Politics
& Government The
State of Things: Town Meeting ....
Some Would Do Away with This Vermont Tradition Click
here to jump to the Town Meeting Primer ... One
of the things that always struck me as most curious about Town Meeting was
that the biggest expenditures -- for schools, roads, and the like -- would
often pass with little effort. In the process, we would spend tens,
even hundreds of thousands of dollars. But then came the small
requests ... a few hundred for meals on wheels, a couple of hundred for
this private social service, another couple for that ... and the
discussion would often become heated and, just as often, lengthy.
... In other words, we could spend 99% of our town budget in ten
minutes, then spend the rest of the night haggling and arguing over the
remaining 1%. But that's not what prompts some to argue
for the elimination of Town Meeting. ... That
argument seems to center on the fact that a relative minority show up for
the meeting and that, therefore, so the argument goes, a minority get to
decide matters that ought, more properly, to be put on the ballot.
... This move to eliminate Town Meeting has had, at
best, only sporadic support. It seems most often to come in the wake
of Town Meeting, when this or that disgruntled individual imagines that it
is a waste of time. Others counter-argue that Town Meeting is the
closest thing we have in this country to participatory democracy.
... No question, if it came up for discussion at Town Meeting, that would
be one debate that would likely run into the wee hours. In
any event, here at DownStreet, as a public service, we thought we'd
print a few of the more salient and interesting facts regarding Town
Meeting and election from the Vermont Statutes Annotated [VSA]. ...
Whichever way you lean, it can't hurt to be informed: A
Town Meeting VSA Primer The main section of the
Vermont Statutes dealing with Town Meetings is Title 17: Elections,
Chapter 55: Local Elections, Subchapter II: Town Meetings and Local
Elections in General. What follows also includes citations from
other pertinent Titles or Chapters. ... Except for the
paragraph headings {marked with the §}, all other bold or italic print
has been added to highlight the pertinent issue or topic: §
2103. Definitions. ... (11) "Election"
means the procedure whereby the voters of this state, or any of its
political subdivisions, select persons to fill public offices or act
on public questions. ...
(21) "Person" means
any individual, business entity, labor organization, public interest
group, or other organization, incorporated or unincorporated.
(22)
"Political committee" means two or more persons,
including political parties and the constituent parts or subdivisions
of political parties, which make any expenditure of a value of $200.00
or more in any year or accept any contribution in any year, for the
purpose of supporting or opposing any campaign.
(23) "Political
party" is any group of individuals which has organized and
filed its certificate of organization with the secretary of state,
pursuant to chapter 45 of this title. A "major political
party" is a political party whose candidate for any state office
in the most recent general election polled at least five percent of
the vote cast for that office. A "minor political party" is
any political party which is not a major political party. ...
(27)
"Public question" means any question, issue,
proposition, or referendum (whether binding or advisory) submitted or
required by law to be submitted to the voters of the state or any
political subdivision of the state, for a decision.
VSA, Title 17,
Chapter 041.
. § 2143.
Political representation on board of civil authority. (a)
If the board of civil authority of any political subdivision does not
contain at least three members of each major political party,
and the party committee or at least three voters request increased
representation for an underrepresented major political party, by
filing a written request with the clerk of the political subdivision,
the legislative body shall appoint from a list of six names submitted
to it by the underrepresented party a sufficient number of voters to
the board of civil authority to bring the underrepresented major
party's membership on the board to three. A person's name shall not be
submitted unless he consents to serve if appointed.
(b) The
persons so appointed shall have the same duties and authority with
respect to elections as have other members of the board; they shall
have no authority with respect to functions of the board of civil
authority which are not related to elections. (Added 1977, No. 269
(Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1979, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 12.)
VSA, Title 17, Chapter 043.
. §
2451. Board of civil authority. The board of civil
authority shall have charge of the conduct of elections within
the political subdivision for which it is elected. A quorum of the
board of civil authority shall be available at all times when the
polls are open, and those members of the board of civil authority
present at a polling place shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of business relating to the conduct of the election and
the qualification and registration of voters at this polling place.
(Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1979, No. 200 (Adj.
Sess.), § 38.) VSA, Title 17, Chapter 051.
. §
2452. Presiding officer. (a) The town clerk shall
be the presiding officer unless the town by vote at an annual meeting
or by charter shall provide otherwise. If the regular presiding
officer is unavailable or unable to preside at any given election,
then the board of civil authority shall promptly appoint a voter of
the town to serve as the presiding officer at that election. ...
(Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1979, No. 200 (Adj.
Sess.), § 39.) VSA, Title 17, Chapter 051.
. §
2603. Contest of elections. (a) The result of an election
for any office, other than for the general assembly, or public
question may be contested by any legal voter entitled to vote on
the office or public question to be contested.
(b) A
contest is initiated by filing a complaint with a superior court
alleging:
(1) that errors were committed in the
conduct of the election or in count or return of votes, sufficient to
change the ultimate result;
(2) that there was
fraud in the electoral process, sufficient to change the ultimate
result; or
(3) that for any other reason, the
result of the election is not valid. ... VSA, Title 17, Chapter
051.
. § 2631. Municipal
charter. Where the charter of a municipality provides for
procedures other than those established by this chapter, the
provisions of that charter shall prevail. (Added 1977, No. 269
(Adj. Sess.), § 1.) VSA, Title 17, Chapter 055.
. §
2640. Annual meetings. (a) A meeting of the legal voters
of each town shall be held annually on the first Tuesday of March
for the election of officers and the transaction of other business,
and it may be adjourned to another date. When a town fails to hold an
annual meeting, a warning for a subsequent meeting shall be issued
immediately, and at that meeting all the officers required by law may
be elected and its business transacted.
(b) When a town so
votes, it may thereafter start its annual meeting on any of the
three days immediately preceding the first Tuesday in March at
such time as it elects and may transact at that time any business not
involving voting by Australian ballot or voting required by law to be
by ballot and to be held on the first Tuesday in March. A meeting so
started shall be adjourned until the first Tuesday in March.
(c)
In a town which starts its annual meeting on any day before the first
Tuesday in March and which uses the Australian ballot system, public
discussion of ballot issues and all other issues appearing in the
warning, other than election of candidates, shall be permitted on that
day. (Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1991, No. 118
(Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Feb. 26, 1992.) VSA, Title 17, Chapter
055.
. § 2641. Warning and
notice required; publication of warnings. (a) The
legislative body of a municipality shall warn a meeting by
posting a warning and notice in at least two public places in the
town, and in or near the town clerk's office, not less than 30 nor
more than 40 days before the meeting. If a town has more than one
polling place and the polling places are not all in the same building,
the warning and notice shall be posted in at least two public places
within each voting district and in or near the town clerk's office.
(b) In addition, the warning shall be published in a newspaper
of general circulation in the municipality at least five days
before the meeting, unless the warning is published in the town
report, or otherwise distributed in written form to all town or city
postal patrons at least 10 days before the meeting. The
legislative body annually shall designate the paper in which such a
warning may be published. No such warning shall be required for
municipal informational meetings at which no voting is to take place.
(Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1979, No. 200 (Adj.
Sess.), § 98; amended 1985, No. 196 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 1999, No. 148
(Adj. Sess.), § 85, eff. May 24, 2000.) VSA, Title 17, Chapter
055.
. § 2657. Moderator.
A municipal meeting shall be called to order by the moderator, or
in his absence by a selectman who shall preside until a moderator pro
tempore is chosen. (Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
VSA, Title 17, Chapter 055.
. §
2658. Duties [of the moderator]. The
moderator shall be the presiding officer of municipal meetings,
shall decide questions of order and shall make public
declaration of votes taken, except in elections using the
Australian ballot system. When a vote declared by him is
immediately questioned by one voter, he shall divide the meeting, and
if requested by seven voters, shall cause the vote to be taken
by paper ballot, unless the town has provided some other procedure
in such cases. Robert's Rules or some other rules of order shall
govern all municipal meetings, except in elections using the
Australian ballot system. (Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1;
amended 1979, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 103; 1981, No. 239 (Adj. Sess.),
§ 23.) VSA, Title 17, Chapter 055.
. §
2659. Preservation of order. The moderator shall preserve
order in the conduct of business and in debate. If a person, after
notice, is persistently disorderly and refuses to withdraw from the
meeting, the moderator may cause him to be removed, calling upon
the constable or other person for that purpose. A person who so
refuses to withdraw when ordered so to do shall be fined not more than
$200.00. (Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.) VSA, Title
17, Chapter 055.
. § 2660.
Conduct of election. ... (d) The article entitled
"other business" shall not be used for taking binding
municipal action, and the moderator shall so rule. (Added 1977,
No. 260 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1979, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), §
104.) VSA, Title 17, Chapter 055.
. §
2661. Reconsideration or rescission of vote. (a) A warned
article voted on at an annual or special meeting of a municipality
shall not be submitted to the voters for reconsideration or
rescission at the same meeting after the assembly has begun
consideration of another article. If the voters have begun
consideration of another article, the original article may only be
submitted to the voters at a subsequent annual or special meeting duly
warned for the purpose and called by the legislative body on its own
motion or pursuant to a petition requesting such reconsideration or
rescission signed and submitted in accordance with subsection (b) of
this section. A vote taken at an annual or special meeting shall
remain in effect unless rescinded or amended.
(b) Where a
petition signed by not less than five percent of the qualified
voters of a municipality requesting reconsideration or
rescission of a question considered or voted on at a previous
annual or special meeting is filed with the clerk of the
municipality within thirty days following the date of that
meeting, the legislative body shall provide for a vote by the
municipality in accordance with the petition within sixty days of the
submission at an annual or special meeting duly warned for that
purpose.
(c) A question voted on shall not be presented
for reconsideration or rescission at more than one subsequent meeting
within the succeeding twelve months except with the approval of
the legislative body. ... (Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.),
§ 1; amended 1979, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 105; amended 1991, No.
235 (Adj. Sess.).) VSA, Title 17, Chapter 055.
. §
2664. Budget. A town shall vote such sums of money
as it deems necessary for the interest of its inhabitants and for
the prosecution and defense of the common rights. It shall express
in its vote the specific amounts, or the rate on a dollar of the grand
list, to be appropriated for laying out and repairing highways and for
other necessary town expenses. If a town votes specific amounts in
lieu of a rate on a dollar of the grand list, the selectmen shall,
after the grand list book has been computed and lodged in the office
of the town clerk, set the tax rate necessary to raise the specific
amounts voted. (Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.) VSA,
Title 17, Chapter 055.
. §
2688. Recount on question submitted. A voter may demand a
recount of ballots on any question submitted to the vote of a town
using the Australian ballot system, if the margin by which the
question passed or failed is less than five percent of the total votes
cast on the question. The request shall be filed with the
municipal clerk within ten days after the vote. The procedure
shall be the same as in the case of recount of the votes cast for a
candidate at an election. The petitioner and his designated
representative and a voter representing the other side of the question
voted upon and his designated representative may inspect the vote and
observe the recount under the guidance of the board of civil
authority. (Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1979, No.
200 (Adj. Sess.), § 115.) VSA, Title 17, Chapter 055.
... . *******
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