We have been working hard at the Secretary of State’s Office to get ready for the November elections. We are proofreading ballots and sending out election supplies, and we are also getting ready to roll out our promote-the-vote programs.

Two years ago our main focus was to educate the voters on their right to vote early or by absentee ballot. That program was a great success – doubling the number of people choosing to vote without going to the polls. This year we are introducing some new programs we hope you and your communities will take part in.

The Honor a Vet with Your Vote program (jointly sponsored with the Vermont Department of Veterans Affairs) gives Vermonters an opportunity to go to the polls and vote in honor of a veteran. Voters interested in participating in this program send us the name of their veteran and some information about his or her service and we send back a button personalized with the veteran’s name to wear up to and on Election Day. We hope that the Honor a Vet with Your Vote program will not only honor our veterans but will increase voter participation by connecting the right to vote with the important part our veterans have played to safeguard our democracy.

This year, with the help of Vermont’s Town Clerks and the Human Rights Commission, we are also conducting a voter education campaign directed at new voters and Vermonters with disabilities. This campaign has three components. Informing voters of their rights though posters posted at the polling places, a short how-to-vote video and web cast to let new voters know what to expect when they go to the polls and a disability rights pamphlet for election workers describing the laws that apply to voters with disabilities.

Finally, we will again be working with Vermont’s schools and our daily papers to help teach our kids the importance of voting to democracy. Over 120 schools will be participating in Kids Voting Vermont and we will again be running a six week Newspaper in Education series called "Democracy in Action" to encourage our young people and their parents to get out and vote.

We would love to get you involved. For more information about any of these programs visit our

website – www.sec.state.vt.us or call us at

1-800-439-VOTE.

1. Town May Vote To Eliminate Office Of Auditor. Vermont law permits a town to vote by ballot at an annual meeting to eliminate the office of town auditor. If a town votes to eliminate the office of town auditor, the selectboard must contract with a public accountant, licensed in this state, to perform an annual financial audit of all funds of the town and it must ensure that the town report is produced. 17 V.S.A. § 2651b.

2. Auditors Continue To Serve Until CPA is Hired or For 45 Days. Even if the town fails to hire a CPA the terms of the auditors will expire after the town votes to eliminate the office. Vermont law provides that when a town has voted to eliminate the office of auditor the terms of those serving that office expire on the 45th day after the vote or on the date that the selectboard enters into a contract with a public accountant, whichever occurs first. 17 V.S.A. § 2651b.

3. Town Can Return To Elected Auditors After New Vote. Once a town has eliminated the board of auditors, the board can only be re-instated by a vote of the town to rescind its earlier vote to eliminate the office. This vote must be by majority of the legal voters present and voting, by ballot, at an annual meeting. 17 V.S.A. § 2651b.

4. Towns With Board Of Auditors Should Fill Vacancies. Vermont law requires town with boards of auditors to have three auditors, each of whom are elected for three-year terms by the voters at town meeting. The terms are staggered, so that at each town meeting only one auditor is elected. See 17 V.S.A. 2646. When there is a vacancy in this office the selectboard is required to fill it "forthwith" or to hold a special election to fill the vacancy, however it is not uncommon for these vacancies to go unfilled. We believe it is important to fill vacancies in the board of auditors because this board performs an important function for the town - - ensuring that the town understand how their tax dollars have been spent. It is important, therefore to let this board operate with full membership. 24 V.S.A. § 963. It will also ensure that each year there is only one new auditor and that there are also more experienced auditors to train the new members and help the board properly perform its functions.

5. Law Limits Multiple Offices For Auditor And Spouse. Vermont Statutes specifically state that "[a]n auditor shall not be town clerk, town treasurer, selectman, first constable, collector of current or delinquent taxes, trustee of public funds, town manager, road commissioner or town district school director; nor shall a spouse of or any person assisting any of these officers in the discharge of their official duties be eligible to hold office as auditor." 17 V.S.A. 2647. The law recognizes that a conflict of interest exists that will make the office of auditor incompatible with many other offices. This is because the annual town audit is designed to act as a financial control for the town. If the auditor was faced with auditing his/her own accounts or the accounts of his/her spouse the audit would lose its effect and would create a weakness in the financial control system of the town.

6. Auditors May Choose Not To Audit School Accounts If School District Agrees. 24 V.S.A. § 1681 provides that "town auditors shall meet at least twenty-five days before each annual town meeting, examine and adjust the accounts of all town and town school district officers and all other persons authorized by law to draw orders on the town treasurer…However, if the town has not elected to eliminate the office of auditor, and town auditors and the school board concur, the town auditors need not conduct an audit of school district accounts as to school district fiscal years which are audited by a public accountant." It is up to the auditors to decide whether to conduct an audit of the school district accounts. The auditors may only choose not to conduct such an audit if the school district concurs.

7. Failure to Post Ballots Requires Validation of Vote. The law provides that when any of the requirements as to notice or warning of an annual or special municipal meeting have been omitted or not complied with, the omission or noncompliance may be corrected and legalized by vote at a regular meeting or special meeting of the municipality. 17 V.S.A. § 2662. When a town is voting an issue by Australian Ballot, not only does the town have to post the warning, but it is also required to post the ballot at least ten days before the vote. Failure to post will not invalidate the vote so long as the vote is ratified at a later meeting. 17 V.S.A.§2522.

8. Towns Must Have a Policy On Sexual Harassment. Vermont state law requires towns to adopt an employment policy prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace. 21 V.S.A. § 495h. VLCT has a model ordinance to assist you. The policy must be posted in a prominent place in the workplace and must be given to each employee. The policy must include:

A statement that sexual harassment in the workplace is unlawful;

A statement that it is unlawful to retaliate against an employee for filing a complaint of sexual harassment or for cooperating in an investigation of sexual harassment;

A description and examples of sexual harassment;

A statement of the range of consequences for employees who commit sexual harassment;

If the employer has more than five employees, a description of the process for filing internal complaints about sexual harassment and the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the person or persons to whom complaints should be made; and

The complaint process of the appropriate state and federal employment discrimination enforcement agencies, and directions as to how to contact such agencies.

9. Selectboard Must Take Steps To Protect Employee From Ongoing Harassment. In one town a member of the public was regularly coming into the town office and making inappropriate sexual comments to one of the town employees. It is the selectboard or town manager’s responsibility (or the town clerk, if it is his or her assistant who is feeling harassed) to take steps to protect employees from harassment from the public. While the law recognizes that the board does not control what members of the public might do, it nevertheless requires the employer to take some action, if reasonably possible, to protect the employee from being subjected to the harassing conduct. 21 V.S.A. §495h.

10. Local Health Officer Appointed By Health Commissioner. Under Vermont law the Commissioner of Health appoints a local health officer for each town or city upon a recommendation of the selectboard. Generally the board will submit only one name to the Commissioner. If the local board of health (which is made up of the selectboard and the health officer) requests it in writing, the Commissioner may appoint one or more deputy local health officers. In addition, if the board fails to make a recommendation, the Commissioner must appoint a local health officer after giving thirty days' notice in writing to the selectboard. 18 V.S.A. § 601.Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment was made.

11. Town Compensates Health Officer. Although the health officer is appointed by the Commissioner of Health, the officials is paid (if at all) by the town. The selectboard can decide what is appropriate compensation. In addition, the board may reimburse local health officers for all reasonable expenses they incur. 18 V.S.A. § 602.

12. Health Officer Protected From Lawsuit As State Employee. Vermont law provides that "actions taken by local health officers . . . shall be considered to be actions taken by state employees . . . for the purposes of [the obligation of the state to defend the lawsuit and sovereign immunity] if such actions occurred within the scope of such person's duties. 18 V.S.A. §624.

13. Municipalities Can Regulate ATVs. Vermont law gives towns the power to adopt ordinances to regulate the time, manner and location or operation of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) within the town limits. The ordinance cannot prohibit a person from operating a registered ATV solely on private property - but it can prevent the ATV from operating on public roads. 23 V.S.A. § 3510. Although the ATV law is pretty specific already, the benefit of adopting a town ordinance is that, insofar as it restates and expands on existing law it will empower the town to enforce violations.

14. Selectboard May Open Highway To ATVs But New Law Requires ATVs to Be Registered and Inspected If On Highway. The general rule is that all terrain vehicles (ATVs) may not be operated along a public highway unless the road is not being maintained during the snow season or unless the highway has been opened to ATV travel by the board and is so posted by the municipality. The law also provides an exception for an all-terrain vehicle being used for agricultural purposes. This ATV may not be operated closer than three feet from the traveled portion of any highway for the purpose of traveling within the confines of the farm. 23 V.S.A. Chapter 31.

Note that a new law provides that an ATV on a highway is considered to be a motor vehicle and therefore, must be registered and inspected. 23 V.S.A. 3501(5). Unfortunately the Department of Motor Vehicles does not register ATVs and the inspection criteria for motor vehicles are not applicable to ATVs. This means that until the law is changed we are advising towns not to open their roads since in doing so they put ATV owners who use the road at risk of receiving a ticket for violating the law. We will be asking the legislature to address the law's inconsistency in January.

15. Landowner Who Permits ATV Travel Is Protected From Liability. Vermont law protects all public or private landowners from liability for any property damage or personal injury sustained by any person operating or riding as a passenger on an all-terrain on the public or private landowner's property. This rule will apply whether or not the landowner has given permission to use the land, unless the landowner charges a cash fee for the use of the property or unless damage or injury is intentionally inflicted by the landowner. 23 V.S.A. § 3510.

16. Citizens Can’t Force Vote To Overturn Town Policy. Vermont law allows the voters to bring in a petition to force a public vote to rescind an ordinance adopted by the selectboard. 24 V.S.A. Chapter. 59. There is no similar law to permit the voters to rescind a policy of the selectboard. While the voters can certainly inform the board of their feelings about the particular policy – and they can show their unhappiness by not re-electing the board members at town meeting – the law does not give the voters the power to force the selectboard to bring a town policy to a vote of the people.

17. Smoking Is Prohibited In Public Areas of Public Buildings. Smoking is prohibited in the common areas of all enclosed indoor places of public access and publicly owned buildings and offices. 18 V.S.A. § 1742.

18. Towns With Ten Or More Employees Need Written Smoking Policy. Employers must adopt a smoking policy that must either prohibit smoking throughout the workplace or restrict smoking to designated enclosed smoking areas. Note that for purposes of determining smoking policy for schools with school boards, the employer is the school board. 18 V.S.A. § 1422. For the purpose of the town, the employer is the selectboard. 24 V.S.A. § 1121, 1122. The requirement that the smoking policy be reduced to writing only applies to employers who regularly employ at least ten employees who work more than 15 hours per week. As an alternative to a ban on smoking in the workplace an employer may establish a smoking policy that permits smoking in designated unenclosed smoking areas if the layout of the workplace is such that smoking will not be a physical irritation to any nonsmoking employee in the workplace and three-fourths of the employees in the workplace agree. 18 V.S.A. § 1423.

19. Employer May Not Permit Smoking In Areas Commonly Open To The Public. No smoking policy can permit smoking in areas commonly open to the public. For schools, this includes any enclosed location at which instruction or other school-sponsored functions are occurring and students are present. 18 V.S.A. § 1416.

20. Towns Can Adopt Smoking Ordinances. The law permits municipalities to adopt smoking ordinances that are at least as restrictive as the state law. 18 V.S.A. §1746. The ordinance can include a complete ban on smoking in public places, but must at least protect the rights of nonsmokers as much as the general state law.

21. Selectboard Can Decide Whether To Maintain Class Four Road. Vermont law permits the selectboard to decide whether to maintain or not maintain class four roads so that they can be traveled all seasons of the year. The fact that some class four roads are maintained does not force the board to maintain all similar roads. The selectboard makes its decision on a case-by-case basis considering the "convenience of the inhabitants" and the "public good." 19 V.S.A. §310(b). At minimum, however, the town must maintain bridges and culverts of class four roads or risk liability for resulting damages. 19 V.S.A. § 985.

22. Trails Are Not Maintained. Town highways that are designated trails do not have to be maintained at all – including their bridges and culverts. The trail must be open to the public but the town can prevent motorized vehicles from using the trail. In order to change the classification of a class 4 road to a trail the town must go through the procedures for reclassifying a road set out in 19 V.S.A. Chapter 7. This includes holding hearings on the matter to determine public good and necessity. The abutting landowners must be given notice of the hearing and they can appeal the decision within thirty days to the District Court who will appoint a commission to review the decision.

23. Voters Cannot Force School To Reinstate Busing. In a couple school districts this fall the board discontinued school bus service. School district voters who may disagree with the decision cannot force the reinstatement of bus service through petition and public vote. That is because Vermont school law leaves to the school board alone the decision about how to spend money appropriated by the voters. 16 V.S.A. §562(8). In addition, the law also specifically requires the school board to set a transportation policy for the school. The courts hold that this transportation policy can be to provide no busing. For this reason, the only way to get the bus service reinstated would be to convince a school board that it is in the best interest of the students and the district to provide transportation.

24. The Public Has The Right To Written Comment From School Board. At every public meeting of a school board, the board is obliged to allow a reasonable opportunity for public comment on the issues before the board. One of the differences between school board law and that for selectboards is the requirement that a school board give its reasons in writing for any action, if requested to do so by any member of the public. 16 V.S.A.§ 554. In addition, members of the public and the press may not be precluded from taping or videotaping the meetings so long as they are not unduly disruptive.

25. Assistant Treasurer Does Not Have To Be A Resident. Nothing in Vermont law requires the assistant treasurer to be a resident of the town. 24 V.S.A. §1573. A town treasurer may appoint an assistant treasurer and may revoke the appointment at any time. Note that, if after written request from the selectboard to appoint an assistant treasurer, the town or city treasurer fails for ten days to do so, the selectboard may appoint an assistant treasurer and may revoke the appointment at any time. An assistant treasurer, during the temporary absence or disability of the treasurer, performs the duties of treasurer.