-
Subchapter 001: MERGER OF TOWN AND VILLAGE OF BRADFORD; TRANSITION PROVISIONS
§ 101. Merger of the Village and Town
At midnight at the end of November 30, 2004, the Village of Bradford shall merge into
the Town of Bradford, and the Village of Bradford shall, except as hereinafter provided,
cease to exist as a political entity or body corporate, and its charter shall be abolished.
This plan will constitute the charter of the Town of Bradford.
§ 102. Properties transferred and liabilities assumed
Upon the merger specified in section 101 of this charter, all the lands, buildings,
easements, funds, uncollected taxes, monies, and other property of the Village of
Bradford shall become vested in and become property of the Town of Bradford, and all
indebtedness bonded and otherwise of said Village of Bradford shall be assumed by
the Town of Bradford, with the exception of bond No. 1996, series 1, 81-0394-01-5,
which shall continue to be paid by the Village Special District as set forth in section
206 of this charter.
§ 103. Properties held in trust
Any and all properties held in trust by the trustees of the Village of Bradford, or
any officer thereof, shall become vested in the Selectboard of the Town of Bradford
and its successors, or in the respective officer of the said Town and his or her successor,
as the case may be, and shall continue to be held in trust for the same uses as before
the merger, all without any further act, deed, or instrument being necessary.
§ 104. Settling the affairs of the Village of Bradford
Prior to said merger, the officers of the Village of Bradford shall settle so far
as possible their financial affairs and shall, except as hereinafter provided, on
said date turn over and deliver to the Clerk of the Town of Bradford all records,
books, and documents of the Village of Bradford and to the proper officers of the
said Town all property of the Village of Bradford.
§ 105. Police Department
Upon the date of merger, the Village Police Department will become a Town Police Department.
The Town Police Department budget will be determined annually at Town meeting.
§ 106. Finances
With the exception of the funds of the Water Department and Sewer Department, and
other special service funds and Highway Department funds, the funds of the Village
of Bradford shall be added to the General Fund of the Town of Bradford: Highway Department
funds of the Village of Bradford shall be added to the highway funds of the Town of
Bradford, and Water Department funds and Sewer Department funds of the Village of
Bradford shall be added to the proper special fund provided for in section 205 of
this charter.
§ 107. Water and Sewer Department
(a) The services of the Water and Sewer Department of the Town of Bradford shall be fee
based, with all costs paid by the users. All water and sewer rates of the Village
of Bradford in effect at the time of the merger shall continue in effect until changed
as provided in sections 206 and 207 of this charter. Annual water and sewer charges
shall be at a rate sufficient to cover annual expenditures, temporary indebtedness,
and the amortizing of bonded indebtedness and interest.
(b) A Water and Sewer Commission shall be elected as outlined in section 206a of this
charter. A Commission report and budget shall be submitted for approval at the annual
Town meeting.
(c) During the transition period, the Commission will consist of the present Water Board
and the trustees who are currently responsible for sewer management. As the trustees
finish their terms, they will not be replaced.
§ 108. Existing ordinances
(a) The development plan, zoning regulations, subdivision regulations, and official maps
of the Town and Village of Bradford shall become and be the development plan, zoning
regulations, subdivision regulations, and official maps of the Town of Bradford.
(b) All rules, ordinances, regulations, zoning regulations, and bylaws of the Village
of Bradford in effect on the day before the said merger shall become and continue
in full force and effect as rules, ordinances, regulations, and bylaws of the Town
of Bradford for the respective area presently involved unless in conflict with rules,
ordinances, regulations, and bylaws of the Town of Bradford already existing, until
lawfully amended or repealed.
(c) Whenever a power is granted by any such rule, ordinance, regulation, or bylaw to an
officer of the Village of Bradford, such power is conferred hereby upon the appropriate
officer of the Town of Bradford.
§ 109. Election of Selectboard
On November 30, 2004, the Office of Trustees shall cease to exist. The 2004 duly
elected Selectboard shall serve as the merged Selectboard until the Town meeting on
March 7, 2005, at which time all Selectboard members shall resign. At the 2005 Town
meeting, three Selectboard members shall be elected. One member will be elected for
one year, one member will be elected for two years, and one member will be elected
for three years.
§ 110. Votes required for effect
All sections of this plan of merger shall take effect if this plan is approved as
follows:
(1) By majority vote of the Town of Bradford that includes qualified voters in Town and
Village.
(2) By majority vote of the Village of Bradford that includes all qualified voters of
the Village.
(3) Subject to approval by the General Assembly, the merger shall take effect at midnight
at the end of November 30, 2004.
-
Subchapter 002: CHARTER PROVISIONS
§ 201. Applicability of the general law
(a) All provisions of the Constitution and general laws of the State of Vermont relating
to towns and their officers shall apply to the Town of Bradford.
(b) The Town of Bradford shall have all the powers now or hereafter conferred upon towns
and villages by the Constitution and general laws of the State of Vermont.
(c) The fiscal year for the Town of Bradford shall coincide with the calendar year, January
1 to December 31.
§ 202. Officers
The Town of Bradford shall have the officers as provided for towns by the general
laws. (Amended 2007, No. M-3, § 2, eff. March 8, 2007.)
§ 203. Ordinances
Any rule, ordinance, regulation, zoning regulation, or bylaw of the Town of Bradford
may apply to a limited area and not to the whole Town, notwithstanding that the ordinance,
rule, regulation, zoning regulation, or bylaw might also have been applied to another
area or areas within the Town.
§ 204. Fire prevention
For the prevention and control of fires, the Town of Bradford may function with volunteer
firefighters. The fire officers shall be an advisory body reporting to the Selectboard.
§ 205. Existing Water and Sewer Departments
(a) As approved by the majority of the voters of the Village of Bradford, the supervision,
management, control, and operation of the Village public water supply system and the
Village public sewage system shall be vested in a Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners
of the Town of Bradford consisting of five persons, each of whom shall be a ratepayer
and resident of the Town of Bradford. The Water and Sewer Commissioners shall be
elected as outlined in section 206a of this charter.
(b) The water system of the Village of Bradford taken over by the Board of Water and Sewer
Commissioners of the Town of Bradford and any additions thereto shall be maintained
separate from all other departments of the Town, and all rents and revenues therefrom
not necessary for current expenditures therefor shall be placed in a special fund,
no part of which may be used for any other purpose.
(c) The sewage system of the Village of Bradford (not including the separate storm sewer
pipelines) taken over by the Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners of the Town of
Bradford and all extensions thereto shall be maintained separate from all other departments
of the Town, and all rents and revenues therefrom not necessary for current expenditures
therefor shall be placed in a special fund, no part of which may be used for any other
purpose.
§ 206. Special districts
(a) The Selectboard may designate areas apart from the rest of the Town as special service
districts and may provide the voters therein with special services not common to all
the voters of the Town, provided that the majority of the voters residing in the respective
designated areas and present and voting at the district meeting on the subject shall
have approved of such resolution.
(b) Such area shall be reasonable geographically, taking into account the areas and persons
actually benefited, the types of services to be provided, and the fact that the efficiency
of providing multiple services in a single special service district might outweigh
the fact that the areas and voters benefiting from the respective services might not
coincide exactly. All costs required to support a given special service shall be
paid for by the taxpayers receiving said service, by a tax on the grand list in the
special service district involved to be assessed annually by the Selectboard, or in
such other manner as the Selectboard determines. If the costs are to be paid by a
tax, such tax shall be paid and collected in the same manner as other taxes, and such
tax assessed on any part of the grand list shall be a lien thereon.
(c) All funds of any special service shall be kept in a special fund, no part of which
may be used for any other purpose.
(d) The warning for each annual or special Town meeting may contain appropriate articles
under which the legal voters residing in any special district may separately vote.
(e) The Selectboard shall designate the Village of Bradford as a special district for
the purpose of collecting taxes to pay bond No. 1996, series 1, 81-0394-01-5. Taxes
paid to the Village special district shall be used to meet the obligations incurred
by the Village under bond No. 1996, series 1, 81-0394-01-5 for the repair and maintenance
of roads and highways. When the bond is completely paid, the Village special district
shall cease to exist. The Village special district shall be defined by the geographic
limits of the Village set forth in the Village zoning map recorded in the land records
of the Town of Bradford.
§ 206a. Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners
(a) The supervision, management, control, and operation of the Village public water supply
system, the Village public sewage system, and the Town water and sewage systems shall
be vested in the Water and Sewer Department of the Town of Bradford, which shall be
governed by a Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners consisting of five persons, each
of whom shall be a ratepayer and a resident of the Town of Bradford.
(b) The initial Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners shall be the incumbent Board of
Water and Sewer Commissioners in office upon the date of approval of this charter
by the General Assembly, each to serve the remainder of the respective term. Upon
the expiration of the respective term of each initial Water and Sewer commissioner,
successor commissioners shall be elected by Bradford resident ratepayers at the annual
Town meeting for a term of five years each. Any vacancy among the Board of Water
and Sewer Commissioners shall be filled by appointment of the Board of Water and Sewer
Commissioners until the next annual Town meeting.
(c) To the fullest extent provided by law, the Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners
shall have authority over and responsibility for the public water supply system and
the public sewer system, including the power to establish and impose rates and charges,
to adopt rules and regulations regarding the operation and protection of such systems,
and to allocate water and sewage treatment and disposal capacity.
(d) The Water and Sewer Department and the Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners shall
have the authority to collect taxes or impose fees in order to pay bond No. 1996,
series 1, 81-0394-01-5. Taxes or fees paid to the Water and Sewer Department shall
be used to meet the obligations incurred by the Village of Bradford under bond No.
1996, series 1, 81-0394-01-5 for the construction, repair, and upkeep of the public
water system and public sewage system of the Village of Bradford.
§ 207. Voting procedures for water and sewer expenses and extensions
(a) Voting for new capital improvements for water or sewer service within the areas being
served by the water and sewer systems shall be by the voters using these services,
and all votes shall be approved by a majority of the voters residing in the respective
designated areas and present and voting at the district meeting on the subject.
(b) In case of future extension of water or sewer lines into currently unserved areas
where bonding or temporary costs are to be assumed by the Town, all legal Town voters
shall be eligible to vote on the project.
(c) In all cases where bonding is required, all legal voters of the Town may vote on the
bond issue. Capital expenditures or projects requiring bonding shall first be approved
by a majority vote of the water or sewer users who are legal voters of the Town present
and voting at a meeting called for that purpose.
§ 208. Special funds
(a) The Town Treasurer shall keep all money in a special fund in an account or accounts
separate from those of any other special funds and from those of other Town funds
and shall honor no warrant upon it except for the purpose thereof as heretofore enumerated.
(b) Any person who shall pay or cause to be paid any portion of any special fund for any
purpose other than as herein specified shall forfeit to the Town for the benefit of
such special fund twice the amount so paid to be recovered in a civil action on this
section of this charter. It shall be the duty of the Town Agent to defend and prosecute
suits to bring such action to collect such forfeiture. In case such person is bonded,
the issuer of the bond shall be joined with him or her in such action, provided the
issuer of the bond is within the jurisdiction of the State of Vermont.
§ 209. Severability
If any provision of this charter shall for any reason be held invalid, such invalidity
shall not affect the remaining provisions. To this end, the provisions of this charter
are severable.