| Divisions: | Home | Archives | Corporations | Elections | Professional Regulation | Other Programs | Secretary's Desk |
| |
VERMONT SECRETARY OF STATE - Jim Condos | |||||||
|
||||||||
| State of Vermont Office of the Secretary of State http://www.sec.state.vt.us Volume 1 Number 7 |
|
Redstone Building |
| Table of Contents | |
 Every once in awhile we are
asked about how the Secretary of State’s office began to publish opinions on issues
of local government law. Opinions began as a formal publication in 1981 by then
Secretary of State Jim Douglas, and his deputy Paul Gillies. The belief then was that by
publishing questions and answers from the previous month, it would let people know what
was going on in local government around the state, and would help officials learn from the
experiences of others. They also hoped that this information would eliminate some of the
telephone calls that can – and sometimes still do – consume this office. |
Message from the Secretary
The Opinions
Zoning Page |
|
For further information,
please contact |
||
A Voice from the Past |
Most of the work of tax appeals is window dressing. The machinery of public and personal notice, the requirements for sworn testimony, handling exhibits, giving parties a chance to state their positions, conducting site inspections, and other tasks are important only as a build-up to the moment of truth — the deliberation of the BCA that precedes a final decision on whether to affirm the decision of the listers or venture into some new way of calculating the value of the property under appeal. It’s the nature of the human experience to reach this critical moment, only to find yourself essentially uncertain how to act. There is never enough information. Sure, if the appellant has provided nothing (or the appellant’s entire case consists of a low moaning sound reflecting his unhappiness), you can always fall back on the presumption of validity of the grand list, but when the appellant has come armed with an appraiser and comparables, this is a small crisis. In this corner you have the listers, who are your friends and fellow town officers, who believe so sincerely in the product of their work that they may regard any decision even slightly altering their decision as a personal offense. In the other corner is the appellant, who may already be so irritated that she didn’t get a fair hearing before the listers that she regards the BCA as just some other pit stop on the way to court or the state appraiser. In the middle sits the panel of judges, the BCA, whose job is to render a fair and impartial decision. What makes a good judge? You know the answer. You know what you want in a judge. The first quality is disinterestedness. That means you don’t really care what the outcome is, as long as it is fair and reasonable; you don’t care who wins, because you feel no compulsion to make anyone happy. That shouldn’t even come into play. There should be no loyalty to the town or its grand list or tax collection system. That isn’t the question you’re being asked to answer. It is irrelevant, really. Your object is to find the fair market value of the property. This means listening to the parties, sorting out the information, and deciding whose case makes more sense. It’s not easy, no matter how hard you try to make it so. Value is not entirely scientific, as clinical and objective as it may appear on paper. This is why there is always a risk in using comparables. The market price is usually the safest indicator of value (although not always reliable, if the sale isn’t a purely arm’s-length transaction). What other comparable properties sold for is the next best source of information, as long as the adjustments to those properties are reasonable. Being reasonable is the way to go in every aspect of the tax appeal process. Don’t try to speak a language you aren’t fluent in. Don’t try to apply some kind of appraiser’s logic to a question. Throw out those appeals that aren’t persuasive, but don’t hesitate to recognize that regular citizens can make a good case on appeal, in spite of the listers’ hard work. Mistakes can be made on both sides. Your job is the fair market value. The proof of it should be clear. If it’s not clear, then that’s a problem for the taxpayer. Above all else, don’t rush the deliberative process. Take your time. Listen to everybody, and think about the evidence that was presented to you. Take a deep breath, and then decide. Don’t let anybody rush you. It all comes down to what you do in deliberation. Then go home and don’t dwell on it. That was your decision. You’re done with it. You did your best, and now it’s somebody else’s business. |
"Voice from the
Past" by Paul Gillies |
||
| previous page | next page | |
| August Opinions "Table of Contents" | Secretary of State's Home Page | |
1. Selectboard May Allow ATVs To Use Town Highways. The selectboard may vote to allow all-terrain-vehicles (ATVs) to use town roads. The motion should specify which and how much of the road may be used. If possible, include a map as part of the motion. The meeting minutes will be the official record of what roads may be used, which is why a map is helpful. Before the ATVs can start using the town roads, the selectboard must post the roads with signs at both ends of the roads warning that ATVs are permitted. A town may also choose to adopt an ATV ordinance, but it does not have to. 23 V.S.A. §§ 3506 and 3510. 2. Town Clerk’s Responsibility Is To Record. The clerk’s role is to simply record a document that has been presented to him or her. 24 V.S.A. § 1154. A town clerk who notices that a document has not been properly witnessed may not refuse to record the document even if it lacks witness and notary signatures and should inform the person recording that there may be problems with the document. Not having witness and notary signatures is a matter to be worked out between the seller and buyer. Note that the clerk must check the property transfer return, and may reject it if it is not "complete and regular on its face." For more information see July Opinions #14.
4. Town Takes Over The Care Of A Cemetery When The Private Owners Do Not Or It Is Abandoned. 18 V.S.A. § 5321 provides that private cemetery grounds that have been abandoned or not properly cared for may be taken over by the town and be treated and taken care of as a public burial place. Before the town may take over the cemetery there must be proper notice published and the proper statutory time period must have passed. 18 V.S.A. § 5321. 5. School District Is Not Statutory Party In Act 250 Proceeding. Act 250 allows "statutory parties" the right to participate in all Act 250 proceedings. The statutory parties are the applicant, the landowner (if not the applicant), appropriate state agencies, the regional planning commission, the town in which the project is located, and the town’s planning commission. A school district, fire district, or other municipal corporation is not a statutory party. This means that, in order to participate in an Act 250 proceeding, these types of municipalities must show how their interests may be specifically affected by a proposed development. 10 V.S.A. §§ 6084 and 6085. 6. Selectboard Is Not A Party To An Individual’s Zoning Permit Application. The selectboard has no right to participate before the ZBA as a party, unless it is the applicant. The selectboard is not a party because the town's interests are represented by the zoning bylaws. Since it is not a party, the selectboard cannot offer testimony or legal arguments. Generally, the selectboard cannot appeal a ZBA decision in which it is not the applicant. The only exception to this rule is when the appeal calls into question the validity or effect of the zoning bylaws. 24 V.S.A. §§ 4464 and 4471.
10. Selectboard Member Convenes Town Meeting In Moderator's Absence. If the moderator elected at the annual town meeting is absent when a special town meeting is held, (as is apt to happen with summer meetings,) a member of the selectboard may convene the special town meeting. Once convened, the body must then elect a person to serve as moderator for that specific meeting. 17 V.S.A. § 2657. 11. Grand List Is Lodged With Assistant Town Clerk In Town Clerk's Absence. When the grand list is lodged in the town clerk's office, the town clerk endorses on the grand list the time when the book was so lodged. In the absence of the town clerk, the assistant town clerk may endorse the time when the grand list was lodged. The assistant town clerk is authorized to perform the recording and filing duties of the town clerk, to issue licenses and certified copies of records and, in the absence, death or disability of the town clerk, to perform all of the town clerk's other duties. 24 V.S.A. § 1171. 12. Taxpayers Are Entitled To At Least Thirty Days Notice To Pay Tax Bill. Tax bills must be mailed out at least 30 days before the date set at town meeting. If no date is fixed at town meeting for the payment of taxes, or if no notice is mailed to the taxpayer at least 30 days prior to the date fixed for the payment of taxes, then the date for the payment of taxes is 30 days from the date of mailing of notice to the taxpayer. 32 V.S.A. § 4792. 13. Law Does Not Require Town Clerk To Allow Person To Use Own Copier. While a person must be given access to public records, this does not automatically include the right to bring in one's own photocopier to make copies of public records. The rule is that the town clerk may make reasonable rules to prevent the disruption of operations, preserve the security of public records or documents, and protect them from damage. This includes a rule that photocopying must be done on the town's photocopier if to allow otherwise would disrupt operations, interfere with the security of public records, or expose records to potential damage. 1 V.S.A. § 316(j).
15. A Member Of The Selectboard Cannot Direct An Attorney To Do Work Without Authorization. A single member of a board may not act outside a duly warned public meeting or act singly, even as chair, without full delegated support of the board. Acting independently may result in the single selectman being held personally accountable for any money spent. 1 V.S.A. § 172. 16. A Selectboard May Not Write Policy For A Town Clerk's Office. Under 24 V.S.A. § 872 the selectboard is responsible for the general supervision of the affairs of the town. The selectboard does not oversee those functions of government which, by statute, are committed to other elected officials (except the road commissioner). Therefore, the board may not adopt policies for the town clerk's office (such as hours of operations).
18. When A Justice Of The Peace Moves Out Of Town And Resigns From His Or Her Commission, The Position Is Filled By The Governor. State law provides that you must be a resident of the town in which you are elected in order to qualify for election as Justice of the Peace. There is no law which states that when you move you lose your office. However, most Justices resign their post when they move from town so that the people of the town have real representation in this office. Once there is a vacancy in the office the Governor may request the town committee of the political party of the person whose resignation created the vacancy to submit recommendations of a successor. 17 V.S.A. § 2623.
20. Those Aggrieved By The Decision Of The Board Of Civil Authority May Appeal. Appeals from the Board of Civil Authority are appealed to the director of Property Valuation and Review or to Superior Court of the county where the property involved is located. Appeals to the Superior Court are heard without a jury. 21. Tax Appeal Deliberations Are Not Subject To Open Meeting Laws. The Board of Civil Authority may invoke the provision in the right to know law that exempts deliberations of any board acting in a quasi-judicial capacity. The deliberation is unwarned, without public attendance or minutes. It may follow an open meeting or it may be held on its own at a private location. The only prerequisite is that the decision of the deliberation is made public in writing. 1 V.S.A. § 312(e). 22. Can A Town Allow PRD Review Of A Project Involving A Single Building? The language of 24 V.S.A. § 4407(3)(A) enables municipalities to adopt regulations that provide for planned residential developments. The provision of law that authorizes the town to require a site plan simultaneously with the PRD application makes reference to a site plan that shows the location of "all buildings." This plural reference does not mean that a town could not allow a single building project to be considered a PRD. It is likely that a court would hold that this language means "all buildings" must be included in the site plan, and not that there must be more than one building on the property to be able to benefit from PRD treatment.
|
Opinions of Opinions |
||
| previous page | next page | |
| August Opinions "Table of Contents" | Secretary of State's Home Page | |
| APPEALS TO THE ZONING BOARD OF ADUSTMENT OR DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD Appeals from decisions of the zoning administrator are brought to the zoning board of adjustment or to the development review board. 24 V.S.A. § 4465. Timing of appeal. An appeal has to be taken within fifteen days of the action of the administrator that is being appealed. 24 V.S.A. § 4464(c). How to appeal. An appeal must be made in writing and given to the clerk of the board, or, if the board has no clerk, to the town clerk. 24 V.S.A. § 4464(a). Form of appeal. The notice of appeal must include the name and address of the person bringing the appeal, a description of the property involved a reference to the regulatory provisions that apply to the appeal, and the reasons the person is appealing. 24 V.S.A. § 4465. Setting the hearing. The hearing must be held within sixty days after the notice of appeal is filed, and the hearing must be publicly warned by posting a notice in one or more public places and publishing a notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the town not less than 15 days prior to the hearing. Notice of the hearing must be sent to the appellant. 24 V.S.A. § 4467. Interested parties. Only interested
parties, as defined by the statute, may bring or participate in an appeal. Stay of enforcement. If the appeal is of an action to enforce the bylaws, the landowner may request, in writing, a stay of enforcement which can be granted by the zoning board or development review board, with or without conditions including the requirement of a bond. 24 V.S.A. § 4466. Decisions. The board’s decision must be made in writing. The written findings of fact and conclusions must be mailed to the appellant. The decision must be made within forty-five days of the final hearing in the matter or there will be deemed approval. 24 V.S.A. § 4410.
|
The Opinions Zoning
Page |
||
| next page | ||
| August Opinions "Table of Contents" | Secretary of State's Home Page | |
Kathy Scheele Dewolfe, |
|||
| Dear Readers:
It is a pleasure to introduce myself to you as the newly hired Director of Campaign Finance and Elections at the Secretary of State’s office. I look forward to working with all of you as we prepare for the upcoming presidential primary and general election. My past professional experience gives me great appreciation for the dedication and professionalism of local government staff and elected officials in Vermont. I served for six years as the Town Attorney of Brattleboro, and served for four years as the Executive Director of the Vermont School Board Association. I am excited about the opportunities to serve you as Director of Elections. Like my predecessors, my goal is to help you find answers to the myriad of questions that arise as you carry out your various functions in local government. I hope to meet many of you and to learn from your experience in local government. I would like to thank you in advance for your patience as I learn the nuances of election and campaign finance law. I look forward to getting to know you and working with you as we conduct elections and as we carry out the multiple responsibilities of municipal business. If you have any suggestions about how our office can be more effective in assisting you, please email me at kdewolfe@sec.state.vt.us or call me at 802-828-2304.
|
|||
| A
Message from Director of Campaign Finance & Elections Opinions Volume 1 Number 7 August 1999 |
|||
| August Opinions "Table of Contents" | Secretary of State's Home Page | ||
| Sunday, August 15th Last day to transmit abstract and a photocopy of the grand list to the Director of Property Valuation and Review. | Monday, August 16, 1999
HOLIDA YBennington Battle Day The Office of the Secretary of State is closed! |
| PUBLICATION NOTICES
"The 1999 Guide to Vermont
Town Clerks, is NOW on the web at /pubs/ To order a copy, please contact the Elections Division at 802-828-2363. PLEASE NOTE ALL Town Clerks will automatically receive COMING SOON….1999 Handbook on Property Tax Appeals
|
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS VLCT Trust Workshops and Events Thursday, August 5 Thursday, August 12 |
August's Calendar |
|
| August Opinions "Table of Contents" | Secretary of State's Home Page |
Need help with a web site technical issue?
Questions regarding this page's content?
Please Contact us.
|
SOS Home |
State of Vermont
Home |
VT Law
| Databases
|
|
|
|
|
