Public Utilities

V.S.A. tit. 24 Appendix, ch. 245, subch. 2

in effect

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 16 Waterworks

16. Waterworks (a) The Village shall have such powers, and the trustees shall have such duties, with reference to any waterworks that are in existence as set forth in 24 V.S.A. chapter 89 or any amendments thereto. (b) Without limiting the generality of subsection (a) of this section, the trustees shall have the supervision of such municipal water department, and shall make and establish all needful water rates, rules, and regulations for its control and operation.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 17 Definitions

17. Definitions The following terms when used in this subchapter shall have the following meaning: (1) “Acquire” shall mean to purchase, to acquire by eminent domain, to hire, to lease, to construct, to reconstruct, or to replace. (2) “Electric plant” shall mean the complete municipal electric generating, transmission, and distribution system now owned by the Village, together with any improvements thereto hereafter constructed or acquired, and the complete municipal natural, manufactured, or synthetic gas generating, piped transmission and piped distribution system now or hereafter owned by the Village, together with any improvements thereto hereafter constructed or acquired, and all other facilities, equipment, and appurtenances necessary or appropriate to such system, for the furnishing of electric power and energy or gas for lighting, heating, power, or any other purpose for which electric power and energy or gas can be used. Such term may include facilities for the production and distribution of steam and hot or chilled water, timberlands, or other fuel sources, facilities for the production, processing, transportation, and storage of fuel to be used in the production of utilities furnished by the Village, and innovative or experimental facilities for the utilization of conventional or other energy sources for the production of such utilities, including pilot or demonstration facilities. (3) “Electric service” shall mean the furnishing of the electric power and energy or gas for lighting, heating, power, or any other purposes for which electric power and energy or gas can be used. Such term may include the furnishing of steam and hot or chilled water. The Village shall also obtain a certificate of public good under 30 V.S.A. § 231 before it may sell gas services, so long as such a certificate is required under Vermont law in order for other persons to be authorized to sell such gas services. (4) “Communications plant” shall mean any and all parts of any communications system owned by the Village, whether using wires, cables, fiber optics, wireless, other technologies, or a combination thereof, and used for the purpose of transporting or storing information, in whatever forms, directions, and media, together with any improvements thereto hereafter constructed or acquired, and all other facilities, equipment, and appurtenances necessary or appropriate to such system. However, the term “communications plant,” and any regulatory implications or any restrictions under this charter regarding either “communications plant” or “communications service” shall not apply to facilities or portions of any communications facilities intended for use by, and solely used by, the Village and the Village’s own officers and employees in the operation of Village departments or systems of which such communications are merely an ancillary component. (5) “Communications service” shall include ownership, operation, and utilization of a communications plant within or without the corporate limits of the Village to transport or store information, in whatever form and medium. (6) “Improve” shall mean to acquire or construct any improvement, whether consisting of real or personal property. (7) “Improvement” shall mean any improvement, extension, betterment, addition, alteration, reconstruction, and extraordinary repair, equipping, or reequipping of the electric or communications plant of the Village.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 18 Electric plant; authority to operate, improve, extend, better, and add to existing plant

18. Electric plant; authority to operate, improve, extend, better, and add to existing plant The Village is authorized and empowered to own, maintain, operate, improve, and extend, or otherwise acquire, and to sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of, in accordance with and in any situation or manner not prohibited by law, its electric plant or plants for the purpose of lighting the streets, walks, public grounds, and buildings of the Village, for the furnishing of electric or gas services within or without the corporate limits of the Village, for public, domestic, commercial, and industrial use, and for production of electric energy or acquisition, production, piped transmission, or piped distribution of gas for sale to electric or gas distribution companies, cooperative, municipal, and privately owned, within or without the State, and for the aforesaid purposes, the Village may hire, lease, purchase, own, hold, and acquire by contract, agreement, or eminent domain proceedings any water power, buildings, land, rights-of-way, and any other property, real or personal, necessary or convenient to the operation of the said electric light and power system, and may use any public highway over which it may be necessary or desirable to pass with the poles and wire of the same, provided that the use of such public highway for the purpose of public travel is not thereby unnecessarily impaired. These powers may be exercised through a taking by eminent domain in the manner prescribed by law. All of the foregoing powers are in addition to and not in substitution for or in limitation of any other powers conferred by law.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 19 Electric plant; regulation

19. Electric plant; regulation The Village’s operation of its electric plant, as defined herein, shall take place in accordance with the statutory authority and requirements of 30 V.S.A. chapter 79, relating to municipal electric plants, and 24 V.S.A. chapter 53, relating to municipal indebtedness, with regard to the financing, improvements, expansion, and disposal of the municipal electric plant and its operations. However, the powers conferred by these sections shall be supplemental to, construed in harmony with, and not in restriction of, the powers conferred in this charter. With specific reference to the legislative authorization contained in 24 V.S.A. chapter 53, subchapter 2, sections 1821-1828, entitled “Indebtedness for Public Utility Purposes,” the Village is permitted to issue revenue-backed bonds or general obligation bonds for any capital improvement purpose related to its responsibilities to operate such utilities for the benefit of the people of the Village, provided each such issue of bonds is approved in accordance with law, and any restriction in this charter or the general law regarding the maximum outstanding debt that may be issued in the form of general obligation bonds shall not restrict the issuance of any bonds issued by the Village and payable out of the net revenues from the operation of a public utility project. The activities of the Village in connection with the powers conferred herein shall be subject to regulation only to the extent specifically required by Title 30 and other applicable law, but only to the extent that the Village is engaging in activities that are specifically subject by law to regulation. The Public Utility Commission shall at all times exercise its regulatory powers in such a manner as to permit the Village to fulfill all of its prudently incurred obligations, including its obligations to the holders of the bonds issued by the Village. However, the Public Utility Commission shall not prohibit appropriate cost allocations among departments of the Village.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 20 Energy conservation and management facilities

20. Energy conservation and management facilities The Village is authorized and empowered to provide or finance energy conservation and management facilities within the customer service territory of its electric plant. The term “energy conservation and management facilities” includes facilities or improvements to facilities (whether owned by the Village or by others) for load management, load displacement (including customer-specific generation or co-generation), or the conservation or storage, in any form of electric or other energy. Such facilities or improvements may be owned or operated by the Village as part of its electric plant or may be owned or operated by others, and may be leased or licensed by the Village to others or may be financed by loans by the Village to others. Such facilities or improvements may be treated as part of the electric plant, and financed under this article or other enabling law. Loans to others for the purposes of this section may also be financed under this article in the same manner as improvements to the electric plant, and receipts from such loans may be pledged under this article as revenues. A lending program initiated under the authority of this section shall be managed in accordance with the provisions of this charter relating to the management of the electric plant.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 21 Communications plant; authority to acquire, construct, operate, improve, extend, and better

21. Communications plant; authority to acquire, construct, operate, improve, extend, and better (a) The Village is authorized and empowered to own, maintain, operate, improve, and extend, or otherwise acquire, and to sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of, in accordance with and in any situation or manner not prohibited by law, its communications plant or plants for the furnishing of communications services within or without the corporate limits of the Village, for public, domestic, commercial, and industrial use, and for the provision of communications service. For the aforesaid purposes, the Village may hire, lease, purchase, own, hold, and acquire by contract, agreement, or eminent domain proceedings any buildings, land, rights-of-way, and any other property, real or personal, necessary or convenient to the operation of said communications plant, and may use any public highway over which it may be necessary or desirable to pass with the poles and wire of the same, provided that the use of such public highway for the purpose of public travel is not thereby unnecessarily impaired. These powers may be exercised through a taking by eminent domain in the manner prescribed by law, except that the Village shall have no power under 30 V.S.A. chapter 79 to take by eminent domain telecommunications or cable television property. All of the foregoing powers are in addition to and not in substitution for or in limitation of any other powers conferred by law. (b) Before the Village may sell any communications service over which the Public Utility Commission has jurisdiction and for which a certificate of public good is required, it shall obtain a certificate of public good for such service.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 22 Communications plant; operation and regulation

22. Communications plant; operation and regulation (a) The Village’s operation of its communications plant, as defined herein, shall take place in accordance with the applicable State and federal law and regulation, and 24 V.S.A. chapter 53, relating to municipal indebtedness, with regard to the financing, improvements, expansion, and disposal of the municipal communications plant and its operations. However, the powers conferred by such provisions of law shall be supplemental to, construed in harmony with, and not in restriction of, the powers conferred in this charter. (b) The Village’s operation of any communications plant shall at all times be supported solely by the revenues derived from the operation of such communications plant, except in instances, and then only to the extent that, such communications plant serves a function of the Village’s other operations for which communications are merely an ancillary component. (c) With specific reference to the legislative authorization contained in 24 V.S.A. §§ 1821-1828, entitled “Indebtedness for Public Utility Purposes,” the Village is permitted to issue revenue-backed bonds or general obligation bonds for any capital improvement purpose related to its operation of such communications plant for the benefit of the people of the Village, provided each such issue of bonds is approved in accordance with law, and that the payment of obligations on such revenue-backed bonds is explicitly restricted to net revenues derived from the operation of the communications plant. (d) Any restriction in this charter or the general law regarding the maximum outstanding debt that may be issued in the form of general obligation bonds shall not restrict the issuance of any bonds issued by the Village and payable out of the net revenues from the operation of a public utility project. The activities of the Village in connection with the powers conferred herein shall be subject to regulation to the extent required by Title 30 and other applicable law, but only to the extent that the Village is engaging in activities that are specifically subject by law to regulation. The Public Utility Commission shall at all times exercise its regulatory powers in such a manner as to permit the Village to fulfill all of its prudently incurred obligations, including its obligations to the holders of the bonds issued by the Village. (e) Any certificate issued to the Village for a cable television franchise shall contain terms or conditions that are consistent with this section, and, with a goal of establishing competitive neutrality, shall establish terms and conditions consistent with those imposed on existing certified cable television systems, after evaluating factors including payment of pole attachment and rental fees, and the provision of public access channels, equipment, and facilities. (f) Any certificate issued to the Village for telecommunications services defined under Title 30 shall contain terms or conditions that are consistent with this section, and, with a goal of establishing competitive neutrality, shall establish terms and conditions consistent with those imposed on existing telecommunications carriers, after evaluating factors including payment of pole attachment and rental fees.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 23 Construction of subchapter

23. Construction of subchapter This section is remedial in nature, and the powers hereby granted shall be liberally construed to effectuate the purposes hereof, and to this end the Village shall have power to do all things necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes hereof in addition to the powers expressly conferred in this subchapter. Any proceedings heretofore taken by the Village relating to the subject matters of this subchapter, whether or not commenced under any other law, may, at the option of the Village trustees, be discontinued, and new proceedings instituted under this subchapter. It is hereby declared that the sections, clauses, sentences, and parts of this subchapter are severable, are not matters of mutual essential inducement, and any of them shall be deemed individually excised if this subchapter would otherwise be unconstitutional or ineffective. It is the intention to confer upon the Village the whole or any part of the powers in this subchapter provided for, and if any one or more sections, clauses, sentences, and parts of this subchapter shall for any reason be questioned in any court or administrative tribunal, and shall be adjudged unconstitutional or invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remaining provisions thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the specific provision or provisions so held unconstitutional or invalid, and the inapplicability or invalidity of any section, clause, sentence, or part of this subchapter in any one or more instances shall not be taken to affect or prejudice in any way its applicability or validity in any other instance.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 24 Powers exercised through trustees

24. Powers exercised through trustees The powers granted to the Village hereunder shall be exercised by its trustees, who shall have the supervision of the Village’s electric and communications plants as provided for herein and not inconsistent with law: (1) Sewer system: The Village shall have such powers and the trustees shall have such duties with reference to the municipal sewer system that are in existence as set forth in 24 V.S.A. chapters 97 and 101 or any amendments thereto. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the trustees shall have the supervision of such municipal sewer department, and shall make and establish all needful sewer rates, rules, and regulations for its control and operation. (2) The trustees shall hire a person to superintend the physical operation of the water, electric, and sewer systems, and communications plant, and provide such person with written guidelines of his or her duties. Said Superintendent shall be responsible for the proper and efficient maintenance and operation of the systems in accordance with such guidelines. The Superintendent shall report once each month to the trustees, and once each year shall make a written report to the trustees. Such written report shall be included in the annual report of the Village of Morrisville. The books and bank accounts of the water, electric, and sewer systems, and communications plant, shall be kept separate from the other books and accounts of the Village. The rents and receipts for the use of such municipal utilities shall only be used and applied to pay the interest upon the bonds in existence for such utility systems, the expense of repairs, improvements, and management of the utility department, and in payment of the utility bonds. The money received from the operation of such municipal utilities shall not be used for any other purposes until all such bonds, notes, or other certificates of indebtedness have been paid. (3) Any improvements to the nonelectric utility systems that in the aggregate exceed $100,000.00 as adjusted annually for inflation for the water department, or that in the aggregate exceed $100,000.00 as adjusted annually for inflation for the sewer department, shall require the approval of a majority of the legally-qualified voters of the Village present and voting at either an annual or special meeting called and warned for that purpose. (4) The trustees shall establish rates of rents to be charged and paid by the users of said water, electric, and sewer systems, and communication service, at such times and in such manner as they may determine, and may alter, modify, increase, or decrease such rates and extend them to any description of property or use. Such rates or rents with the charges for wiring and piping shall be chargeable to and may be collected from the owners of the property supplied with the same, unless otherwise agreed upon by the trustees and such owners. All such rents with charges for wiring and piping shall be a lien and charge upon the buildings, lots, and other property so supplied, and may be collected in the same manner as any tax assessed by said Village. The Village may order all rents for water, electric, sewer, and communications service, to be paid in advance, and may make all necessary provisions and orders relating to the supply or stoppage of water, electric, sewer, and communications service, as it may deem expedient to insure the payment of such rents. (5) The owners of property abutting or adjacent to any street or alley through which a public sewer or drain has been constructed shall construct, under the direction of the trustees, or their designate, a suitable sewer or drain from his or her said property and properly connect the same with the said public sewer or drain. If, after 20 days’ notice in writing by the trustees to such owner of such property of such requirement, such owner fails or neglects to construct or connect such sewer or drain, the trustees shall enter upon the property and make such connection, assessing therefor the actual costs of so doing against the said property and the owner thereof. Said trustees shall file in the land records of the Town of Morristown an itemized statement of the costs of constructing and connecting said sewer or drain, and the amount so assessed shall be and remain a lien upon said property, and shall be enforced and collected in the same manner as is provided in this charter for the enforcement and collection of taxes and other assessments.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 25 Indebtedness

25. Indebtedness (a) The Village shall not incur an indebtedness for public improvements that, together with previously contracted indebtedness, shall, in the aggregate, exceed the amounts authorized by the provisions of 24 V.S.A. chapter 53, subchapter 1 or any amendments thereto, except that indebtedness in the form of bonds for public utility purposes that are backed solely by the net revenues of a public utility system or project, in accord with the provisions of 24 V.S.A. chapter 53, subchapter 2, shall be subject in limitation only as provided in that subchapter. (b) Debt may be incurred and bonds issued pursuant to the provisions of 24 V.S.A. chapter 53, subchapter 1 or any amendments thereto, for any improvements to the water, electric, or sewer systems, or communications plant, but no bonds shall be issued for the purpose of providing funds for ordinary expenses of the Village, except as otherwise provided by this charter or the laws applicable to municipal corporations. (c) An improvement shall include, apart from its ordinary meaning, the acquisition of land for municipal purposes, the construction of, extension of, additions to, or remodeling of buildings or other improvement thereto, including furnishings, equipment, or apparatus to be used for or in connection with any existing or new improvements, work, department, or other corporate purpose. (d) When the trustees, at a regular or special meeting called for that purpose, shall, by resolution passed by a vote of a majority of the entire Board of Trustees, determine that the public interest or necessity demands such improvements and that the cost of the same will be too great to be paid out of the ordinary income and revenue available to the Village from the operation of municipal electric, water, communications, and sewer plants and facilities, they may order the submission of the proposition of making such public improvements and of incurring a bonded debt to pay for the same to the qualified voters of such Village at a meeting to be held for that purpose. The warning calling such meeting shall state the object and purpose for which the indebtedness is proposed to be incurred, the estimated cost of the improvements, the amount of bonds proposed to be issued therefor and the maximum rate of interest to be paid, and shall fix the time and place when and where the meeting shall be held and the hours of opening and closing the polls. (e) The notice of such meeting and the approval of such bond issuance shall be in accord with the provisions of 24 V.S.A. chapter 53, subchapter 1 or any amendments thereto. (f) Temporary loans may be made and temporary notes issued in anticipation of money to be derived from the sale of bonds pursuant to the provisions of 24 V.S.A. chapter 53, subchapter 1 or any amendments thereto or, in the case of bonds for public utility purposes that are backed by the net revenues of a public utility system or project, in accord with the provisions of 24 V.S.A. chapter 53, subchapter 2. (g) The Village may, by action of the Board of Trustees, in lieu of the issuance of bonds or levy of taxes, and in addition to any other lawful means or methods of providing for the payment of indebtedness, have the power by and through the Board of Trustees to provide for and secure the payment of all or a part of the cost of any public utility pursuant to the provisions of 24 V.S.A. chapter 53, subchapter 2 or any amendments thereto.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 26 Authority to form subsidiaries and enter ventures with other parties

26. Authority to form subsidiaries and enter ventures with other parties In addition to the authority granted under otherwise applicable law, the Village has the power and is authorized to create a corporate subsidiary or subsidiaries wholly owned by the Village, or to establish a joint venture or ventures between the Village or a subsidiary of the Village and any other business relationship with one or more third parties, in order to provide communications services within or without the corporate limits of the Village, or to provide customer-specific electric generation or cogeneration to customers within the Village’s electric service territory; provided that, before any such subsidiary, joint venture, or business relationship may provide communications or customer-specific generation or cogeneration services, it shall obtain whatever regulatory approvals may be necessary under applicable law.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 27 Transitional provisions

27. Transitional provisions (a) Nothing herein contained, except as specifically provided, shall affect or impair the rights or privileges of officers of the Village existing at the time this charter takes effect. (b) All contracts entered into by the Village prior to the effective date of this charter shall continue in full force and effect. (c) The adoption of this charter shall not abate or otherwise affect any action or proceeding, civil or criminal, pending when it takes effect, brought by or against the Village or any office or officer thereof. (d) All ordinances, resolutions, and regulations of the Village in effect at the time of the effective date of this charter, and not inconsistent with the provisions hereof, are hereby continued in force until the same are duly amended or repealed. (e) This charter, or any part or article or section thereof, may be amended in the manner provided by the laws of the State of Vermont. (f) This charter supersedes the previous charter and all amendments thereto.

Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/24APPENDIX/245Fetched: 10/21/2026