1. The BCA or voters establish polling places in a district. The law provides that all polling places must be in a public place in the voting district, unless the town chooses to have all voting districts at one polling place. The polling places are designated by the board of civil authority unless the voters designate a different polling place at an annual or special meeting. 17 V.S.A. §§2501, 2502.

2. Polling places must be accessible to all. When establishing its polling places, boards of civil authority and/or town voters must pick a polling place that is ADA accessible and it should choose a nonsectarian location. Note that courts have ruled in other states that the use of a church all-purpose room is only permissible when absolutely no other public place is available. Because Vermont law permits the town to establish a polling place that is outside of the district, this should almost never come up in Vermont. The goal is to make every voter feel comfortable and welcome, so it is a best practice to take this time between elections to find and designate a truly public place for your voting to take place.

3. BCA or voters can designate different polling locations for the primary and the general election. Because voter turnout is generally much lighter for primary elections some towns designate a different location for the primary election than for the general election. If the BCA votes to use a different polling place for the primary and general elections, the BCA should advertise this in the community in addition to the required posting of warnings. Clerks should notify the Elections Division of any changes as they post the locations on their website.

4. The BCA can set the voting hours so long as voting begins by 10:00 a.m. and all polls close at 7:00 p.m. The law permits the board of civil authority to meet from time to time to change the hours when the polling place is open for a particular election or for all future elections. It is our general advice that having consistent hours for voting helps voters know when they can count on the polling place to be open. That being said, if the BCA believes it is in the best interest of the municipality, the BCA can vote to change the hours for voting. 17 V.S.A.§2561.

5. The town clerk runs the elections unless another presiding officer is appointed. Vermont law provides that the town clerk is the presiding officer for all elections unless the town, by previous vote at an annual meeting or by charter, has provided otherwise. 17 V.S.A. §2452(a). However, if a town clerk will be unavailable or unable to serve at a particular election, then the board of civil authority must promptly appoint a voter of the town to serve as presiding officer. 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)

6. BCA appoints assistant election officials. The law contemplates that the elections are staffed by members of the board of civil authority. However, if there are not going to be enough members of the board of civil authority available to staff the polling places, then prior to the day of the election, the board of civil authority shall 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 shall 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 activity begins.

7. Town and school may borrow money from each other to manage cash flow. The selectboard and school board may loan money to each other secured by a note signed by the selectboard or school board, as the case may be. 16 V.S.A. §429. The note shall stipulate the terms and the notes shall be payable upon demand or mature within three months from the date of issue. Obviously, the boards need to have the funds available and be willing to cooperate. This is just a reminder that this option may be helpful in some towns and circumstances.

8. Special town or special school district meetings may be held on any day chosen by the legislative body, so long as appropriately warned. If more than one town or school boards want to meet on the same day, the meeting places need to be separated, but no law would prevent several meetings from being scheduled simultaneously. However, it may not be appreciated by voters who are interested in attending both or all of the meetings. We suggest that it is a best practice for the chair of the boards to consult with each other before signing the official warning, but it is not required by law.

9. The law permits a quick turnaround when re-voting a budget by Australian ballot. When a town or school district or other municipal corporation uses the Australian ballot system of voting for the budget, if the budget is defeated, the legislative body may warn another election on a revised budget with at least seven days warning with at least five days notice of the informational meeting. 17 V.S.A. §2680(c) and (g). The vote must also be in the same location as the first vote. 17 V.S.A. §2680(c). We suggest that boards consider giving at least 10 to 15 days notice and try to keep the voting on Tuesdays when voters expect elections but the statute provides latitude for failed budget circumstances. Also, the board needs to make arrangements with the town or school clerk so that absentee ballots are available as soon as possible. The normal 30 to 40 day warning period for a special meeting or election does not apply to Australian ballot budget votes when the budget has failed to pass at all prior annual and special meetings.

10. Minutes must be available within five days of the meeting. The Vermont public records law provides that minutes of ALL meetings of public bodies, including committees and subcommittees, shall be available for inspection and/or for purchase of copies upon request after five days from the date of any meeting. Some boards mistakenly believe that they can wait until five days after the minutes have been approved at the next meeting of the board. This is not the case. Draft minutes must be made available five days after the meeting. The person drafting the minutes can boldly stamp them "DRAFT" on each page, or write DRAFT across the top, but the intent of the statute is that interested persons must be able to review the minutes after five days from the meeting. 1 V.S.A. §312(b) (2)

11. Minutes of meetings do not need to be posted by the town. 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 only requires that minutes be made available for inspection and copying within five days of the meeting.

12. Minutes of meetings are not transcripts. Meeting minutes must contain at least the following: list of board members present; list of all other active participants; all motions, proposals, and resolutions made, and what action taken or disposition was made; and the results of any votes, with a record of individual votes IF a roll call vote was requested. If a clerk or secretary to the board attempts to include too much additional discussion with attribution to participants, or to characterize discussions, a board can be forced to spend too much time "correcting" the minutes. Minutes are not intended to be a transcript of the discussion but rather a clear summary of action taken for future reference. 1 V.S.A.§312(b)(1)

13. Treasurer can often serve as assistant clerk. In towns that have two different people serving as clerk and treasurer it is not uncommon for the two officials to serve as each other’s assistants. This is acceptable so long as the assistant clerk does not keep the records of the town orders. 24 VSA § 1622 provides that "the chairman of the board of selectmen shall keep or cause to be kept a single record of all orders drawn by the board showing the number, date, to whom payable, for what purpose and the amount of each such order. All other officers authorized by law to draw orders upon the town treasurer shall keep a like record…If the records of orders named in this section are made by an assistant clerk, the assistant clerk shall not be the town treasurer, or the wife or husband of such town treasurer, or any person acting in the capacity of clerk for the town treasurer." The purpose of this law is to ensure there is a proper audit trail – ensuring that the person who keeps the records of orders is different from the person writing the checks on those orders.

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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. 24 V.S.A. § 1061.

18. 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.

19. Listers can’t be forced to use an appraiser. The law gives the listers the duty to examine and appraise the property in the town for the purpose of setting the grand list. The law provides that "When a board of listers are of the opinion that expert advice or assistance is needed in making any appraisal required by law, they may, with approval of selectmen or by vote of the town, employ such assistance." 32 V.S.A. § 4041. No law would require them to do so.

20. Selectboard may hire appraiser when the town cannot find enough listers to perform duties. In 2003, in response to the difficulties many towns were having finding people willing to serve as listers in their towns, and the need to keep the town’s appraisals up to date, the legislature added the following provision. "Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, in the event the board of listers of a municipality falls below a majority and the selectboard is unable to find a person or persons to appoint as a lister or listers, the selectboard may appoint an assessor to perform the duties of a lister. . . until the next annual meeting." 17 V.S.A. § 2651c.The appointed person need not be a resident of the municipality and has the same powers and is subject to the same duties and penalties as a duly elected lister for the municipality.

21. Listers should never appraise their own property or property of family members. It is a conflict of interest for a lister to appraise property that is his or her own, or the property of a family member. It is important that the community have faith in the objectivity of the tax appraisals. An important way to maintain that faith is by ensuring that listers do not participate in assessments of property where they might have a real or financial interest.