal and sur…

§ 213. Accounts; disbursements The treasurer shall keep proper entries of monies received and paid out, under appropriate accounts, so that the revenue of the county and the disbursements shall appear in detail. No money shall be paid out of the county treasury except upon the or…

§ 214. Care of lands in unorganized towns and gores; lease lands The treasurer shall have the care of the lands in unorganized towns and gores in the county, granted as glebes, lands granted to the use of the ministry or the social worship of God, lands granted to the first settl…

§ 215. Lands in unorganized towns and gores; power to sue and defend actions During the time the towns or gores described in section 214 of this subchapter remain unorganized, the treasurer may commence and prosecute or defend in the name of the county any action necessary to rec…

§ 216. Lands in unorganized towns and gores; rents (a) The treasurer may lease the lands described in section 214 of this subchapter in such manner as he or she judges beneficial, reserving rents for the same, which shall annually be paid into the treasury of the county, until th…

§ 217. Disposal of rents of lands in unorganized towns and gores When paid into the county treasury, the rents described in section 216 of this subchapter shall be disposed of as other funds in the treasury. (Amended 2017, No. 74, § 67.)