1. 1. Selectboard can create temporary rights of way to remove lumber. The law gives the selectboard the authority to order a landowner to permit a neighbor to cross his or her lands in order to remove lumber, wood or other materials. 19 V.S.A. § 958. The right of way must be restored to its original condition after the removal of the lumber and the board may set the length of time and conditions for the use of the right of way, and can order it to be closed or discontinued when, in the judgment of the board, it is necessary.

2. 19 V.S.A. § 959.

3. 2. Selectboard must hold hearing before granting a temporary right of way. Before it grants a right of way over a person’s property the board must give 30 days written notice to the property owner or any interested person (like a person who might be leasing the property) of when the board will inspect the property and take testimony. In order to grant a temporary right of way the board must decide on the necessity, and establish conditions, including requiring a payment to the landowner for any damages to the property. It must file its decision with the clerk within ten days and send it to all interested parties. Note that the board can deny the request for a temporary right of way, even if by denying the request the landowner cannot remove his or her lumber. 19 V.S.A. § 923.

4. 3. Coin drops must be approved by selectboard. Vermont law makes it illegal for people to stand in the roadway to solicit from passing vehicles. However, if the selectboard approves, a not-for-profit or municipal organization can conduct coin drops or other solicitations (except on limited access highways). Before it grants a request to conduct a coin drop the board must be sure that the proposed activities or location would not create a safety hazard or cause undue traffic congestion. The board must also be sure that organization has adequate liability insurance. Note that the law prohibits children who are under 16 to participate in coin drop solicitations. 23 V.S.A. § 1056.

5. 4. Board must warn public before sale of municipal property. Unless a municipal charter provides otherwise, if the legislative body of a town or village wants to sell municipal real estate, the board must post a notice of the terms of the proposed sale in at least three public places within the municipality, including the clerk’s office, and publish the notice in a local paper at least 30 days prior to the date of the proposed sale. The sale may go through unless a petition signed by five percent of the legal voters of the municipality objecting to the proposed conveyance is presented to the municipal clerk within 30 days of the date of posting and publication of the notice. If a petition is received the board must put the question of the sale to a vote. If the board wishes it may circumvent the notice and petition process and simply put to public vote the issue of whether the community should sell a particular municipal property. If a majority of the voters of the municipality present and voting vote to approve the proposed conveyance, the real estate may be conveyed. 24 V.S.A. § 1061.

6. 5. Board may convey certain property without public input. The legislative body of a town or village may authorize the sale of municipal real estate if the sale is related to the control, maintenance, operation, construction, relocation or abandonment of highways or public water, sewer or electric system, or involves real estate used for housing or urban renewal projects. 24 V.S.A. § 1061.

7. 6. Municipal property is conveyed by agent to sell real estate. Although the decision about whether to sell municipal property is made by the legislative body of the town or village or the voters of the municipality, the papers that effectuate that sale are signed by an agent elected or appointed to sell property. The certificate of election (if elected) or appointment (if appointed) must be recorded by the clerk.

8. 24 V.S.A. § 1061.

9. 7. E-Mail addresses are not exempt from public disclosure. All records that are produced or acquired in the course of town or school business are public records unless an exception in the law permits them to be kept confidential. Because the law does not include an exemption for e-mail addresses that are collected by the town (except insofar as an employee’s home e-mail address might be considered personal personnel information, or a student’s e-mail address might be considered private under school privacy laws) this information will be available to the public. 1 V.S.A. § 317.

8. Any voter in town may work at polls, except candidates in contested races. Any person who lives in the town who is on the voter checklist may be appointed as an assistant election worker by the BCA. (Note that pending legislation will permit the BCA to appoint 16 and 17 year olds to work at the polls as well.) However, the law prevents an individual from serving as an election official in any election in which his or her name appears on a ballot as a candidate for any office unless he or she is the only candidate for that office, or unless he or she is running for moderator, justice of the peace, town clerk, clerk-treasurer, ward clerk, or inspector of elections. 17 V.S.A. § 2456.

9. Zoning Administrator may staff Zoning Board during most deliberations. Except for appeals from decisions of the zoning administrator, the zoning administrator may staff the deliberative sessions of the zoning board of adjustment or development review board. The zoning administrator may produce copies of bylaws, past decisions of the board, etc. upon request, but the zoning administrator should not participate in making the decision.

10. Minutes of all public bodies including committees and subcommittees of public boards must be 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. 17 V.S.A.§ 312 requires that minutes be made available for inspection and copying within five days of the meeting. The minutes can be marked or stamped DRAFT until the board approves them, but they must be made available upon request.

11. Selectboard is not required to approve minutes. If a selectboard fails to review and approve of minutes of a prior meeting there is no legal consequence. That is because all the law requires is that minutes of a meeting be available for public inspection at least five working days following the meeting. The minutes are once piece of evidence of what decisions were made at a meeting. And, while approved minutes will have greater weight in the event that they are needed as evidence in court, unapproved minutes will be considered as well. In no event will the failure to approve minutes call into question the legality of what occurred at a meeting. 1 V.S.A. § 312(b).

12. Town should not generally use public funds to maintain private roads. The Vermont constitution prohibits use of public funds for private benefit. For this reason we believe it is bad practice for towns to use public money to maintain private roads. However, in some circumstances it is acceptable - for instance where there is a public health or safety reason. (e.g. If there is a low-income disabled individual on the road who has frequent or possible serious need of emergency services . . .) Note that some towns will grade private roads and fix culverts at the request of the landowners who will pay the town for the work.

13. Clerks can reject incomplete PTR. The law requires town clerks to accept a PTR only if it is "complete and regular on its face." 32 V.S.A. § 9607. The department of Property Valuation and Review has taken the position that what this means is that the PTR must include all "information that the commissioner of taxes may reasonably require for the proper administration of [the transfer tax]," along with the flood, subdivision and Act 250 disclosure certificates. 32 V.S.A. § 9606 (b)(c). (This includes PTR form sections A; B; L or M through P; the section entitled "Flood and Subdivision Regulations and Act 250 certificates"; the parties must sign the form; and, if the property is enrolled in current use, the parties are obligated to fill in section K, pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 3757(e).) A town clerk can require more than this minimal information and may return forms that are not so complete.

14. Delinquent Tax Collector may not put tax money in a personal account. The law requires the delinquent tax collector to pay over to the town treasurer all money collected every two months and when requested in writing by the selectboard. 32 V.S.A. § 4646. The collector of delinquent taxes must never put the collected money into a personal account, but should instead set up a delinquent tax account (if it is interest-bearing all interest on principal and interest in the account goes to the town) for holding the receipts in between the times the money is paid over to the town. When the money is paid over to the town it should include the delinquent tax collector’s fee. The treasurer must take out the proper withholding then issue a town check in the amount due the delinquent tax collector.

15. Selectboard fills School Board vacancy with the advice of the school board. 16 V.S.A. § 424 provides that when there is a vacancy on the school board, the selectboard "with the advice of the remaining school board members, within 30 days of the creation of the vacancy, appoint a qualified person to fill a vacancy in the town school board, until an election at a special or annual meeting is held." As a practical matter this means that the school board considers applicants for the open position (if any) and then makes a recommendation of one or more individuals to the selectboard. If the selectboard is not satisfied with the recommendations it may ask the school board to send them new names.

16. Petition may be withdrawn by withdrawing signatures. A petition to consider an article at a special meeting cannot simply be withdrawn by those who submitted it. Rather, a petition can be withdrawn (or made invalid) when those who signed the petition call and remove their names from the petition in sufficient number to make the petition no longer valid.

17. Polling places must be accessible to people with disabilities. Each polling place must be in an accessible public place in the voting district (unless all districts in your town vote at one polling place) as designated by the Board of Civil Authority; unless the voters, at an annual or special meeting, designate a different place. 17 V.S.A. §§2501, 2502. Boards of Civil Authority and/or town voters must choose polling places that are ADA accessible. It is also a best practice to have all polling places in a nonsectarian building whenever possible. Although rulings in court cases in other states have upheld the use of a church all-purpose room when absolutely no other public place is available, it is a best practice to take this time between elections to find and designate a truly public place.

18. By 2006, when we must meet all of the requirements of the new federal law (Help America Vote Act), we are strongly suggesting that towns combine polling places wherever possible. Although your town may have more than one voting district (due to legislative apportionment), you can have all of your voting districts at one polling place if there is sufficient room for parking and subdividing the gym or auditorium into voting districts. If your town is all in one voting district, there is no need to have more than one polling place, and the BCA needs to designate only one polling place for the town.

19. Special town or special school district meetings may be held on any day chosen by the legislative body, so long as appropriately warned. If other town or school boards happen to be meeting on the same day, the meeting places need to be separated, but no law prevents several meetings from being scheduled simultaneously. Voters may not appreciate it if they are interested in attending all of the meetings, so we do suggest coordinating with a "master calendar" before scheduling, but law does not require it.

20. It's best not to schedule special meetings on Mondays. When voting on articles by Australian ballot, it is best practice NOT to schedule special town or special school district meeting on Mondays or the day after a holiday. Voters are accustomed to being able to pick up an absentee ballot on the day before the election, so select a day when the Town Clerk’s office will be open on the day before the election. Voters are also accustomed to having the Public Informational Hearing on the night before the election, and you don’t want that to fall on a Sunday or Holiday.

21. Reserve fund can be spent without vote if established for a particular purpose. If a town has established a reserve fund for a special purpose, such as a reserve fund for highway equipment, the statute provides that the reserve fund is to be under the control and direction of the legislative body (Selectboard or School Board). 17 V.S.A. §2804. Once a reserve fund is established and funded by town vote, the Board may expend the funds for such purposes for which the fund was established without another town vote. If the legislative body wants to spend those reserve funds for any other purpose, then the spending must be authorized by a majority of voters at an annual or special meeting.

22. Only those JPs residing in the Village can be on the Village BCA. The Board of Civil Authority of a village consists of the Justices of the town who reside in the village, the trustees of the village, and the village clerk. Other Justices of the Peace who reside in the town but not in the village cannot be involved in administering village elections. 17 V.S.A. §2103(5).

23. Village checklist includes those votes on the town checklist who live in the village. A village clerk shall automatically include all voters living within the village who are on the town checklist. 17 V.S.A. §2126. There is no need for the voter to apply separately to the village clerk.

24. BCA should purge checklist on a regular basis. We recommend that Board of Civil Authority meet at regular intervals to maintain the checklist, including sending the required notices to remove or purge names. The statute requires that by September 20 of each odd-numbered year, you must send a letter to the Office of the Secretary of State certifying that your checklist has been updated and that detailed records have been maintained 17 V.S.A. §2150(d)(7).

10. In our monthly Opinions we provide what we believe the law requires based upon our legal judgment, years of observing Vermont’s local government practices, and Vermont Court decisions. This information is intended as a reference guide only and should not replace the advice of legal counsel.

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