Addendum A; Representative Town Meetings

V.S.A. tit. 24 Appendix, ch. 107, subch. 10

in effect

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 107, § 10.1 Representative Town Meeting; authorized

10.1. Representative Town Meeting; authorized The Town of Brattleboro is hereby authorized to establish the representative form of Town Meeting as hereinafter set forth. For the purpose of this subchapter, the term Town Meeting shall include meetings of the Town School District of Brattleboro.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 107, § 10.2 Districts; report of Selectboard; meetings; voting

10.2. Districts; report of Selectboard; meetings; voting (a) The Selectboard shall divide the territory of the Town into four districts and shall define their respective boundaries. The districts shall be so established as to consist of compact and contiguous territory and shall be bounded so far as possible by the center line of streets or by geographical limits. The district boundaries shall be reviewed and, if need be, wholly or partially revised, or the number of districts changed, by the Selectboard, every five years thereafter, and in any year when so directed by vote of the annual Representative Town Meeting held that year. (b) On or before the 15th day of November of any year in which said districts are established, revised, or changed as provided in subsection (a) of this section, the Selectboard shall file a report of their proceedings with the Town Clerk, with maps and descriptions of all of the districts, and shall cause a copy of such maps and descriptions to be posted at the municipal building and in at least one public place in each district. The division of the Town into districts, and any revision of such districts, shall take effect upon the date of the filing of the report thereof by the Selectboard with the Town Clerk. (c) Elections of the Town Meeting members for the several districts shall be held on the first Tuesday in March, at the same hour, and at such places within the Town as the Selectboard shall direct in the warning for such elections. Amended 2003, No. M-6, § 2.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 107, § 10.3 Election of Town Meeting members; certification of voters; Town Meeting membership; notice; qualification; responsibilities

10.3. Election of Town Meeting members; certification of voters; Town Meeting membership; notice; qualification; responsibilities (a)(1) At the first election of Town Meeting members to be held on the first Tuesday in March after the acceptance of this subchapter, the qualified voters of each district shall elect three Town Meeting members for every 180 voters or major fraction thereof, subject to the provisions of subsection (c) of this section. The first one-third elected in each district, in order of the number of votes received, shall serve for three years; the second one-third in the order of election shall serve for two years; and the remaining one-third in the order of election shall be elected to serve for one year. In the event of a tie vote the term of such members shall be designated by lot, and the presiding officer of the district shall certify the designation. All Town Meeting members shall serve for terms commencing on the day of their election. (2) Annually thereafter, on the first Tuesday in March, the voters and youth voters of each district shall in like manner elect for the term of three years one Town Meeting member for every 180 voters or major fraction thereof and shall also in like manner fill for the unexpired term or terms any vacancy or vacancies then existing in the number of Town Meeting members in such district, subject to the provisions of subsection (c) of this section. (3) The presiding officer of each district shall certify to the Town Clerk the results of the election in his or her district. (b) On the 15th day of December of any year in which said districts are established, revised, or changed, the Selectboard shall certify to the Town Clerk the total number of voters in each district and the total number of Town Meeting members each district is entitled to elect. (c) The total number of Town Meeting members shall in no event be more than 140 nor less than 100. If the total number of Town Meeting members on the basis set forth in subsection (a) of this section would be more than 140 or less than 100, then the Selectboard shall revise the proportion of representation so that the total number of Town Meeting members shall be no more than 140 nor less than 100, and the Selectboard shall set forth such proportion in their certification to the Town Clerk provided for in subsection (b) of this section. (d) After every election of Town Meeting members the Town Clerk shall forthwith mail to each member a notice of his or her election. (e) Every Town Meeting member shall be a qualified voter or youth voter in the Town and living in the district from which the member is chosen at the time of the member’s election. (f) In addition to the elected Town Meeting members hereinbefore provided for, the following shall be members ex officio: the Selectboard, school directors, Town Clerk, Town Treasurer, Moderator, and Town Representatives who are residents of Brattleboro. (g) A person shall not vote for Town Meeting members, Town officers, or upon any other matter unless his or her name appears upon the check list prepared for such meeting. (h) Town Meeting members shall be expected to attend the annual Town Meeting, all special Town meetings, and any other meetings where issues affecting Brattleboro taxpayers are voted on and all other relevant informational meetings. Amended 2003, No. M-6, § 2; 2023, No. M-15, § 2, eff. June 20, 2023.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 107, § 10.4 Nomination of candidates; preparation and delivery of ballots; return of unused ballots

10.4. Nomination of candidates; preparation and delivery of ballots; return of unused ballots (a)(1) Nomination of candidates for Town Meeting members shall be made by: (A) a certificate of nomination prepared by the Town Clerk that shall: (i) bear no political designation; and (ii) be signed by not fewer than 10 voters of the district in which the candidate lives; or (B) a notice of intent prepared by a Town Meeting Member on his or her own behalf. (2) A certificate of nomination or notice of intent shall be filed with the Town Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. on the sixth Monday preceding the election. (3) No certificate of nomination or notice of intent shall be valid in respect of any candidate whose written acceptance is not endorsed thereon or attached thereto when filed. (b) In addition to the ballots required by law for the election of Town and Town School District officers, and other questions to be determined by Australian ballot, the Town Clerk shall prepare a separate ballot for each district, which shall contain the names of all candidates for Town Meeting members from that district. (c) The Town Clerk shall cause to be delivered to the presiding officer of each district before the opening of the polls on the day of election the ballots to be used in such district, sealed and marked for such district, and a receipt shall be returned to him or her from the presiding officer thereof, which receipt, with a record of the number of ballots sent and the used and unused ballots, shall be returned to the Town Clerk with the check lists hereinbefore provided, and shall be preserved by the Town Clerk for six months. Amended 2015, No. M-22 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 17, 2016.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 107, § 10.5 Resignation or disqualification of members; vacancies; how filled

10.5. Resignation or disqualification of members; vacancies; how filled (a) A Town Meeting member may resign by filing a written resignation with the Town Clerk, and such resignation shall take effect on the date of such filing. A Town Meeting member who removes from the Town shall cease to be a Town Meeting member. A Town Meeting member who removes from the district from which he or she was elected to another district within the Town shall serve only until the next annual election of Town Meeting members. (b) Any vacancy in the full number of Town Meeting members from any district, whether arising from a failure of the voters thereof to elect, or from any other cause, shall be filled until the next annual election by the remaining Town Meeting members of the district by caucus assembled for that purpose. The presiding officer of the district shall certify such action to the Town Clerk.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 107, § 10.6 Voting; members to receive no compensation; quorum; warning

10.6. Voting; members to receive no compensation; quorum; warning (a) At any Town Meeting held after the acceptance of this subchapter, the right to vote on all articles in the warning, except for matters voted on by all voters of the Town by Australian ballot, shall be limited to the Town Meeting members. (b) The Town Meeting members as such shall receive no compensation. (c) The Town Meeting members shall be the judges of the election and qualifications of their members. (d) A majority of all the Town Meeting members shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may organize temporarily and may adjourn from time to time. (e) A majority vote of the Town Meeting members present and voting shall be necessary for the decision of any question, unless otherwise required by law. (f) The warning for any Town Meeting shall be prepared and posted in manner and form provided by law. The warning for the annual meeting shall include the articles to be voted upon by the Representative Town Meeting in meeting assembled on the third Saturday following the first Tuesday in March at a time to be designated by the Selectboard. (g) All Town Meetings shall be public. Any qualified voter of the Town who is not a Town Meeting member may speak at any Representative Town Meeting but shall not vote. (h) In the absence of the duly elected Moderator, the Town Meeting members may designate a Moderator Pro Tem. Amended 2003, No. M-6, § 2.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 107, § 10.7 Articles in warning; action on

10.7. Articles in warning; action on The articles in the warning for every Town Meeting so far as they relate to the election of officers and to referenda and all matters to be acted upon by Australian ballot shall be so acted upon by the voters of the Town. All other articles in the warning for any Town Meeting shall be acted upon exclusively by Town Meeting members, including questions on municipal bonding issues. The polls at any annual or special Representative Town Meeting shall be opened not later than 10 o’clock in the forenoon and shall be closed 30 minutes following the recess of the Representative Town Meeting. Amended 2003, No. M-21 (Adj. Sess.), § 3.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 107, § 10.8 Referendum

10.8. Referendum No article in the warning shall at any Representative Town Meeting be finally disposed of by a vote to pass over, to lay upon the table, to postpone indefinitely, or take no action thereon. No vote passed at any Representative Town Meeting under any article in the warning, except a vote to adjourn, or a vote for the temporary borrowing of money in anticipation of taxes, shall be operative until the expiration of five days, exclusive of Sundays and holidays, from the adjournment of the meeting. If within said five days a petition, signed by not fewer than 250 voters of the Town, including at least 50 from each district, containing their names and addresses as they appear on the check list, or signed by not fewer than 50 Town Meeting members, be filed with the Selectboard requesting that the question or questions involved in such vote be submitted to the voters of the Town at large, then the Selectboard, within 14 days after the filing of the petition, shall call a special Town Meeting, which shall be held within 10 days after the issuing of the call for the sole purpose of presenting to the voters at large the question or questions so involved. The polls shall be opened not later than 10 o’clock in the forenoon and shall be closed not earlier than six o’clock in the evening, and all votes upon any questions so submitted shall be taken by ballot, and the check list shall be used in the several district meetings in the same manner as in the election of Town officers. The questions so submitted shall be determined by vote of the same proportion of voters at large voting thereon as would have been required by law of the Town Meeting members had the question been finally determined at a Representative Town Meeting. The question so submitted shall be stated upon the ballot in the same language and form in which it was stated when presented to said Representative Town Meeting by the Moderator as appears from the records of the said meeting. If such petition be not filed within the said period of five days, the vote of the Representative Town Meeting shall become operative upon the expiration of the said period. Amended 2003, No. M-6, § 2.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 107, § 10.9 Interpretation of Town acts

10.9. Interpretation of Town acts The Town, after the acceptance of this subchapter, shall continue to have the capacity to act through and to be bound by its Town Meeting members, who shall, when convened from time to time, constitute Representative Town Meetings; and the Representative Town Meeting shall exercise exclusively all powers vested in the voters of the Town. Action in conformity with all provisions of law now or hereafter applicable to the transaction of Town affairs in Town Meeting shall, when taken by any Representative Town Meeting in accordance with the provision of this subchapter, have the same force and effect as if such action had been taken in a Town Meeting open to all the voters of the Town as conducted before the establishment of representative Town Meeting government.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 107, § 10.10 Limitation

10.10. Limitation This subchapter shall not be deemed to abridge the right of the inhabitants of the Town to assembly and hold general meetings; nor shall this subchapter confer upon any Representative Town Meeting the power finally to commit the Town to any measure affecting its municipal existence without action thereon by the voters of the Town at large, using the ballot and the check list therefor.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 107, §§ 10.11-10.12 [Transitional provisions.]

Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/24APPENDIX/107Fetched: 10/21/2026