Annual Budgets and Assessments

V.S.A. tit. 24 Appendix, ch. 405, subch. 4

in effect

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 405, § 30 Fiscal year

30. Fiscal year The fiscal year of the District shall begin the first day of July and end on the last day of June of each calendar year. The fiscal year shall constitute the budget and accounting year for the District. The accounting policies of the District shall conform to generally accepted accounting principles.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 405, § 31 Preparation of budget

31. Preparation of budget On or before December 1 in each year, the Board of Commissioners shall prepare a budget for the district for the next fiscal year, which shall include an estimate of the revenue of the District from fees and other sources, except membership assessments, and the planning and solid waste management expenses for the next fiscal year, including debt service, payments due on long-term contracts, payments due to any sinking funds for the retirement of indebtedness, payments due to any capital reserve funds, debt service reserve funds, operating reserve funds, and payments due to any other funds established by the District. The budget shall be in such form as deemed desirable by the Board of Commissioners, and shall be so arranged as to show budgeted income and expenditures of the current fiscal year and budgeted and actual income and expenditures of the preceding fiscal year.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 405, § 32 Budget hearing

32. Budget hearing The Board of Commissioners shall call a hearing of the residents of the member municipalities on or before January 31 in each year for the purpose of presenting the proposed budget and inviting discussion thereon. The hearing shall be held within the boundaries of one of the member municipalities of the District and shall be warned by a notice published in a newspaper of general circulation in each member municipality at least 15 days prior to the hearing. The notice shall contain a copy of the proposed budget, and the legislative body of each member municipality shall be sent a copy of the notice, with attached proposed budget at least 15 days prior to such hearing.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 405, § 33 Adoption

33. Adoption (a) Following the public hearing provided for in section 32 of this chapter, the Board of Commissioners shall review the proposed budget in light of comments received at the hearing, and shall thereupon approve the budget for adoption pursuant to subsection (b) of this section with or without changes. (b) Within 45 days of the approval of the budget by the Board of Commissioners, the legislative body of each member municipality shall act to approve or disapprove the budget. The budget shall be approved if approved by the legislative bodies of a majority of the member municipalities. For such purposes, each municipality shall be entitled to one vote. A legislative body that disapproves the budget must file with the Board of Commissioners a written statement of objections to the budget identifying those specific items to be changed, and failure to file such statement of objections within the 45 day period shall constitute approval by such municipality. A legislative body that fails to act to approve or disapprove the budget within the 45-day period shall likewise be deemed to have approved the budget. (c) Unless a petition is filed in accordance with the provisions of subsection (e) of this section, the budget shall become effective 45 days after the date of its adoption, or at such time following the expiration of 45 days from the date of its adoption as is determined by the Board. If a petition is filed in accordance with subsection (e) of this section, the taking effect of the budget shall be governed by subsection (g) of this section. (d) A budget adopted by the Board may be disapproved by a vote of a majority of the qualified voters of the District voting on the question at a special meeting duly warned for the purpose, pursuant to a petition signed and submitted in accordance with subsection (e) of this section. (e) A petition for a vote on the question of disapproving a budget shall be signed by not less than five percent of the qualified voters of the District, and presented to the District Secretary within 30 days following the date of adoption of the budget. (f) When a petition is submitted in accordance with subsection (e) of this section, the Board shall call a special meeting within 60 days from the date of receipt of the petition to determine whether the voters will disapprove the budget. (g) If a petition for a special meeting is duly submitted in accordance with this section, to determine whether a budget shall be disapproved by the voters of the District, the budget shall take effect on the conclusion of the meeting, or at such later date as is specified in the budget, unless a majority of the qualified voters voting on the question at the meeting vote to disapprove the budget, in which event it shall not take effect. (h) The ballots cast in each member municipality shall be counted by the election officials of each member municipality, preserved and secured with the checklist, and thereafter the result shall be certified to the District Secretary within 48 hours. The provisions of Title 17 shall apply to any District meeting called pursuant to this section. (i) If the annual budget for any fiscal year is not approved as of the beginning of that fiscal year, the District shall continue to operate on the budget for the immediately preceding fiscal year until a new budget is approved. (j) Notwithstanding any disapproval of the budget, the District shall be obligated to pay the principal of and interest on bonds, notes, and other evidence of indebtedness of the District and to satisfy any other obligations relating thereto and to pay obligations under any long-term contracts. To the extent provided by the terms of such bonds, notes, or other evidence of indebtedness, or long-term contracts, each member municipality shall be obligated to pay its share of such indebtedness and obligations under long-term contracts. Unless otherwise provided in the vote authorizing the same, a municipality’s share of indebtedness shall be determined by the Board of Commissioners and shall be in an amount proportionate to the actual or estimated tonnage or volume of solid waste generated by that municipality as determined by the Board of Commissioners pursuant to section 34 of this chapter.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 405, § 34 Appropriations and revenues

34. Appropriations and revenues (a) Should anticipated user fees and revenues from District services and facilities not be sufficient to pay for any obligations or liabilities of the District, the Board of Commissioners shall, following adoption of the budget, apportion the sums for solid waste management, and District obligations and liabilities required to be contributed by each member municipality on the basis of the actual or estimated annual tonnage or volume of solid waste generated by each member municipality as determined by the Board of Commissioners. (b) Each member municipality shall be assessed a percentage of the sum of the District obligations and liabilities equal to the ratio that the solid waste generated by the member municipality bears to the total solid waste generated within the District. The Board of Commissioners may from time to time annually determine the percentage of solid waste generation attributed to each member municipality, which determination shall be based on waste generation information for the most recent 12-month period for which information is available. For the purposes of this section, the weight or volume of solid waste generated shall be deemed to include all discarded materials separated or collected for recycling. (c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any bonds, notes, or other evidence of indebtedness or long-term contracts that, according to their respective express terms, are payable solely and exclusively from user fees and revenues of the District. (d) A uniform unit of cost per ton or other volume of solid waste shall be established by the Board each year. Separate and nonuniform rates and costs per ton or volume of solid waste may be established by the Board of Commissioners for solid waste management or disposal services for nonmember municipalities and their residents. Planning costs shall be apportioned among the member municipalities on the basis of the estimated or actual annual tonnage or volume of solid waste generated by each member municipality. Should it be possible to generate a surplus from user fees and revenues, the Board of Commissioners may reimburse member municipalities on an equitable basis for any assessments, or portions thereof, previously paid to the District.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 405, § 35 Assessment

35. Assessment The Treasurer of the District shall immediately notify the treasurer of each member municipality of the amount of that municipality’s assessment and the member municipality shall add such assessment to its own budget and shall assess such tax as is necessary to raise the amount of the assessment. The amount of the assessment in each member municipality shall be paid to the Treasurer of the District in accordance with the schedule of payments adopted by the Board. If any member municipality shall fail to pay when due any assessment against it by the District, it shall incur the maximum penalty allowed by law plus interest at the rate set by the Board. Such penalty and interest, together with the amount due, court costs, and reasonable attorney’s fees of the District may be recovered by the District in a civil action under this section, notwithstanding the availability of any other remedy available to the District. Prior to the commencement of any new fiscal year, the Board of Commissioners shall determine, by resolution, the interest rate for that fiscal year, which in no case shall exceed one and one-half percent per month.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 405, § 36 Limitations of appropriations

36. Limitations of appropriations Actions or resolutions of the Board of Commissioners for the annual appropriations of any year shall not cease to be operative at the end of the fiscal year for which they were adopted, except as otherwise provided by the laws of the State of Vermont. Appropriations made by the Board of Commissioners for the various estimates of the budget shall be expended only for such estimates, but by majority vote of the Board of Commissioners, the budget may be amended from time to time to transfer funds between or among such estimates, except as otherwise limited in this chapter. Any balance left or unencumbered in any such budget estimate, or the amount of any deficit at the end of the fiscal year, shall be included in and paid out of the operating budget and appropriations in the next fiscal year.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 405, § 37 Indebtedness; short-term borrowing

37. Indebtedness; short-term borrowing (a) The Board of Commissioners may borrow money through the issuance of notes of the District in an amount not to exceed 25 percent of the District’s current operating budget, for the purpose of paying current expenses of the District. Such notes must mature within one year. (b) The Board of Commissioners may also borrow money in anticipation of grants-in-aid from any source and any revenues other than assessments, in an amount not to exceed 50 percent of such grants or revenues, through the issuance of notes of the District. Such notes must mature within one year, but may be renewed as provided by general law; provided, however, such notes may not be renewed more than once or for a term in excess of two years from the date of the original loan without the approval of a majority of the voters of the District. (c) The Board of Commissioners may also borrow money in anticipation of assessments to each member municipality in an amount not to exceed 90 percent of the amount assessed for each year, and may issue notes of the District that must mature within one year. (d) The Board of Commissioners may also borrow money in anticipation of bond proceeds that have been authorized as provided in this subchapter. These notes shall be issued as provided in 24 V.S.A. chapter 53.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 405, § 38 Long-term indebtedness; long-term contracts

38. Long-term indebtedness; long-term contracts (a) Submission to voters. On a petition signed by at least five percent of the voters of the District at the last general election, the proposition of incurring a bonded debt or other indebtedness to pay for public improvements or of authorizing a long-term contract shall be submitted by the Board of Commissioners to the voters thereof at a special meeting to be held for that purpose. In the alternative, when the Board of Commissioners, at a regular or special meeting of the Board of Commissioners called for such purpose, shall determine, by resolution passed by a vote of the Board, the public interest or necessity demands improvements or a long-term contract, and the cost of the same will be too great to be paid out of the ordinary annual income and revenue, it shall order the proposition of incurring indebtedness or of authorizing a long-term contract to be submitted to the qualified voters of the District at a meeting to be held for that purpose. A “long-term contract” means a contract in which the District incurs obligations for which the costs are too great to be paid out of the ordinary annual income and revenues of the District, in the judgment of the Board. The term “long-term contracts” shall not include any contract that is subject to annual renewal or extension at the election of the District, or any contract pursuant to which payment by the District shall be subject to annual appropriations in accordance with the annual budget, or any contract for services or the purchase or lease of equipment, materials, or supplies needed in the ordinary course of business of the District. The term “public improvements” shall include improvements that may be used for the benefit of the public, whether or not publicly owned or operated. Bonded debt or other indebtedness may be authorized for any purpose permitted by 24 V.S.A. chapter 53 or 119 and 10 V.S.A. chapter 12 or any other applicable statutes for any purpose for which the District is organized. The Board of Commissioners may not submit to the voters more than twice in any 12-month period the proposition of incurring bonded or other indebtedness to pay for the same or similar public improvement or of entering the same or similar long-term contract. (b) Sale of evidence of indebtedness. Any bonds, notes, or other evidence of indebtedness of the District may be sold at par, premium, or discount, at public or private sale or to the Vermont Municipal Bond Bank, as the District, acting through the Board of Commissioners shall determine. (c) Warnings of meeting. The warning calling the special meeting of the District to incur bonded debt or other indebtedness or to authorize a long-term contract shall state the object and purpose for which the indebtedness or long-term contract is proposed to be incurred or authorized, the estimated cost of the improvements or service, the amount of bonds or other evidence of indebtedness proposed to be authorized, a summary of the terms of any contract proposed to be authorized, and means of raising or apportioning costs entailed thereby for debt service or payments under a long-term contract. The warning shall fix the place where and the date on which the meeting shall be held and the hours of opening and closing the polls. The Board of Commissioners, in cooperation with the board of civil authority of each member municipality, shall determine the number and location of polling places; provided, however, there shall be at least one polling place in each member municipality. (d) Notice of meeting. The Secretary of the District shall cause notice of such special meeting to be published in one or more newspapers of known circulation in the District once a week for three consecutive weeks on the same day of the week, the last publication to be not less than five nor more than 10 days before such meeting. Notice of such meeting shall also be posted in at least two public places within each member municipality, and in or near the office of the clerk of the municipality, at least 30 and not more than 40 days before the meeting, and be filed with the clerk of each member municipality and the Secretary of the District prior to posting. The notice shall also be mailed by certified mail to the chairperson of the legislative body of each member municipality. (e) Authorization. When a majority of all the voters present and voting on the question from all the member municipalities at such special meeting vote to authorize the issuance of bonds or other evidence of indebtedness, or entry into a long-term contract, the District shall be authorized to issue bonds or other evidence of indebtedness as provided in 24 V.S.A. chapter 53 or other applicable statutes. The ballots cast in each member municipality shall be counted by the election officials of each member municipality, preserved and secured with the checklist, and thereafter the results shall be certified to the District Secretary within 48 hours. The applicable provisions of Title 17 shall apply to any District meeting called pursuant to this section. (f) Elements of issued evidence of indebtedness. The District may issue such bonds, notes, or other evidence of indebtedness from time to time in one or more series or separate series, as determined by the Board of Commissioners, provided the aggregate principal amount does not exceed the principal amount for which voter approval was obtained. Such bonds, notes, or other evidence of indebtedness may bear such date or dates, mature at such time or times not exceeding 40 years from their respective dates, bear interest at such rate or rates (including variable rates) payable semiannually, monthly, or at such other time as determined by the Board of Commissioners, be in such denominations, be in such form, either coupon or registered, carry such conversion or registration privileges, have such rank or priority, be executed in such manner, be payable in such medium of payment, at such place or places, and be subject to such terms of redemption, with or without premium, be declared or become due before the maturity date thereof, as such resolutions authorizing their issuance may provide. (g) Assessment. The cost of debt service, or of payments under a long-term contract, shall be allocated among the member municipalities unless otherwise provided in the vote authorizing the same. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the applicable provisions of 24 V.S.A. chapter 53 or other enabling law under which debt is incurred or long-term contracts authorized shall apply to the issuance of bonds or other evidence of indebtedness by the District and for that purpose the District shall be deemed a “municipal corporation,” the Board of Commissioners shall be deemed a “legislative branch,” and the District Treasurer shall be deemed a “municipal treasurer” within the purview of chapter 53. Bonds or other evidence of indebtedness and long-term contracts shall be signed by the Treasurer and Chairperson of the Board of Commissioners of the District. (h) Bonds eligible for investment. Bonds and notes issued by the District shall be legal investments for all persons without limit as to the amount held, regardless of whether they are acting for their own account or in a fiduciary capacity; such bonds and notes shall likewise be legal investments for all public officials authorized to invest in public funds. (i) Tax exemption. All bonds, notes, and other evidence of indebtedness issued by the District are issued by a body corporate and public of the State and for an essential public and governmental purpose, and those bonds, notes, and other evidence of indebtedness and the interest thereon and the income therefrom, and all fees, charges, funds, revenues, income, and other monies pledged or available to pay or secure the payment of those bonds, notes, and other evidence of indebtedness or interest thereon, are exempt from taxation except for transfer, inheritance, and estate taxes. (j) Purchases and disposition of own obligations. The District may purchase bonds, notes, and other evidence of indebtedness of the District out of any of its funds or money available therefor. The District may hold, cancel, or resell the bonds, notes, and other evidence of indebtedness subject to and in accordance with agreements with holders of its bonds, notes, and other evidence of indebtedness. (k) Presumption of validity. After issuance, all bonds, notes, and other evidence of indebtedness of the District shall be conclusively presumed to be fully authorized and issued by all the laws of this State, and any person or governmental unit shall be stopped from questioning their authorization, sale, issuance, execution, or delivery by the District. (l) Specific provisions. In connection with the issuance of any bonds, notes, or other evidence of indebtedness, in addition to the powers it may now have or hereafter have, the District may make such covenants and agreements and exercise such powers as contained in 24 V.S.A. chapter 53, whether or not the District’s bonds, notes, or other evidence of indebtedness are payable solely and exclusively from net revenues of a District solid waste management facility.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 405, § 39 Sinking fund

39. Sinking fund The Board of Commissioners may establish a sinking fund, however denominated, for the retirement of bond issue or other debt, or to provide security for the payment thereof. When so established, it shall be kept intact and separate from other monies at the disposal of the District, and shall be accounted for as a pledged asset for the purpose of retiring or securing such obligations. The cost of payments to any sinking fund shall be included in the annual budget of the District.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 405, § 40 Capital reserve fund

40. Capital reserve fund The Board of Commissioners may establish and provide for a capital reserve fund to pay for public improvements, replacement of worn-out buildings and equipment, and planned and unplanned major repairs of a management facility, in furtherance of the purpose for which the District was created. Any such capital reserve fund shall be kept in a separate account and invested as are other public funds and shall be expended for such purposes for which established. The cost of payments to any capital reserve fund shall be included in the annual budget of the District.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 405, § 41 Management fees

41. Management fees Giving due consideration to the fact that State policy, as established in 10 V.S.A. § 6601, provides the generators of waste should pay disposal costs that reflect the real costs to society of waste management and disposal, the Board of Commissioners shall from time to time establish and adjust a management fee structure (tipping fee) for the purpose of generating revenues from sources other than assessments to member municipalities, particularly concerning the operation and maintenance of any District solid waste management or resource recovery facility. Once the District has a disposal facility, it will rely primarily on tipping fees for revenues, and shall work with the members to implement those fees.

24 App. V.S.A. ch. 405, § 42 Definitions

42. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Planning costs” means all expenses incurred by the District in the preparation of the solid waste management master plan or revisions thereto such as the costs of investigations and studies. (2) “Solid waste management costs” means all expenses incurred by the District in implementing any policies set forth in the master plan or in furtherance of the District’s purposes, including capital expenditures.

Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/24APPENDIX/405Fetched: 10/21/2026