§ 1 Statement of purpose
Under the authority granted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont, this
charter establishes certain guidelines with respect to organization and functioning
of local Town government in the Town of Jamaica, Vermont. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 2 General law; application
Except when changed by the provisions of this charter, all provisions of the statutes
of the State of Vermont relating to municipalities shall apply to the Town of Jamaica. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 3 Powers of the Town
(a) The Town of Jamaica shall have all the powers granted to towns and municipal corporations
by the Constitution and laws of this State and this charter, together with all the
implied powers necessary to carry into execution all the powers granted. The Town
of Jamaica may enact ordinances not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of
the State of Vermont or with this charter, and impose penalties for violation thereof.
(b) The Town may acquire real property within or without its corporate limits necessary
or convenient for any lawful purpose, in fee simple or any lesser interest or estate,
by purchase, gift, devise, lease, or otherwise, consistent with the Constitution and
laws of the State of Vermont and may sell, lease, mortgage, hold, manage, and control
such property as its interest may require consistent with the Constitution and laws
of the State by vote of a majority of the voters present and voting at a duly warned
meeting. Once the voters have approved the sale, lease, or mortgage of property of
the Town of Jamaica, the Selectboard shall have the full authority to sign all conveyances
and legal documents in the name of the Town to complete the transaction.
(c) In this charter, no mention of a particular power shall be construed to be exclusive
or to restrict the scope of the powers that the Town would have if the particular
powers were not mentioned, unless this charter otherwise provides. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 4 Reservation of powers to the Town
Nothing in this charter shall be construed in any way to limit the powers and functions
conferred on the Town of Jamaica, the Selectboard of the Town, or its elected and
appointed officials by general or special enactments of State statutes or regulations
in force or effect or hereafter enacted, and the powers and functions conferred by
this charter shall be cumulative and in addition to the provisions of such general
or special enactments unless this charter otherwise provides. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 5 Open meetings
Meetings of all Town boards and commissions shall be open and held in accordance with
the general law of this State relating to public meetings. The record of all official
proceedings shall be available for public inspection and copying as provided by the
general law of this State. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 6 Generally
The officers of the Town of Jamaica shall be those provided by law for towns, except
as otherwise provided by this charter. Officers shall have all the powers and duties
necessary to carry out the provisions of this charter as well as those provided by
law. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 7 Elected officers
The following officers of the Town and such other Town officers as are provided by
law and previous vote of the electorate as to number, length of term, and manner of
election at an annual meeting shall be elected from the floor, as required by law,
unless otherwise stated, and shall include the following:
(1) a Moderator to be elected by paper ballot from the floor, for a term of one year;
(2) Selectboard members, three of whom shall serve staggered three-year terms and two
of whom shall serve one-year terms;
(3) listers, for terms of three years, staggered to ensure that no more than one term
ends in any particular year;
(4) other Town officers as the Town shall order as provided by law. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 8 Appointed officers
(a) The Selectboard may appoint, recommend, or approve the appointment of any Town officers
for a term of one year from the date of the appointment unless otherwise specified
in this section, following such notice and warning as required by this charter, to
include the following:
(1) Town Clerk;
(2) Town Treasurer;
(3) Delinquent Tax Collector;
(4) Town Service Officer;
(5) Tree Warden;
(6) Emergency Management Director;
(7) Fire Warden, for a term of five years;
(8) Health Officer;
(9) members of the Town Planning Commission;
(10) Cemetery commissioners;
(11) members of the Board of Recreation;
(12) Road Commissioner;
(13) other Town officers or municipal appointments that may be necessary as provided by
law or otherwise authorized by this charter for the orderly and expeditious operations
of Town government.
(b) All appointed Town officers shall serve at the pleasure of the Selectboard.
(c) All appointed Town officers shall be governed by the Town personnel policy. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 9 Alternate Town officers
The Selectboard is authorized to appoint people to serve as alternate Town officers
in anticipation of disqualifications or unavailability, as needed. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 10 Relationship between and among Town officers
All Town officers, whether elected or appointed, shall exercise their duties and responsibilities
independently unless otherwise provided by law. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 11 Terms of office
Each appointed officer shall serve from the date he or she is appointed and qualified
until the end of the term. Each officer shall hold over until his or her successor
is appointed and qualified. Each officer may succeed himself or herself, if the Selectboard
so approves, after fulfilling the notice provisions of subsection 12(b) of this charter. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 12 Town Clerk; Treasurer; Collector of Delinquent Taxes
(a) The Selectboard shall appoint a Town Clerk, a Treasurer, and a Delinquent Tax Collector
in the manner set forth in subsection (b) of this section. The appointee shall be
competent in the keeping of records, investments, and accounting and shall serve at
the pleasure of the Selectboard.
(b) Prior to appointing a new Town Clerk, a Treasurer, and a Delinquent Tax Collector,
the Selectboard shall appoint a Committee composed of one member of the Selectboard,
an auditor, a lister, and four residents of the Town of Jamaica to review and recommend
to the Selectboard qualified candidates for the positions of Town Clerk, Treasurer,
and Delinquent Tax Collector. The Committee shall have the authority to solicit candidates;
to advertise notice of a vacancy in the Town Clerk’s, the Treasurer’s, and the Delinquent
Tax Collector’s positions; and to make an investigation of a candidate’s credentials
and background as the Committee deems appropriate. Upon completion of the investigation
and interviewing of candidates, the Committee shall submit to the Selectboard the
names of those candidates deemed qualified for the positions of Town Clerk, Treasurer,
and Delinquent Tax Collector. The Selectboard shall appoint a Town Clerk, a Treasurer,
and a Delinquent Tax Collector from among those deemed qualified by the Committee.
In the event that the Committee does not submit at least three qualified candidates
to the Selectboard, the Selectboard shall either appoint a Town Clerk, a Treasurer,
or a Delinquent Tax Collector from among the qualified candidates or notify the Committee
in writing that none of the candidates shall be appointed. The Committee shall then
reconvene and submit the names of additional qualified candidates to the Selectboard.
(c) No later than 30 days following submission of the names of candidates deemed qualified
by the Committee, the Selectboard shall appoint a Town Clerk, a Treasurer, and a Delinquent
Tax Collector or, if applicable, notify the Committee that none of the candidates
shall be appointed.
(d) Members of the Committee described in subsection (b) of this section shall serve until
a Town Clerk, a Treasurer, and a Delinquent Tax Collector or an Interim Town Clerk,
an Interim Treasurer, and an Interim Delinquent Tax Collector are appointed by the
Selectboard. Meetings of the Committee shall be warned and conducted as public meetings
in accordance with the requirements of Vermont statutes and this charter, and the
Committee shall be entitled to meet in executive session as authorized by Vermont
statutes.
(e) Until such time as a Town Clerk, a Treasurer, and a Delinquent Tax Collector are appointed
pursuant to this section, the Selectboard shall appoint an interim Town Clerk, an
interim Treasurer, and an interim Collector of Delinquent Taxes. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 13 General prohibition
No elected or appointed Town officer or employee of the Town shall be beneficially
interested in any matter requiring the discharge of his or her public office. The
purpose of this section is to prohibit the use of public office for financial or other
advantage, whether direct or indirect, by any means or methods whatsoever. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 14 Specific conflicts
A Town officer shall be disqualified from any proceeding in which his or her impartiality
might reasonably be questioned, including instances where:
(1) the Town officer or a near-relative or business associate has a property or financial
interest that might be substantially affected, favorably or adversely, by the decision
of the board, commission, or committee of which the Town officer is a member;
(2) the Town officer has a personal bias or prejudice toward any party; or
(3) the Town officer has previously expressed an opinion as to the proper disposition
of a specific case or controversy involving the exercise of his or her discretion
while acting in a quasi-judicial capacity, such as serving on the Development Review
Board on permits and appeals or as a member of the Selectboard acting to lay out,
alter, reclassify, or discontinue Town highways. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 15 Specific prohibition
A Town officer who is disqualified by virtue of a conflict of interest shall not vote
upon, participate in the discussion of, or otherwise sit as a member of any board,
commission, or committee upon the matter from which he or she is disqualified. He
or she may, however, enter an appearance as a party and be heard in all respects as
a member of the public might be heard in the same proceeding. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 16 Announcing a conflict
If a Town officer recognizes that he or she might have a conflict of interest or if
another person raises an objection to the participation of any Town officer, the Town
officer or the other person shall state the nature of the conflict as soon as may
be possible and the Town officer shall thereupon disqualify himself or herself from
further participation if there is a conflict of interest. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 17 Determination of conflict by other than the Town officer
If a question of a member’s disqualification under this charter is brought to the
attention of any board, commission, or committee by any party or person or by another
board, commission, or committee member and the member does not disqualify himself
or herself, the board, commission, or committee shall consider the factual basis for
the question and shall decide the matter by majority vote, the challenged member abstaining,
before any other business is conducted. A formal vote shall be taken on every question
of a conflict. Once the vote is taken, the board, commission, or committee shall return
to the business before it, and no further time shall be devoted to the issue of that
conflict. A full report of the issue and discussion shall be made in the minutes
of the meeting. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 18 Appointment of alternate officers
The Selectboard may appoint an alternate Town officer to serve in place of a disqualified
Town officer during the period of disqualification or unavailability. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 19 Notice of vacancy during unexpired term
In order to inform citizens of the Town and to afford them the opportunity to participate
or serve in Town government, public notice shall be given of municipal vacancies resulting
from resignation, death, disability, or change of residence from the Town of a Town
officer on any board, commission, or committee or in other public office whether elected
or appointed. Notice shall be made by posting the vacancy in the Town Clerk’s office
and two other public places in the Town within 10 days of the creation of the vacancy.
Notice shall provide for the right of any interested citizen to submit a written application
to the appointing authority regarding the vacancy and to be personally interviewed
by the appointing authority, if requested by the applicant, prior to the filling of
the vacancy as provided by law. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 20 Newspaper publication
The Selectboard may publish notices of vacancies in a newspaper of general circulation
in the Town. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 21 Separability
If any provision of this charter is held invalid, the other provisions of the charter
shall not be affected thereby. If the application of the charter or any of its provisions
to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the application of this charter and
its provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)
§ 22 Amendment
The amendment of this charter shall be as provided by law. (Added 2011, No. M-2, § 2, eff. Feb. 16, 2011.)