Special District Meetings

V.S.A. tit. 24 Appendix, ch. 409, subch. 5

in effect

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 409, § 501 Special District meetings

501. Special District meetings The Board may on its own motion call special meetings of the District and shall call a special meeting of the District when action by the voters of the District is required. The Board shall call a special meeting of the District if petitioned to do so by not less than five percent of the voters of the District. The Board may rescind the call of the special meeting called on its own motion. The Board shall endeavor to schedule the time of special meetings to coincide with the time of annual municipal meetings, primary elections, general elections, or similar meetings when the electorate within the members will be voting on other matters.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 409, § 502 Places of meetings

502. Places of meetings At any special meeting of the District, voters of each member shall cast their ballots at such polling places within the municipality of their residence as shall be determined by the Board in consultation with the board of civil authority of each municipality.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 409, § 503 Public hearings

503. Public hearings Not less than 30 nor more than 40 days prior to any special meeting of the District, the Board shall hold at least one public hearing at which the issues to be voted upon at the special meeting shall be presented for public comment. Notice of such public hearings shall include a warning published in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the District at least once a week, on the same day of the week for three consecutive weeks, the last publication to be not less than five nor more than 10 days before the public hearing.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 409, § 504 Warnings required

504. Warnings required The Board of the District shall warn a special meeting of the District by filing a notice with the Clerk of each member and by posting or causing to be posted a notice in at least three public places in each municipality in the District not less than 30 nor more than 40 days before the meeting. The warning shall be published in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the District once a week on the same day of the week for three consecutive weeks before the meeting, the last publication to be not less than five nor more than 10 days before the meeting.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 409, § 505 Signing of warning

505. Signing of warning The original warning of any special meeting of the District shall be signed by the Clerk and Chairperson of the Board.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 409, § 506 Warning contents

506. Warning contents The posted notification shall include the date, time, place, and nature of the meeting. It shall, by separate articles, specifically indicate the questions to be voted upon.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 409, § 507 Australian ballot

507. Australian ballot The Australian ballot system shall be used at all special meetings of the District.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 409, § 508 Qualifications and registration of voters

508. Qualifications and registration of voters All legal voters of the member municipalities shall be legal voters of the District. The municipality shall post and revise checklists in the same manner as for municipal meetings prior to any District meeting.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 409, § 509 Conduct of meetings

509. Conduct of meetings At all special meetings of the District, the provisions of 17 V.S.A. chapter 51 regarding election officials (subchapter 1), voting machines (subchapter 3), polling places (subchapter 4), absent voters (subchapter 6), process of voting (subchapter 7), count and return of votes (subchapter 8), recount and contest of elections (subchapter 9), and jurisdiction of courts (subchapter 10) shall apply except where clearly inapplicable. The District Clerk shall perform the functions assigned to the Secretary of State under that chapter. The Lamoille Superior Court shall have jurisdiction over petitions for recounts. Election expenses shall be borne by the District.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 409, § 510 Reconsideration or rescission of vote

510. Reconsideration or rescission of vote (a) A question voted on at any special meeting of the District shall not be submitted for reconsideration or rescission, except at a subsequent special meeting duly warned for that purpose and called by the Board on its own motion or pursuant to a petition requesting such reconsideration or rescission signed and submitted in accordance with subsection (b) of this section. (b) Where a petition signed by not less than five percent of the qualified voters of the District requesting reconsideration or rescission of a question considered or voted on at a previous special meeting is submitted to the Board of the District within 30 days following the date of that meeting, the Board shall provide for a vote by the District in accordance with the petition within 60 days of the submission at a special meeting duly warned for that purpose. (c) A vote taken by a special meeting shall remain in effect unless rescinded at a special meeting called and warned in accordance with this section. (d) A question voted on shall not be presented for reconsideration or rescission at more than one subsequent meeting without the approval of the Board.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 409, § 511 Validation of District meetings

511. Validation of District meetings When any of the requirements as to notice or warning of a special District meeting have been omitted or not complied with, if the meeting and the business transacted is otherwise legal, the omission or noncompliance may be corrected and legalized by vote at a special meeting of the District called and duly warned for that purpose. The question to be voted upon shall substantially be: “Shall of the action taken at the meeting of the District held on (state date), in spite of the fact that (state the error or omission), and any act or action of the District officers or agents pursuant thereto be readopted, ratified, or confirmed?” Errors or omissions in the conduct of any prior special meeting that are not the result of an unlawful notice or warning or noncompliance within the scope of the warning may be cured by a resolution of the Board of the District by a vote of at least two-thirds of all the votes entitled to be cast at a regular meeting or a special meeting called for that purpose, stating that a defect was the result of an oversight, inadvertence, or mistake. When an error or omission has thus been corrected by resolution, all business within the terms of the action of the qualified voters shall be as valid as if the requirements had been in compliance initially on the condition that the original action by the Board was otherwise in compliance with the legal exercise of its corporate powers.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 409, § 512 Priority

512. Priority When a special meeting of the District is called to act to incur bonded or other indebtedness or to enter into a long-term contract, and the meeting procedures in this chapter conflict with the procedures in subchapter 4, the procedures in subchapter 4 shall prevail.

Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/24APPENDIX/409Fetched: 10/21/2026