How delightful then to disappoint those expectations with a good word, a friendly smile and prompt service. It’s the best revenge there is against the myth of government as unresponsive, lazy, ornery and downright contrary-minded—the martinet with a grudge, the little person with sudden power based entirely on the word "no," the snooty, the bemused and the unenlightened.

Not that a mirror held to many who come through that door wouldn’t reflect the same attitude that they expect to see across the counter. It may be defensive; like the man who gets a flat tire on a remote stretch of dirt road late at night, somewhere deep in the hills. He finds his jack is missing, and trudges up the road to borrow one grumbling to himself . "I’ll bet the people at that next house won’t be happy to be awakened by me at this hour," he says. He walks some more. "I’ll bet they’ll tell me ‘no,’ because they don’t trust me, don’t know me." He stops. "I’ll bet they have a spare jack and they won’t loan it to me because I’m not a native!" Now he’s really hot. He pounds on the door of the house. After a long spell, the porch light comes on, and a sleepy man in pajamas opens it and asks what’s up. The traveler explodes: "You can keep your damn jack. I wouldn’t use it if you gave it to me," and stomps off in the night, leaving the man at the door puzzled by the encounter.

So the secret is to do just what they least expect. Treat them like they were neighbors. Go out of your way to help. Ask them how they made it through the winter (the one in the middle of January and the one that lasted through April and May). Remind them to register to vote or get a dump (sorry, landfill) permit or tell them some news about the town that will be useful to them. Ask if they want copies before they ask. Thank them for coming in, and wish them a good day.

Boy, that drives some people nuts! They aren’t satisfied with stopping by to pay a tax, file a zoning permit or inquire about a highway. They want something else, some confrontation. To them, the "town" is the first person they meet, and everything they have suffered over the last year—the skid on the hill, the slow pace of the school bus in front of them when they’re late for work, the grader that makes too severe a cut in the front lawn, the plow that fills in their carefully manicured driveway a few minutes after they’ve gone in for a second cup of coffee—all of that is just percolating in their psyches, waiting to be released when they next visit the town office. They have come to vent.

The best strategy is to give them no satisfaction. "The taxes are too high in this town." You answer, "You know, they really are. It’s just awful." Mr. Crabby continues: "More taxes and still the potholes." You can’t disagree, "You know, you’re right. No matter what we do, those potholes still come back in the spring." He just isn’t satisfied until he finds something to disagree with you about, such as, "I don’t like this town. It’s never been anything but trouble to me." You smile. "Is there something else I can do for you?"

It’s hard. You have work to do. These people just keep coming. Some days it seems there’s no time to get anything done for the interruptions. Of course, they will still come, not on your schedule but because of theirs. So you have a choice. You can look up over your glasses and give them the best chilly look you can muster, or you can make a real art of the encounter, and give them what they want, if it is at all possible; help them when they need it, leave them alone when they don’t, always with a pleasant and dedicated smile. Public relations 101. The customer is always right. We are here to serve the public, and the public just arrived.

When you stop at the store on your way home, think about the clerk. Think about the cashier, the guy at the meat or fish counter, the pharmacist, the bank teller. How do you treat them? How would you like to be treated? What goes around... Niceness can be a weapon in the right hands. Practice it.

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Archive’s Receives Society of American Archivists' 2002 Hamer-Kegan Award

1. Floor Voted Town School District Budget Requires 30 Day Warning for Reconsideration. If the town school district budget is defeated in a town that votes its budget from the floor, the school board must warn any subsequent vote on its budget at least 30 days prior to the special meeting. Vermont law allows for a shorter warning period for budgets that are voted by Australian budget (7 days) in 17 V.S.A. §2680, but there is no such exception for floor votes.

2. Town Clerk Is Generally Presiding Officer. The town clerk is the presiding officer of a town’s election unless the town has previously voted at an annual meeting to provide otherwise. 17 V.S.A. §2452(a). If a town clerk is unavailable to serve, or wishes to recuse him or herself, then the board of civil authority must appoint a replacement. The presiding officer must be a voter of the town. Also, if the town has more than one polling place, the board of civil authority must appoint a presiding officer for each additional polling place. 17 V.S.A.§2452(b)

3. Town Clerk May Preside Over Election Even If He Or She Is On The Ballot. A Town Clerk that is running for re-election can still serve as an election official and as presiding officer in an Australian ballot election. 17 V.S.A.§2456. Ordinarily, a person who is running for office may not serve as an election official for an election at which his or her name is on the ballot. However, the Vermont statutes specifically provide an exception to disqualification for the Town Clerk, Justices of the Peace, moderator, and, in certain charter towns, ward clerks and inspectors of elections. If the town elects officers from the floor, the moderator is in charge of the election. However, a person may not serve as an election official (counter) during the election to fill any office for which he or she is a nominee during elections from the floor.

4. BCA May Appoint Assistant Election Officials. If not enough members of the board of civil authority are available to staff the polling places in a town, then prior to the day of the election, the board of civil authority must appoint a sufficient number of voters from each district to serve as assistant election officials in each polling place. 17 V.S.A. §2454. The board must make every effort to appoint an equal number of legal voters of the town (and district) from each major party. These election officials must be sworn in before the polls open and election activity begins.

5. Election Workers Must Be Trained. The presiding officer and assistant election officials designated by the board of civil authority must attend at least one election training workshop every two years. 17 V.S.A. §2457(b). The first of these workshops, focused on the duties of clerks and presiding officers, will be presented by the Office of the Secretary of State at the June 28^th meeting of the Vermont Clerks and Treasurers Association at the Vermont Technical Center, Randolph. We will also be conducting six elections workshops around the state in August for presiding officers and all elections officials. Please see the announcement on page 10 of this newsletter for places, dates, and times.

6. Clerk Sets Own Office Hours. Vermont law allows the town clerk to determine what hours his or her office will be open. 24 V.S.A.§1165. Section 1165 provides that the "files and records in the office of the clerks shall be available for inspection upon proper request at all reasonable hours." What is reasonable depends upon the size and particular circumstances of individual towns. The town clerk’s hours should be posted near the town clerk’s office and should be sent to the Elections Division of the Office of the Secretary of State so that the hours can be included in the Town Clerk and Treasurer Guide.

7. Check Residency Requirements Before Running For House or Senate. In order to run for the Vermont Senate or House of Representative a person must have "resided in the state for two years, the last of which must be in the district for which he is elected." 17 V.S.A. §1892 (See also Vermont Constitution, Chapter II, §15). The 1 or 2 year period is counted back from January 2003, when the newly elected legislators will take office. If redistricting has changed the district in which a candidate lives the candidate will meet the residency requirements for the new district so long as he or she has lived at his or her current address for the required year.

8. Minutes Of Meetings Do Not Have To Be Posted. 17 V.S.A.§312 requires that minutes of public meeting be made available for inspection and copying within five days of the meeting. Although some towns or boards post minutes on the bulletin board or on a website, this is done as a courtesy only—the law does not require posting of minutes. Note that these "unapproved" minutes can be marked or stamped DRAFT until they are approved by the board, but they must be made available upon request.

9. BCA Must Follow Statutory Notice Requirements For Its Regular Meetings. 24 V.S.A.§ 801 sets out notice requirements for meetings of the board of civil authority. Section 801 provides that "meetings of the board shall be called by the town clerk, or by one of the selectmen, on application, by giving written notice to each member, and by posting a notice in two or more public places in the town at least five days previous to the meeting."

10. BCA May Call A Special Meeting If Short Timeframe. When necessary, the BCA can use the notice requirements in 1 V.S.A. § 312(c)(2) to hold a special meeting if it must take action and there is no time to use the regular meeting warning provisions in 24 V.S.A.§801. The open meeting law requires the town to notify the board members as well as the public and any press that has asked to be notified of the time place and purpose of a special meeting at least 24 hours before the meeting. This does not have to be a formal agenda - but the general purpose of the meeting must be provided in the meeting notice. The notice must be posted in or near the municipal clerk's office and in at least two other public places in the municipality.

11. BCA Should Meet Regularly To Add Names To Checklist. In towns that have not yet voted to allow the clerk to add names to the checklist (17 V.S.A. §2144b), the BCA must meet as often as necessary to add names to the voter checklist. 17 V.S.A. §2142 provides that the town clerk must call such meetings of the board of civil authority as may be necessary before an election or at other times for revision of the checklist. Note that it is important to add names to the checklist between elections so that the individuals can be appointed to fill vacancies in town offices or so that the person can run for office or sign petitions in the town.

12. Fees Paid To Officials Must Have Withholding Taken From Them. The IRS considers elected officials who receive fees to be employees of the town. This means that the delinquent tax collector or town clerk who gets paid fees should remit those fees to the treasurer who must then pay them back out to the official with a reduction for payroll taxes (income tax withholding, medicare and social security taxes.)

13. No Motion Needs To Be Made After Deliberative Session. When a Development Review Board finishes its deliberative session it generally directs one of the board members or an administrative assistant to draft a decision (findings of fact and conclusion of law) for circulation among the board members. The written decision should reflect the discussion of the board – but board members can suggest changes or additions to the decision. When at least a majority of the board is satisfied, the majority board members issue the decision by signing it. Dissenters should be noted. At no time in the process is a formal motion required to make a permit decision.

14. Appeals From Planning Commission Go To Court. Appeals from the planning commission, zoning board of adjustment and development review board all go to the Environmental Court. An appeal from a decision of any of these boards must be taken within thirty days of the decision becoming final. The Zoning Board only hears appeals from actions of the zoning administrator. 24 V.S.A.§§ 4464, 4471, 4475.

Major Party (Democratic, Progressive and Republican) candidates for the Vermont Senate and House of Representative MUST FILE PETITIONS WITH THE SENATORIAL OR REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT CLERK BEFORE THE CLOSE OF BUSINESS ON MONDAY, JULY 15, 2002. Petitions for the Senate must contain 100 signatures and candidates for Representative must submit at least 50 signatures.

The Senatorial or Representative Clerk must FAX, if possible, or mail the original consent form for each candidate to the Office of the Secretary of State immediately. (Fax to (802) 828-5171) The clerk shall examine the petitions to see that they contain a sufficient number of legible signatures. However, unless the clerk has reason to believe that the petitions are defective, the clerk does not have to verify signatures on the Primary Petitions. 17 V.S.A. §2357. The clerk shall retain the Primary Petitions until 30 days after the General Election, and can then destroy the petitions. 17 V.S.A. §2360

 
State Archives in association with the Vermont Historical Records Advisory Board and the Vermont Museum and Gallery Alliance, held two workshops on document conservation on May 22 (Milton) and May 23 (Rutland Town). There are now plans to produce a handout on "How to Work With a Conservator" that should be available by mid-summer.

The Archives Division, through the Vermont Historical Records Advisory Board, has awarded a grant to the Center for Rural Studies to help fund a Municipal Electronic Records Management Working Group. The purpose is to work with municipal officials to determine what information currently exists in electronic format, address unique issues associated with managing electronic records, and provide information and guidance to municipal officials on how to best manage their electronic records. For more information contact Chip Sawyer at the Center for Rural Studies: wsawyer@zoo.uvm.edu or 802 656-0892.

As Vermont municipalities consider the cost, risks and advantages to presenting their records or information on-line it is interesting to track what other governments are doing. New Zealand has putting all its records relating to land titles on-line. To learn more about their project, go to: http://www.landonline.govt.nz/whatisit/introduction.htm

 
We are pleased to announce the publication of the Best Practice Standards For Indexing Land Record Instruments. The purpose of this guidebook is to provide Vermont’s town clerks with a set of best practice standards to encourage uniform indexing of land records in towns across Vermont. With consistent land record indices we can better serve the public who rely on the land records of our towns, and it will help Vermont towns prepare for a future where indices, and perhaps even land records, will be available on-line.

The new guidebook is the product of over a year of hard work by a committee that was convened by the Secretary of State and the Vermont Municipal Clerks and Treasurer’s Association. The committee was made up of clerks, paralegals, attorneys, title insurers, land surveyors and others who work with and use local land records. The high quality of the guidebook is in direct proportion to the experience and commitment of the committee members. We want to applaud the committee for its hard work!

Download the Best Practice Standards For Indexing Land Record Instruments or contact the VMCTA or the Secretary of State’s Office to have a document mailed to you.

Saturday, June 1

Deadline for listers to lodge personal property inventories with town clerk. 32: 4007

Monday, June 3

(Within 60 days of petition) If a petition for reconsideration or rescission of a question considered or voted at Town Meeting has been filed, this is the last day in which a municipal vote may be held at a duly-warned meeting. 17: 2661(b)

Tuesday, June 4

(90 days after Town Meeting election) In towns using Australian ballot, town clerks may open and destroy used town meeting ballots and tally sheets, except as otherwise provided by law. 17:2590(d)

Sunday, June 30

End of fiscal year for all school districts, charter provisions not with-standing, and for municipalities that have adopted July 1 through June 30 fiscal year calendar. 32:1, 24:1683(b)(c)