- Person May Not Serve As Town
Clerk, Treasurer and Selectboard. A town clerk/treasurer running for re-election
wishes also to run for the selectboard. While a person may run for as many offices as he
or she likes, according to Vermont’s law of incompatible offices, a person may not be
serve as town treasurer and serve on the selectboard. 17 V.S.A. § 2647. This rule makes
sense because good fiscal oversight requires that the person drafting the orders on town
accounts be different than the person who is writing the checks and balancing the books.
Note that no law prevents the town clerk from also serving on the selectboard.
Road Commissioner Has No Independent Authority. Voters
of a town petitioned to elect a road commissioner. This year there is a contested race,
and the two candidates are making a number of promises. However, even when a road
commissioner is elected, the selectboard controls everything he or she does. Note that
citizens are sometimes confused, believing that road commissioners have independent
authority to oversee the town highways and spend the highway fund. (The law was changed in
1974 – giving the selectboard authority over the roads. 19 V.S.A. § 101)
- School Board May Accept Gift Of Property Without Vote. A wealthy
citizen in a town wants to deed some property to the town school district. Can the school
board accept the gift, or must this go to a vote? A school board may accept a gift of
property without a town vote, even if the "gift" may ultimately cost the
taxpayers money (by taking the property off the tax rolls, or because of the cost of
insurance or renovations) Note that a purchase or sale of property will require a vote. 16
V.S.A. § 562 gives voters the authority to "authorize the school board to . . .
purchase buildings and sites for school purposes . . . and to sell or dispose of the
same . .."
State Law Does Not Require Town To Send
Specific Notice Of Permit Application. It is not unusual for a person to first
realize that a neighbor has applied for a zoning permit when the construction equipment
arrives, well after the permit is granted. When this happens our office will sometimes get
a call from the neighbor asking whether the Town violated his or her rights by not
notifying them that a permit application was pending. Under Vermont law, no specific
notice must be given to neighbors of a proposed applicant. Rather, when a permit is
granted, it must be posted in one public place in the municipality for fifteen days before
it becomes final. Hearings on permit applications (variances, conditional uses, etc. )
must be warned at least fifteen days before the hearing by posting in one or more public
place within the town, and by publishing a notice in a newspaper of general circulation in
the area. 24 V.S.A. §§ 4447 & 4443. Some towns recognize that this notice does not
generally accomplish the goal of informing neighbors that a permit application is pending.
Accordingly, it is becoming more common for towns to require (through their bylaws) that
applicants post signs on their property, or send actual notice to neighbors.
Zoning Permit Not Effective Until Zoning
Board Issues Decision. The question of when a permit is final is
often perplexing to applicants and neighbors alike. The general rule is that a permit,
granted by the zoning administrator is not final until the 15 day appeal period is
complete. 24 V.S.A. § 4443. If no appeal is taken to the zoning board, then the permit is
final and the applicant may begin construction. If the permit is appealed then the permit
is not final until the appeal is resolved. 24 V.S.A. 4443(a)(3). Note that this provision
of law refers to appeals to the zoning board of adjustment. However, once the zoning board
appeal is complete - and assuming the permit is granted - the landowner may act on the
permit, even if the permit is appealed to the Environmental Court, unless the court issues
a "stay." Of course the landowner runs the risk that the court will not uphold
the zoning board's decision. In such instances (there are precedents here) the landowner
will be required to restore the property to its original condition
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