General Provisions

V.S.A. tit. 24 Appendix, ch. 245, subch. 1

in effect

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 1 Applicability

1. Applicability (a) When approved by a majority of the legal voters of the Village of Morrisville present and voting by Australian ballot at an annual meeting duly warned for that purpose, the following shall be the charter of the Village of Morrisville. (b) This charter may be amended or revised in the manner prescribed by 17 V.S.A. § 2645. (c) Except as modified by the provisions of this charter, all provisions of the Vermont Statutes Annotated applicable to municipalities shall apply to the Village of Morrisville.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 2 Village boundaries

2. Village boundaries All that portion of the Town of Morristown in the County of Lamoille as follows: Beginning at the northwest corner of the farm now owned by W.J. Foss and Helen Foss, and being at the point where the lands of the said W.J. Foss and Helen Foss and lands of Harold Ryder converge at the south boundary of the highway leading from Morrisville to Stowe, known as Route 100, said point being 135 feet easterly from a marble highway marker inscribed “Vt. 1934—NRH 88 B—NRM 88c”; Thence along the division line of said Foss and Ryder properties southerly to the southwest corner of said W.J. Foss and Helen Foss farm; Thence in the southerly line of said Foss farm to the highway leading from Morrisville to the farm now owned by Edna A. Carpentier; Thence across said highway to and along the division line of said Carpentier property and premises known as the Morey place to the division line between premises of Edna A. Carpentier and premises of Ernest H. Mercia and Gladys Mercia; Thence along the northerly division line of said Ernest H. Mercia and Gladys Mercia premises to the highway known as Randolph Road; Thence southerly along said Randolph Road to the northerly line of land formerly held by Sarah Noyes Hardy, now held by the trustees of the Copley fund; Thence easterly along the northerly line of said Sarah Noyes Hardy premises and northerly along the easterly line of land of Volney C. Farr and Gladys Farr to the highway leading from Maple Street in the Village of Morrisville to Elmore, Vermont; Thence northerly along the easterly line of land of Lyle and Marcella Stewart to premises of Arthur T. and Hazel Stewart; Thence easterly along the northerly line of land of C.M. and Doris Greaves to the westerly line of premises known as the David Brown land; Thence northerly along the westerly line of land known as the David Brown land, and land of Max and Priscilla Davison to the main highway leading from Morrisville to Elmore; Thence across said highway and along the division line of land of Jean Pinney and Max B. and Priscilla Davison to the northeasterly corner of premises of Jean Pinney; Thence westerly along the division line of premises of Jean Pinney and R.H. and Fannye Hayes to the southwesterly corner of premises of said R.H. and Fannye Hayes (the Hayes farm); Thence along the westerly boundary of said Hayes farm premises, supposed to be the westerly line of lot 53 of the second division of lands of the Town of Morristown, to the south bank of the Lamoille River; Thence westerly along the south bank of the Lamoille River to its intersection with the westerly line of lands owned by W.G. and Lillian Lepper; Thence northerly along the westerly division line of said W.G. and Lillian Lepper premises, supposed to be the easterly line of lot 60 and westerly line of lot 57, within the third division of lots, to the highway known as the Morristown Plains Road; Thence westerly along said highway to its intersection with the main highway leading from Morrisville to Hyde Park; Thence in a straight line to a point which lies approximately 444 feet north 86° 30′ west from the southwesterly corner of lands formerly known as the fairgrounds, said point being designated as “Point A”; Thence from Point A 17 feet south 41° 30′ west; Thence in a bearing south 87° 20′ east a distance of 452 feet to a point opposite the southwesterly corner of lands formerly known as the fairgrounds; Thence in a line parallel with the southerly boundary of said fairground premises south 46° 50′ east a distance of 618 feet to the westerly side of the highway leading from Morrisville to Hyde Park (constituting a right-of-way 24.75 feet in width containing 0.608 acres within the boundaries set forth herein in that portion of the description subsequent to Point A where the same first appears herein); Thence from Point A north 48° 30′ west a distance of 647 feet to the easterly boundary of the right-of-way of the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad Company; Thence southerly along said St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad Company right-of-way a distance of approximately 566 and five-tenths feet to the brook running into Lake Lamoille southerly from the mill premises of Atlas Plywood Corporation; Thence along the course of said brook to the easterly shore of Lake Lamoille; Thence along the easterly shore of Lake Lamoille to the northerly line of land formerly owned by Hill and Goodrich, now the property of the Village of Morrisville; Thence across said lake diagonally to an iron stake near the west shore of said lake; Thence southerly along the easterly line of land of C.S. Edwards to a point and stake in the northerly line of the highway leading from Morrisville to Stowe; Thence along the northerly line of said highway to a point opposite the intersection of lands of W.J. and Helen Foss and Harold Ryder with the southerly line of said highway; Thence southerly across the said highway to the point of beginning; shall be known as the Village of Morrisville.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 3 General corporate powers

3. General corporate powers (a) The Village of Morrisville in and by that name may sue and be sued, prosecute, and defend in any court. The Village may purchase, take, and hold, sell, and convey real estate and personal property necessary for its corporate purposes. The Village shall have the power to own and operate any public utility, and to construct and install all facilities that are reasonably needed or useful for public service. The Village may also furnish service to adjacent and nearby territories that may conveniently be served by a municipally-owned and operated utility. (b) The Village is empowered to alter the bounds upon compliance with the provisions of Chapter 151 of the Public Laws (Chapter 164 of the Vermont Statutes, 1947, as proposed) and enactments in amendment thereof. (c) The Village shall have all the powers granted to villages and other municipal corporations by the Constitution and laws of this State. It may enact ordinances, bylaws, and regulations and impose penalties for the violation thereof. The fine for breach of a Village bylaw and the procedure for recovering the same shall be in accordance with 24 V.S.A. § 1131 and any amendments thereto. (d) For the purpose of promoting the public health, safety, welfare, and convenience, the Village shall have all those powers enumerated under 24 V.S.A. § 2291 and any amendments thereto.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 4 Specific corporate powers

4. Specific corporate powers At any meeting legally warned for that purpose, the legal voters of the Village may vote a tax upon the taxable estate within the corporate limits for the lawful purposes of the Village.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 5 Grand list

5. Grand list The grand list for the Town of Morristown within the Village corporate limits shall be the grand list for the Village of Morrisville. The trustees shall make out and deliver to the Treasurer a tax bill, with a warrant for its collection. The Treasurer shall compile a tax roll from the Town of Morristown grand list for those areas of the Town lying within the corporate limits.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 6 Village officers

6. Village officers (a) The officers of the corporation shall consist of a Moderator, five trustees, a Clerk, and a Treasurer. The officers shall be elected at the annual meeting of the corporation for the term of one year and until their successors are elected, except that trustees shall hold office for five years. One trustee shall be elected at each annual meeting, except that after the approval of this charter at the annual Village meeting, the voters shall elect five trustees, one for the term of one year, one for the term of two years, one for the term of three years, one for the term of four years, and one for the term of five years. The trustees and the Treasurer, at the time of their election, shall be legal voters of the Village of Morrisville or the Town of Morristown. (b) The provisions of 17 V.S.A. § 2647, or any amendments thereto, relating to incompatible offices, shall apply to the persons holding Village offices. (c) When a vacancy occurs in any Village office, the trustees forthwith by appointment in writing shall fill such vacancy until an election is held, except that in the event of more than one vacancy on the Board of Trustees at the same time, such vacancies shall be filled by a special Village meeting called for that purpose. Any appointment shall be filed by the trustees in the Office of the Clerk, and duly recorded by the Clerk in the book of Village records. A person appointed to a vacant office shall serve until the next annual meeting. A person elected to fill a vacant office at either a special meeting or an annual meeting shall serve for the unexpired term of his or her predecessor. (d) The legal voters of the Village may vote at its annual meeting to compensate any or all Village officers for their official services. Amended 2019, No. 84 (Adj. Sess.), § 11.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 7 Board of Trustees; powers; meetings

7. Board of Trustees; powers; meetings (a) The members of the Board of Trustees shall constitute the legislative body of the Village of Morrisville for all purposes required by statute, and, except as otherwise specifically provided, shall have all powers and authority given to, and perform all duties required of, incorporated villages or boards of trustees under the laws of the State of Vermont. (b) The Board of Trustees shall have the general care and management of the prudential interests and affairs of the corporation, shall direct the expenditure of all monies belonging to the corporation, draw orders upon the Treasurer, and generally perform all the duties legally enjoined upon them by the corporation, and shall submit their accounts and vouchers to the Auditor at least 30 days before the annual meeting. (c) The trustees shall prepare a budget for the oncoming year to be included in the annual report of the Village of Morrisville, and to be voted upon by the legal voters of the Village at the annual meeting. (d) The trustees shall have the power to abate taxes laid and assessed by virtue of this Charter for the same causes and subject to the same limitations as boards of civil authority have in the matter of town taxes. (e) The trustees may, by resolution, create, change, and abolish boards as in its judgment are required or necessary and convenient to, or as are now or hereinafter provided by law, and may grant to them such power and duties as are consistent with the provisions of this charter. The trustees shall be ex officio members of all boards. (f) All powers vested in the trustees shall be exercised by a majority of the Board. (g) Forthwith, after an election and qualification, the Trustees shall organize and elect a Chairperson, and file a certificate of such election for record in the office of the Village Clerk. As soon as possible after an election of a Chairperson, the Board of Trustees shall fix the time and place of its regular meetings, and such meetings shall be held at least once a month. The Clerk shall attend all meetings of the Board of Trustees. The Board shall determine its own rules and order of business. (h) All meetings of the Board of Trustees shall be open to the public, unless, by an affirmative vote of a majority present, the Board shall vote that any particular session shall be an executive session in accordance with 1 V.S.A. § 313 or any amendments thereto.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 8 Treasurer

8. Treasurer The Treasurer shall give a bond to the corporation conditioned upon the faithful performance of his or her duties in such sums and with such sureties as the trustees may prescribe. If a Treasurer does not give such bond within 10 days after his or her election or appointment, the office shall be vacant and the trustees may fill the vacant office as provided for in section 6 of this charter.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 9 Audit of Village officers

9. Audit of Village officers The accounts and vouchers of the officers of the corporation shall be professionally audited, and the audit shall be printed each year in the annual report of the Village of Morrisville.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 10 Duties of Treasurer

10. Duties of Treasurer (a) The Treasurer shall perform the duties required by State statute or this charter. The Treasurer shall: (1) promptly deposit all funds coming into his or her hands in such depositories as may be designated by the trustees; (2) invest funds as directed by the trustees; (3) keep such books and accounts as may be required by the trustees; (4) make a monthly report to the trustees showing the state of the corporation’s finances; and (5) perform such other duties with respect to the Village finances as the trustees may require. (b) The Treasurer shall have and exercise the same powers and duties with respect to the Village that treasurers have and exercise with respect to towns.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 11 Village Clerk

11. Village Clerk (a) The Clerk shall keep an official record of the proceedings of the Board of Trustees. The records shall be kept in the office of the Village Clerk and shall be open for public inspection. The Clerk shall keep the official record of the proceedings of all special and annual Village meetings. (b) The minutes of each meeting shall be approved by the Board of Trustees at its next meeting, and the official copy authenticated by the signature of the Clerk. The Clerk shall keep two copies of the annual reports of the Village of Morrisville on file in the office of the Village Clerk. The Clerk shall have and exercise the same powers and duties with respect to the Village that clerks have and exercise with respect to towns.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 12 Moderator

12. Moderator The Moderator shall preside at all annual and special meetings of the Village, shall decide questions of order, and make public declarations of votes passed. The Moderator shall have and exercise the same powers and duties with respect to the Village that Moderators have and exercise with respect to towns.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 13 Annual and special meetings

13. Annual and special meetings (a) The annual meeting of the Village for the election of officers and transaction of any other business specified in the warning of the meeting shall be held on the second Monday in April of each year at a time and place designated in the notice of such meeting. Warnings shall be signed by the trustees and the Clerk, shall specify the business to be transacted as the trustees direct, shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Village, and shall be posted in two public places in such Village, not more than 40 days nor less than 30 days before such meeting. Such warning shall be recorded in the office of the Clerk before it is posted. (b) Special meetings may at any time be called by the trustees for the transaction of any business specified in the warning of the meeting. The trustees shall call a special meeting upon written application and petition of not less than five percent of the qualified voters of the Village, stating the purpose for which they wish the meeting to be called. When the office of any one or more of the trustees is vacant, the remaining trustees may call meetings. When there is no trustee who may call meetings, the Clerk may call meetings. Warnings of special meetings shall be given in the same manner as warnings for annual meetings.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 14 Residence

14. Residence All persons qualified to vote in a Town meeting of the Town of Morristown who reside within the corporate limits, described in section 2 of this charter, shall be legal voters of the Village of Morrisville. The residents of the Village shall belong to and remain residents of the Town of Morristown.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 245, § 15 Fiscal year

15. Fiscal year The fiscal year of the corporation shall commence on the first day of January and close on the last day of December, unless the legal voters of the Village at its annual meeting shall determine otherwise. If the legal voters of the Village vote another fiscal year, it shall specify the procedure for transition, including the method for financing the transition.

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