The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 24 Appendix: Municipal Charters

Chapter 261: Village of Orleans

• § 1. Boundaries; corporate names; powers

  All that part of Barton in the County of Orleans enclosed within the following boundaries, to wit, Beginning at the northwesterly corner of the highway bridge on the highway leading from Orleans Village to Coventry, near the junction of the Barton and Willoughby Rivers; thence north 47 1-2 degrees west across said highway to an iron stake on the westerly side of said highway at the southeasterly corner of land owned by Daniel Buchanan five rods: thence north 77 3-4 degrees west on the division line between said Daniel Buchanan land and land belonging to J.H. Clark and O.H. Austin, (crossing the railroad track) to an iron stake on the easterly line of the town of Irasburg 25 rods: thence south 41 degrees west along said easterly line of Irasburg to the center of the highway leading from Orleans Village to Irasburg Village 196 rods: thence south 41 degrees west on said Irasburg line to an iron stake on said town line at the northwest corner of land owned by H.R. Hall 41 rods: thence south 47 degrees east, on the division line between land owned by H.R. Hall and land owned by E.L. Chandler to an iron stake on the highway leading from Orleans Village to Barton Village 90 rods: thence south 47 degrees east through land owned by H.R. Hall and across the railroad track and Barton River and on the division line between said H.R. Hall land and lands owned by the estate of the late Hiram Blaisdell and by E.L. Chandler, O.H. Austin, C.S. Skinner and P. Guild to an iron stake on said division line at the southeasterly corner of said Chandler, Austin, Skinner and Guild land 78 1-5 rods: thence north 66 1-2 degrees east through land owned by H.C. Dudley to the center of the highway leading from Orleans Village to Barton Village 81 rods: thence north 66 1-2 degrees east across said highway and on the division between land owned by O.H. Austin and land owned by Geo. W. Peavey to an iron stake at the southeasterly corner of said Geo. W. Peavey’s land 13 1-2 rods: thence north 79 degrees east through land owned by O.H. Austin to an iron stake on the division line between said O.H. Austin’s land and land owned by Cynthia E. Webster 55 1-2 rods: thence south 86 degrees east on the division line between the land owned by said Cynthia E. Webster and lands owned by O.H. Austin and L.W. Stimpson to an iron stake on the northerly side of the highway leading from Orleans Village to Brownington Centre 47 1-2 rods: thence north 75 1-2 degrees east through lands owned by L.W. Stimpson and Carrie B. Hyde to an iron stake at the southwesterly corner of the cemetery 80 rods: thence north 30 1-2 degrees east along the division line between the cemetery and land owned by L.W. Stimpson to an iron stake at the southeasterly corner of the cemetery 16 rods and eight links: thence north 18 degrees east, through land owned by L.W. Stimpson to an iron stake at the northwesterly corner of land purchased of the estate of the late Timothy Dudley by O.H. Austin, 16 rods and 23 links: thence north 39 degrees east along the division line between land owned by L.W. Stimpson and said land purchased of the Dudley estate by O.H. Austin to an iron stake at the northeasterly corner of L.W. Stimpson’s land 23 rods: thence north 53 degrees west along the line between land owned by L. W. Stimpson and John Tripp to the northeast corner of land owned by H.R. Smith 11 rods and 4 links: thence north 53 degrees west along the division line between land owned by H.R. Smith and John Tripp and the estate of the late F.A. Stafford to an iron stake on the westerly side of the highway leading from Orleans Village to Brownington Village 69 rods and 17 links: thence south 50 1-2 degrees west, along the division line between said highway and land owned by Joseph Bartlett, to the southerly corner of said Bartlett’s land 10 rods and 10 links: thence north 54 degrees west along the line between the slaughter house and land owned by L.W. Stimpson and land owned by Joseph Bartlett to an iron stake at the north corner of said Stimpson’s land 69 rods and 10 links: thence south 39 1-4 degrees west along the line between the land owned by J. Bartlett and land owned by L.W. Stimpson to an iron stake at the west corner of L.W. Stimpson’s land 16 1-2 rods: thence north 41 1-2 degrees west, on the line between land owned by Joseph Bartlett, and land owned by A.D. Mathews to an iron stake at the north corner of A.D. Mathews’ land 40 rods: thence south 40 1-2 degrees west, on the line between land owned by Joseph Bartlett and land owned by A.D. Mathews to an iron stake on the west corner of A.D. Mathews’ land, and on the easterly bank of Willoughby River 32 rods: thence north 27 degrees west, through land owned by Joseph Bartlett, to the northeasterly corner of the highway bridge at the junction of Barton and Willoughby rivers 170 rods: thence along the northerly side of said bridge to the northwesterly corner thereof and to the bound begun at two rods and eight links, is hereby incorporated and shall hereafter be known by the name of the Village of Orleans and the inhabitants of said Village are hereby constituted a body politic and corporate, with all the usual powers and privileges incident to public corporations to be known by the name of the Village of Orleans and by that name, they and their successors shall and may have perpetual succession, and be capable in law of suing and being sued, pleading and being impleaded, and answering and being answered unto, defending and being defended in all courts and places whatever; and may have a common seal and the same change and alter at pleasure, and shall be capable in law of purchasing, holding, and conveying estate and property, both real and personal, for the use of said Village, and for supporting a fire department; may tax themselves and levy and collect such taxes for the purpose aforesaid, or to carry into effect any legal vote or bylaw of said corporation, providing that no tax shall be laid or collected without the consent or approbation of a major part of the legal voters of said Village present in open meeting duly warned and held agreeably to the provisions of this charter. (Added 1878, No. 196, § 1; amended 1892, No. 114, § 1; 1908, No. 256, § 1; 1927, No. 173, § 1.)

• § 2. Alteration of bounds; requisites

  The Village may, by vote in Village meeting, alter its bounds with the written consent of each person whose residence or property will be included or excluded by such alteration. A record of such alteration of bounds and of such instruments of consent shall be made in the Town Clerk’s office of the Town of Barton and the alteration shall not take effect until such record has been made. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 2.)

• § 3. Territory embraced within; corporation limits constituted a highway district; assessment and collection of highway taxes

  All the territory embraced within the limits of said Village is hereby constituted a highway district of the Town of Barton, and all the highway taxes assessed upon the ratable estate therein shall be paid in money; and the Selectboard of the Town of Barton shall make out a tax bill therefor, and deliver the same seasonably as required by law, with a warrant for its collection, to the Collector of said Village, who shall collect and pay said taxes into the Village treasury, to be expended under the direction of the trustees, in building, sustaining, and repairing of streets, roads, walks, lanes, alleys, and sidewalks in said Village; and no surveyor of highways for said highway district shall be required or chosen by said Town. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 3.)

• § 4. Annual Village meeting; when held

  The annual meeting of said Village shall be holden on the third Tuesday of March each year at such place within said Village and at such house as may be named and fixed in the warning thereof for the purpose of electing the officers of said Village, and for the transaction of any business specified in the warning of such meeting, which warning shall be signed by the Clerk, specifying such other business beside the choice of officers as the trustees, or a majority of them, may direct; which notice or warning shall be posted in at least three of the most public places in said Village, not less than ten and not more than 15 days next before the time of holding said meeting. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 4; amended 1900, No. 168, § 1.)

• § 5. Special meetings on failure to warn annual meetings

  If the annual meeting of said corporation shall fail to be holden for want of the notice hereinbefore provided for, or for any other cause, the corporation shall not be thereby prejudiced; and the said several officers may at any time thereafter be elected at a special meeting called for that purpose as hereinbefore provided for calling annual meetings, but any such officers so elected at any such special meeting shall hold their office only until the next annual meeting of said corporation or until others are chosen in their places; and special meetings may be called at any time to fill any vacancies which may exist in any of said several offices, by death, resignation, or otherwise. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 5.)

• § 6. Checklist of voters; power of trustees in respect thereto

  The trustees may, previous to an annual Village meeting, prepare an alphabetical list of the persons qualified to vote at such annual meeting, in the same manner, and subject to the same provisions in respect to corrections and use in all respects, as are enacted by chapter six of the Revised Laws, concerning a checklist of voters for use in freeman’s meetings; the Trustees have the same powers and duties in respect thereto as are by said chapter conferred upon the selectboard and the board of civil authority of towns, when so authorized or directed by vote of the Village. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 6.)

• § 7. Qualification of voters in Village meeting

  Persons who have resided in the Village one year and who are voters in Town meeting shall be voters in Village meeting. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 7.)

• § 8. Officers, how elected, terms of office

  The officers of said corporation shall consist of a Moderator, Clerk, three trustees, Treasurer, Collector of Taxes, a Chief Engineer, and two assistant engineers, all of whom, with the exception of the trustees, shall be elected annually and shall hold their respective offices for the term of one year and until others are chosen in their places; said trustees shall be elected by ballot, and, except the first two elected, shall hold office for the term of three years, but the term of office for the first two chosen shall be one year for the first and two years for the second. Thereafter one trustee shall be elected annually for the term of three years. Vacancies in the office of trustees shall be filled by ballot at any special meeting of said Village, duly warned and holden, within the space of 30 days from the date of the occurrence of said vacancy for that purpose, and any trustee or trustees so elected shall hold office only until the next annual meeting or until others are chosen in their places, and at the next succeeding annual meeting, trustee or trustees elected to succeed any trustee or trustees who shall not have served for the full term for which they were elected, shall be chosen to fill out the unexpired term of office remaining at the time of such meeting of such trustee or trustees whose offices have become vacated from any other cause than that of limitation of term of office. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 8; amended 1900, No. 168, § 2.)

• § 9. Duties of the Moderator

  It shall be the duty of the Moderator to preside at all meetings of said Village, and the Moderator shall have the same power as the moderator of town meetings now has by law and in case of the Moderator’s absence a Moderator Pro Temp may be appointed. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 9.)

• § 10. Duties of the Clerk

  It shall be the duty of the Clerk to keep fair and accurate records of all of the proceedings of said corporation, and the Clerk shall give copies of the same when required, and shall have power to certify to the same, for which copies so certified the Clerk shall have the same fees as town clerks for similar services; and the Clerk shall also make out such tax bills as the trustees shall from time to time direct, for which the Clerk shall have reasonable compensation, or such sum as may be agreed upon between the Clerk and the trustees. It shall also be the Clerk’s duty to warn special meetings agreeably to the direction of the trustees or a majority of them, or upon petition of five or more legal voters of said Village; and shall also duly warn all annual meetings; special meetings of said corporation shall be warned in the same way and upon the same time hereinbefore provided for calling annual meetings, and the warning thereof shall contain a statement of the business to be transacted. The Clerk shall also have the usual powers and duties incident to Clerks of such corporations. Any business may be transacted at an adjourned meeting that, under warning, might have been transacted at the original meeting. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 10.)

• § 11. Special meetings; how called

  On request of five legal voters of the Village, the Clerk, and upon the Clerk’s neglect or refusal, the trustees, may call a special meeting of said Village, giving notice of the same as in case of the annual meeting, and specifying in the notice the objects of the meeting. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 11.)

• § 12. General powers and duties of trustees

  The Board of Trustees shall have the general care and management of the prudential interests and affairs of said Village; shall assess all taxes and make out a rate-bill accordingly; shall direct the expenditure of all monies belonging to said Village, draw orders upon the Treasurer and generally perform all the duties legally enjoined upon them by said corporation, and shall submit their accounts and vouchers to the auditors at least 10 days before the annual meeting of each year. Said trustees shall have power to abate taxes laid or assessed by virtue of this charter; to remit fines imposed for the violation of this charter or the bylaws of said corporation, and to discharge offenders from imprisonment for the same. The power of said trustees to abate taxes shall be subject to the same limitations and may be exercised for the same causes as stated and mentioned in section 2,736 of the Revised Laws. The trustees shall fill a vacancy in a Village office, and a person so appointed shall serve for the unexpired time, unless superseded; but the Village may, at any time before the expiration of such term, supersede such an appointment by a new election at a special meeting, for the remainder of the term. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 12.)

• § 13. Duties of Treasurer and Collector

  The Treasurer and Collector shall perform the same duties for said corporation as by law required of a town treasurer and a collector of town taxes respectively; and shall have the same powers, proceed in the same manner, be subject to the same liabilities, and shall give bonds to said corporation conditioned for the faithful performance of their respective duties with such sureties and in such sum as the trustees or a majority of them shall direct. And a failure or neglect on the part of either of said officers for more than 10 days after request in writing by the trustees to furnish the satisfactory bonds shall create a vacancy in such office. (Added 1892, No 114, § 13.)

• § 14. Duties of auditors

  The auditors shall, previous to each annual Village meeting, examine and adjust the accounts of Village officers, and report the accounts so adjusted, with the items thereof, and also the state of the treasury, to the Village at its annual meeting, which report when adopted shall be recorded by the Clerk. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 14.)

• § 15. Further duties of auditor; police officers, how appointed and removed; their powers and duties

  The auditors shall not allow a claim or account for the personal service of a Village officer except when compensation for such service is fixed by law or by a vote of the Village. The auditors shall include in their report to the Village a statement of the amount of such claims presented and disallowed, with the nature and extent of the services rendered for which such compensation was claimed. The said trustees shall have power to appoint police officers not exceeding five in number, by an instrument in writing under their hands, who shall be qualified by taking an oath that they shall faithfully perform their respective duties as such police officers, which instrument of appointment shall be recorded by and in the office of the Clerk of said Village; but such appointment may be revoked by a majority of said trustees in their discretion, which revocation shall also be in writing and recorded by said Clerk. Such police officers shall by virtue of said appointment be informing officers, constables, and conservators of the peace within said Village, may serve any criminal process returnable within said Village, and upon view of any violation of this charter, the provisions thereof, or of any bylaw of said corporation within the limits of said Village, may arrest the offender forthwith and without warrant for that purpose, and carry such offender before any justice of the peace to answer complaint therefor, and may make complaint on oath in the name of such corporation against such offender, and upon the trial of such complaint shall be a competent witness; provided that if any such police officer shall so arrest any such offender, the police officer may commit the offender to the Village lockup or otherwise detain the offender in safe custody not exceeding 24 hours, at the end of which time the offender shall be discharged, unless previously taken before some justice of the peace to answer to the offence for which the offender was arrested; provided further, however, that if such arrest shall be made between sunset of Saturday and sunrise of the following morning such offender may be retained in safe custody until the next following Monday morning; and for such arrest and the services connected therewith, such police officer shall receive the same fees as sheriffs or constables are entitled to for the same or similar services. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 15.)

• § 16. Powers and duties of the Board of Fire Wardens

  The Chief Engineer, first and second assistant engineers shall constitute a Board of Fire Wardens. The Board of Fire Wardens or any of them who may be present at a fire, shall have power at such fire to suppress all tumults and riots by force if necessary, to direct the labor of all persons present during the continuance of such fire and remove goods and effects endangered by such fire and protect the same from waste and depredation, to pull down, remove, or destroy any house, store, or other building when they, or any of them present at such fire shall deem it necessary for the better preservation of any property. Said Board of Fire Wardens may inspect the manner of manufacturing and keeping gunpowder, lime, ashes, matches, lights, fireworks, or combustibles, and the construction and repairs of fireplaces, stoves, flues, and chimneys in said corporation. And said Board of Fire Wardens may by vote of a majority thereof direct all persons manufacturing or keeping gunpowder, lime, ashes, matches, lights, fireworks, or combustibles, kerosene oil, petroleum, naphtha, oils, or burning fluid, in what manner and quantities to manufacture and keep the same, and owners or occupiers of buildings with such fireplaces, stoves, flues, or chimneys, how to repair the same, and every person refusing or neglecting to obey such order, shall forfeit and pay to use of said corporation a fine not exceeding $25.00 for each period of 20 days after notice of such order, that such persons shall neglect or refuse to obey the same. The Board of Fire Wardens shall have full power to regulate their own proceedings and to form new hose or hook and ladder companies, and to organize and govern the Fire Department, and subject to the approval of the trustees to purchase necessary fire apparatus and to have the general care and custody of the property pertaining to the Fire Department. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 16.)

• § 17. Ordinances, regulations, and bylaws

  Said Village shall have power to make, establish, alter, or amend or repeal ordinances, regulations, and bylaws for the following purposes:

  (1) To establish and regulate a market.

  (2) To suppress and restrain disorderly and gaming houses, billiard tables, and all descriptions of gaming and for the destruction of all instruments and devices used for that purpose.

  (3) To regulate the exhibition of common showmen, and of shows of every kind not interdicted by law.

  (4) To abate and remove all public and private nuisances.

  (5) To compel the owner or occupant of any unwholesome, noisome, or offensive house or place to remove or cleanse the same from time to time as may be necessary for the health or comfort of the inhabitants of said village.

  (6) To direct the location and management of all slaughterhouses, meat markets, steam mills, blacksmith shops, and sewers.

  (7) To regulate the manufacture and keeping of gunpowder, ashes, and all other combustible and dangerous materials.

  (8) To regulate the making of alterations and repairs of stovepipes, furnaces, fireplaces, and other things from which damage by fire may be apprehended, and also to regulate the use of buildings in crowded localities for hazardous purposes; to provide for the preservation of buildings from fires by precautionary measures and inspections and to establish and regulate a fire department and fire companies.

  (9) To prevent immoderate riding or driving in the streets and cruelty to animals.

  (10) To regulate the erection of buildings, and to regulate entrances and exits to public halls and theatres, and to direct the closing of public halls and theatres until proper exits are provided, to prevent the encumbering of the street, sidewalks, and public alleys with firewood, lumber, carriages, boxes, and other things, and provide for the care, preservation, and improvement of the public grounds.

  (11) To restrain or regulate the running at large of cattle, horses, swine, sheep, and other domestic animals and establish and maintain a pound for impounding the same, subject to the provisions of chapter 179 of the Revised Laws as to notices, fines, penalties, and fees, which fines, penalties, and fees may be doubled.

  (12) To provide a supply of water for the protection of the Village against fire, and for other purposes, and to regulate the use of the same.

  (13) To compel all persons to remove from the sidewalks and gutters adjacent to the premises owned and occupied by them, all snow, ice, dirt, and garbage, and to keep such sidewalks and gutters clean.

  (14) To license innkeepers, keepers of saloons or victualing houses, peddlers, itinerant venders, and auctioneers, under such regulations and for the sums of money as shall be prescribed therefor.

  (15) To regulate or restrain the use of rockets, squibs, fire crackers, or other fireworks in the streets or commons and to prevent the practicing therein of any amusements having a tendency to injure or annoy persons passing thereon, or to endanger the security of property.

  (16) To regulate gauging; the place and manner of selling and weighing hay; packing, inspecting, and branding beef, pork, and produce, and selling and measuring wood, lime, and coal, and to appoint suitable persons to superintend and conduct the same.

  (17) To regulate porters, truckmen, cartmen, and cartage; also hackney coaches, cabs, and carriages, and their drivers.

  (18) To prescribe the powers and duties of watchmen of said Village.

  (19) To regulate the grade of the streets, and the grade and width of sidewalks, and construction thereof, and protect the same.

  (20) To provide for lighting the Village.

  (21) To prohibit and punish willful injury to trees planted for shade, ornament, convenience, or use, public or private, and to prevent and punish trespasses or willful injuries to or upon public buildings, squares, commons, cemeteries, or other property.

  (22) To restrain and punish vagrants, mendicants, and common prostitutes, and to suppress houses of ill fame.

  (23) To establish and maintain a public library and reading room.

  (24) To regulate the burial of the dead.

  (25) And said Village may make, establish, alter, amend, or repeal any other by-laws, rules, and ordinances which it may deem necessary for the well-being of said village, and not repugnant to the Constitution or laws of this State or of the United States. And such corporation may impose a fine, not exceeding $100.00, for the breach of any bylaw, rule, or ordinance, to be prosecuted and recovered by an action of the case on this statute, before any justice of the peace within said Village, in which action it shall be sufficient to declare generally that the defendant or defendants is or are guilty of the breach of a certain bylaw, naming such bylaw generally; and under such declaration the special matter may be given in evidence. And all writs for the breach of any bylaw may issue in due form of law. Prosecutions for offenses under this charter shall be brought within three months after the commission of the offense, if the respondent remains in the State within the reach of process during the time. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 17.)

• § 18. Bylaws, rules, and ordinances, when recorded to be the prima facie evidence

  The bylaws, rules, and ordinances of said Village shall be recorded in the office of the Clerk of said Village, and the Clerk’s certificate that such bylaws, rules, and ordinances were adopted at an annual meeting of said Village or at a special meeting thereof, called for that purpose, shall be a prima facie evidence of such fact in any court in this State: and certified copies of said bylaws, rules, ordinances and Clerk’s certificates shall also be received as evidence in all courts in this State. (Added 1892, No. 114,§ 18.)

• § 19. Power of trustees in laying out streets, sidewalks, etc.; damages therefor, how recovered

  The trustees of said Village may lay out, alter, maintain, or discontinue any street, road, lane, alley, or walk in said Village and appraise and settle damages therefor, causing their proceedings to be recorded in the Town Clerk’s office of said Town of Barton, provided that any person aggrieved by their proceedings shall have the same right and opportunity for applying to the County Court of the County of Orleans to obtain redress in the premises as is or may be allowed and provided by law to persons aggrieved by proceedings of the selectboard in like matters or proceedings. Said trustees, in making, altering, or repairing sidewalks or building new streets, or constructing or repairing gutters, drains, or sewers for the protection or improvement of streets or roads, shall have power, subject to the bylaws and ordinances of said Village, on giving not less than 12 days’ notice to the persons or parties in interest of the time and place of hearing, to assess the lands adjoining such streets, sidewalks, or roads, or the owners of lands to be specially benefitted by such street, walk, road, sewer, or gutter, such sum or sums of money toward the expense thereof as the trustees shall judge such lands and such owners to be benefited thereby; and when they shall have made any such assessment they shall make report thereof setting forth their doings in that respect, which report they shall cause to be recorded in the Town Clerk’s office in said Barton; and when so recorded, the amount so assessed shall be and remain a lien in the nature of a tax upon the land so benefited or assessed until the same shall be paid or set aside, vacated, or avoided by legal proceedings or otherwise. From such assessment there shall be the same right of appeal by any person or party aggrieved to the County Court of said County of Orleans, and the same proceedings in respect to such appeal as is above provided in this section, and the final decision of the County Court in the matter of such appeal shall within 30 days next after such decision is rendered, be recorded in the Town Clerk’s office of said Town of Barton; and when so recorded the same shall be and constitute a lien upon the land so benefited or assessed, which lien shall continue until said assessment is paid; but such appeal from such assessment shall not vacate said lien or delay the making, altering, repairing, building, or constructing said streets, sidewalks, gutters, sewers, or drains; and if the owner of such lands shall neglect, for the space of more than 60 days after the final decision, of said trustees, or in case of an appeal to County Court, shall neglect for more than 60 days after the final decision of said Court to pay the Village Treasurer the amount of such assessment the trustees shall issue their warrants for the collection of the same, directed to the Village Collector of Taxes, who shall have power and authority to sell at public auction so much of said land or other property of the delinquent not exempt from attachment or levy of execution in distraint for taxes as will satisfy said assessment and all legal costs and fines, and who shall proceed as to and in making such sales in the same manner as collectors of town taxes are required by law to proceed in selling real estate or personal property at auction for the collection of town taxes. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 19.)

• § 20. Power of trustees in laying sewers; proceedings by persons dissatisfied

  Whenever the public health or convenience shall require the construction of a common sewer or main drain in the Village of Orleans, the trustees of said Village, upon application in writing of five or more freeholders and legal voters of said Village, are hereby authorized and empowered to lay, make, and maintain such common sewer or main drain and relay and repair the same from time to time when necessary, and for such purposes may take the land of individuals and corporations on making compensation for the land so taken; and the trustees shall proceed in the same manner as is by law prescribed for the selectboard in taking land for public highways and in awarding damages therefor; and the said trustees shall make a return of their doings to the office of the Clerk of said Village, who shall record the same in the records of the Village. Every person whose particular drain shall enter into any such sewer or main drain or who in the opinion of such trustees shall receive benefit thereby for draining his or her premises shall be liable to contribute his or her just share towards the expense of laying and constructing such sewer or drain, and shall be assessed therefor by said trustees such share; and notice of the time and place of such assessment for said contribution shall be given to such person, his or her agent, tenant, or lessee, and a certificate of such assessment shall be left with the Clerk of said Village and recorded by said Clerk, and when so recorded the amount so assessed shall be and remain a lien in the nature of a tax upon the land or premises so assessed or benefited until the same shall be paid; and if the owners of such lands shall neglect for the space of more than 60 days after the final decision of said trustees, or in case of an appeal to the County Court for more than 60 days from the final decision of said court, to pay to the Village Treasurer the amount of said assessment, the trustees shall issue their warrant for the collection of the same directed to the Village collector of taxes who shall have power and authority to sell at public auction so much of said land or personal effects or other property not exempt by law from attachment, levy of execution, or distraint for taxes, of such delinquent, as will satisfy such assessment and all legal costs and fees, and who shall proceed in the same manner as Collectors of Taxes are required by law to proceed in selling real estate or personal effects or property of delinquent taxpayers at auction for collection of town taxes. When any person shall be dissatisfied with the decision of said trustees in the award of damages for land taken for a sewer or drain or in any assessment for contribution for the same, such person may petition the County Court for Orleans County for a reassessment of such damages or contribution, and any number of persons aggrieved may join in the petition, but such petition shall not delay the laying or repairing such sewer or drain; such petition shall be served on the Clerk of such Village within 60 days next after the award of damages or said assessment for contribution shall be filed in said Clerk’s office. Such proceedings shall be had in said County Court on said petition as are provided by law for the reassessment of damages for land taken for highways by the laws of the State except as herein provided, and the commissioners appointed by said County Court to reexamine any assessment or contribution shall notify the Clerk of said corporation of the time and place when they shall hear said matter. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 20; amended 1908, No. 256, § 1.)

• § 21. Assessment and collection of taxes

  Said corporation may at any annual or special meeting called in whole or in part for that purpose, as herein provided, lay a tax on the grand list of said Town of Barton, of the inhabitants of said Village, and upon the ratable estate within the same belonging to nonresidents; and the trustees shall make out a rate bill accordingly and deliver the same to the Collector, who shall have the same power to collect such tax as the collector of town taxes, and shall proceed in like manner and in like manner may distrain and sell property to satisfy the same, and may for want thereof commit persons against whom the Collector has such tax to jail in the same way and manner and by the same proceedings provided for the arrest and commitment of a delinquent taxpayer by a collector of town taxes, and it shall hereafter be the duty of the listers of the Town of Barton, in making the list of said Town of Barton to designate therein such of a ratable estate thereof as shall be within the limits of said Village. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 21.)

• § 22. Power of trustees in granting licenses

  The trustees of said Village shall have the sole power of granting licenses and vacating the same, within the limits of said Village, agreeably to the bylaws, rules, and ordinances thereof that the selectboard has by chapter 95 and by section 22 of chapter 119 of the general statutes; and all monies received for such licenses shall belong to the Village treasury and be paid into the same. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 22.)

• § 23. Grand list, how composed

  The grand list of the ratable estate within said Village, as made out by the listers of the Town of Barton, shall be the grand list of said Village, and the trustees shall cause a copy of said list to be made and filed in the office of the Clerk of said Village within 10 days after the same shall be completed in said Town Clerk’s office. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 23.)

• § 24. Residents of Village not incompetent to hold Town offices

  The inhabitants of said Village shall belong to and remain inhabitants of the Town of Barton, and no member of such Village corporation shall be deemed incompetent to act as sheriff, constable, or witness in any cause or proceeding in which said corporation shall be interested. And any justice of the peace resident of said Village shall not be incompetent to take jurisdiction of any cause brought under this charter. (Added 1892, No. 114 § 24.)

• § 25. Corporation empowered to borrow money and issue bonds and notes therefor

  Said Village, at an annual meeting, or any special meeting called for that purpose, is hereby authorized and empowered to vote to borrow money for any of the purposes herein mentioned and to issue its notes and bonds therefor, which bonds and notes shall be signed by the trustees and countersigned by the Treasurer of said Village, and payable at such time or times as said Village may direct; provided, however, that no vote to borrow money or for the issue of notes or bonds, shall be taken at any meeting for which the call or warrant does not specify that purpose. Before said notes and bonds shall issue a record thereof shall be made in a book kept for that purpose in the office of the Treasurer of said Village. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 25.)

• § 26. Duties of listers of Town of Barton respecting real estate within Village limits

  It shall be the duty of the listers of the Town of Barton in making their assessments of real estate in said Town to designate in the list by them made, the real estate situated within the Village of Orleans; and in case any piece or parcel of real estate is situated partly within and partly without the limits of said Village, said listers shall designate in said list the appraised value of the real estate which lies within said limits. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 26; amended 1908, No. 256, § 1.)

• § 27. Powers of trustees respecting water

  Said Village is hereby authorized and empowered through its trustees to be elected as hereinafter provided, to take the waters of any fountains, springs, ponds, rivers, streams, or lakes in the Towns of Barton, Westmore, Brownington, and Irasburg for the purpose of supplying the inhabitants of said Village with water for fire, domestic, and other purposes. Provided that if water pipes be laid to Willoughby Lake, the water taken therefrom shall be passed through a filter; and provided further that this charter shall not authorize the taking of water needed for farm or domestic purposes. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 27; amended 1912, No. 325, § 1; 1933, No. 193, § 2.)

• § 28. Further powers of trustees respecting water

  Said Village is hereby authorized and empowered, through said trustees, to construct and complete an aqueduct, with all necessary reservoirs and appurtenances, to conduct said water to and distribute the same through said Village, and for this purpose may enter upon and use any land over or through which it may be necessary or desirable for said aqueduct to pass, and may thereon lay and construct such pipes, reservoirs, and appurtenances as may be necessary for the complete construction and repairing of the same, and it may also, for the purposes aforesaid, dig up or occupy any common, highway, street, or bridge for the purpose of laying constructing or repairing such aqueduct and the appurtenances thereof. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 28; amended 1933, No. 193, § 8.)

• § 29. Damages; how fixed

  In any case where damage or compensation to owners of, and other person interested in, the water so taken, or such land as may be used for laying, extending, constructing, and maintaining the aqueduct, and for the reservoirs and appurtenances, is not adjusted by agreement or if the owner thereof be a minor, a person who lacks capacity to protect his or her interests due to a mental condition or psychiatric disability, or out of the State, or otherwise incapacitated to sell and convey, the same shall be fixed by the Board of Trustees after hearing of all parties interested, the hearing being had upon written notice of the time and place thereof, given at least ten days before the hearing, and the Trustees shall, within ten days after the hearing file their award in the town clerk’s office in the town or towns where the property is situated, and cause the same to be recorded in the land records of the town or towns. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 29; amended 1933, No. 193, § 2; 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 173.)

• § 30. Proceedings by persons dissatisfied with award of trustees related to water

  When any person shall be dissatisfied with the award of the trustees so made, in any of the cases mentioned in the preceding section, such person may petition the Orleans County Court for a reassessment and award of damages and such proceedings shall be had in said court on said petition as are provided by law for the assessment of damages for land taken for highways, except that the trustees appointed by said court shall notify one of the trustees of said Village instead of one of the selectboard members. Said petition shall be served on the Clerk of said Village, within 60 days next after said award shall be filed in the Town Clerk’s office as aforesaid, and at least 12 days before the term of court to which it is made returnable, but nothing in such proceedings shall prevent the trustees from entering on such land and laying and constructing such aqueduct, reservoirs, and appurtenances and using said water after their award shall have been made and the amount thereof tendered by them. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 30; amended 1933, No. 193, § 2.)

• § 31. Bylaws and regulations concerning the Water Department

  Said Village may at any legally warned meeting, enact and adopt such bylaws and regulations concerning the management and use of such aqueduct, reservoirs, and appurtenances, not inconsistent with law, as it may deem expedient, including the fixing and collecting of water rates and the exaction of bonds from the Collector of said rates for the faithful discharge of the Collector’s duty, and said trustees are hereby empowered to carry such bylaws and regulations into effect. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 31; amended 1933, No. 193, § 2.)

• § 32. Power of Village to dispose of water rights

  Said Village may, at any legally warned meeting, authorize said trustees to lease, dispose of, or sell upon terms fixed by said meeting, to any person, partnership, or body corporate or other company, any part or all of the rights and privileges granted by this charter to said Village, and any property acquired thereunder, to have and to hold the same for the purpose of supplying the inhabitants of said Village with water for fire, domestic, and other purposes; and said person, partnership, body corporate, or company, and their assigns upon such lease, disposal, or sale, shall for said purpose only succeed to the rights, privileges, and property so leased, disposed of, or sold, subject to all the conditions herein named, but the Board of Trustees herein provided for shall be continued for carrying out and completing any proceedings under this charter hereafter needed. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 32; amended 1933, No. 193, § 2.)

• § 33. Duties of Village in taking water or land

  Said Village shall, within 60 days after taking any springs, streams, water sources, or land, under the provisions of this charter and before entering into possession of the same file in the office of the Town Clerk of the Town of Barton and the town within which the same are taken, a description of the same sufficiently accurate for identification at all times together with the amount of the damages sustained by the owner or owners of the lands, springs, streams, or water sources so taken, which description shall be signed by a majority of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Orleans, and shall within three days from the time said description is filed, and before entering into possession of the same, tender to said owner or owners such sum as said trustees have therein awarded as damages as aforesaid. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 33; amended 1933, No. 193, § 2.)

• § 34. Trustees; general control of water system

  The trustees of said Village shall have general control and management of the Village system of waterworks and perform all the duties connected therewith as provided in the charter of said Village. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 34; amended 1933, No. 193, § 3.)

• § 35. Further duties of the trustees relating to water

  It shall be the duty of the trustees under the direction of the corporation, to have the care and management of the Water Department; they shall make all necessary rules and regulations for the government and operation of the waterworks belonging to said corporation; they shall appoint a Superintendent and may remove the Superintendent at pleasure; and shall assess all water rates or taxes, and under the direction of the corporation, provide for the collection of the same, and shall examine all bills and claims connected with the Water Department, and if they find them to be just, shall certify on such bills their approval of the same. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 35; amended 1933, No. 193, § 2.)

• § 36. Power of trustees in lighting streets

  Said Village may through its Board of Trustees, contract for the lighting of the streets of said Village for a term of years not exceeding 10 at a time with such number of lights as said Village may require. And said Village is authorized to purchase an electric light plant and to contract for power to run the same, and sell electric current within the limits of said Village for lights, power, and heat, and also may sell such current for such purposes in the Towns of Barton, Irasburg, Coventry, and Brownington, outside the limits of said Village in surrounding territory, not now supplied by such electric current, but in no way to enter into competition with any individual or corporation now furnishing electric current in any of such towns. Such Village shall have the same right to set poles and string wires without said limits of Village of Orleans as any individual or other corporation now has with the same liabilities. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 36; amended 1933, No. 193, § 1.)

• § 37. Village may issue bonds for purpose of lighting streets; duties of Village Treasurer in respect thereto

  Said Village is hereby authorized to issue bonds not exceeding the aggregate amount of $40,000.00, on such terms as said Village shall prescribe, for carrying into effect the foregoing provisions. And in case said Village neglects to make reasonable provision for the payment of the interest and principal of said bonded indebtedness as the same become due and payable, the Treasurer of said Village shall seasonably make out and deliver to the Collector of said Village a tax bill on the grand list of said Village and the Treasurer shall therewith issue to said Collector the Treasurer’s warrant in manner and form substantially as is now provided by law for the collection of other taxes, directing the collection and payment of such tax to said Treasurer within 60 days from the time of such delivery, in an amount sufficient to promptly pay the interest or principal then past due and unpaid; and the money so collected shall be specially held and used for the payment of such interest and principal and for no other purpose, except the incidental expense of assessing and collecting such tax. The Treasurer of said Village shall provide for and promptly pay the interest and principal of such bonded indebtedness as the same shall become due and payable without any vote thereupon by said Village and without an order therefor by the trustees of said Village; and such tax bill shall have the same force and authority as a tax bill for a tax voted at a regular meeting of said Village. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 37; amended 1902, No. 218, § 1; 1912, No. 325, § 2.)

• § 38. Corporation may purchase franchise, property, and privileges of Barton Landing Water Company

  Said corporation shall have power to purchase from the Barton Landing Water Company their franchise, property, and privileges upon such terms as may be agreed upon; and all contracts hitherto made by said Orleans Village corporation with said Barton Landing Water Company, are hereby confirmed. Said Orleans Village corporation may issue their corporation bonds to said water company for the purchase of said franchise, property, and privileges, and may make the same negotiable, and may secure said bonds by mortgage or otherwise. It is hereby enacted that upon the completion of said purchase of said water company, that all enactments and laws then in force, relating to said Barton Landing Water Company, shall inure to the Orleans Village corporation, and remain operative and valid and all actions, suits, and recoveries thereon, may be had in the name of said corporation. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 38; 1908, No. 256, § 1.)

• § 39. Village may establish water rents and regulate the mode of payment

  For the purpose of the support of said Water Department, and to insure the payment of the annual interest on said water bonds, and to provide for their final payment, said corporation shall establish rates of annual rents to be charged and paid by the users of said water, at such times and in such manner as shall be determined by said corporation; and may from time to time alter, modify, amend, increase, or diminish such rates, and extend them to any description of property or use, as said corporation may deem proper. Such rates or rents shall be chargeable to, and may be collected of the owners of the property so supplied, unless otherwise agreed upon by said corporation and said owners, and shall be a lien and charge upon the buildings, lots, and other property so supplied, and may be collected in the same manner as any corporation tax. Said corporation may order water rents to be paid in advance, and may make all necessary provisions and orders relating to the supply or stoppage of water as said corporation may think expedient to ensure such advance payments. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 39.)

• § 40. Application of water rents

  The rents and receipts of said corporation for the use of water shall first be applied to pay the annual interest as it becomes due, upon the bonds issued by said corporation to the Barton Landing Water Company for the purchase price of its property and privileges, and whenever such rents and receipts shall exceed the amount required to pay such interest, and the interest of any other water bonds of said corporation, it shall be the duty of said corporation to pay such excess, in the necessary repairs, management, and additions to said waterworks; and the balance of such excess, if any, shall be invested by the Treasurer of said corporation, with the approval of the trustees, in the name of said corporation, and the same shall be set apart as a sinking fund, and be applied solely for the payment or purchase of said water bonds or other bonds of said corporation until the full amount of said bonds shall be paid. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 40.)

• § 41. Trustees to make list of water rents; list, how composed

  (a) The trustees of said Village shall between the 20th day of July and the first day of August each year make out a list of the water rents due said Village, with five percent thereof added thereto, in which list they shall set down in three separate columns, according to the best information in their power.

  (1) In the first column, the name of the owner of the real estate chargeable with water rents under the provisions of this charter.

  (2) In the second column, the name of the street or avenue and the number or some other brief description of the tenement, building, or lots chargeable with water rents as aforesaid.

  (3) In the third column, the amount of water rent due for water used or to be used in such tenement, building or lot.

  (b) And the trustees or a majority of them, shall certify that the same is a true list of the water rents due said Village at the date thereof, and shall attach thereto a warrant for the collection of said water rents, signed by a justice of the peace in and for the County of Orleans, which shall be in the same form as is now prescribed by statute for warrants for the collection of town and other taxes, and shall be directed to the Collector of Taxes for said Village and the trustees shall deliver such list of water rents, with the warrant for the collection of the same thereto attached, to such Collector of Taxes, who shall collect the same as provided in this charter. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 41; amended 1933, No. 193, § 2.)

• § 42. Disposition of water rents

  All monies collected by the Collector of Taxes for said Village upon the list of water rents, as delivered by said Collector for collection by the trustees of said Village, and all water rents received by said trustees shall be paid by them to the Treasurer of said Village. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 42; amended 1933, No. 193, § 2.)

• § 43. Injuries to water rights; penalties

  A person who diverts any part of the water from the sources taken by the Village pursuant to the preceding sections, without the written consent of the trustees, or who maliciously destroys or injures a dam, reservoir, aqueduct, pipe, hydrant, or any similar property, or property appurtenant thereto or breaks down or tears away any property placed to protect the same, which is held, owned, or used by said Village, or wantonly or maliciously diverts any part of the water from an aqueduct belonging to said Village, or corrupts such water or renders it impure, either within such reservoir or reservoirs, or in such sources as lead thereto, or obstructs its flow by unnecessarily depositing any foreign substances therein, or wantonly or maliciously interferes with the distribution and flow of the water of said aqueduct by altering, opening, or shutting a stop cock, gate, hydrant or gage in or attached to said aqueduct, or shall maliciously interfere with or injure said electric light wires, lamps, connections, or appurtenances, shall be fined not more than $50.00 or imprisoned not more than 30 days, or both, in the discretion of the court, and shall forfeit to the Village the damages occasioned by such malicious act, to be recovered with costs in an action on the case founded in this statute. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 43; amended 1933, No. 193, § 2.)

• § 44. Power of Village in acquiring land for public parks

  (a) Said Village may take, purchase, hold, and use any lands for the purpose of public parks and commons within said Village, on making compensation for the land so taken, and the trustees shall proceed in the same manner as is by law prescribed for selectboards in taking lands for public highways, and in awarding damages therefor, and the said trustees shall make a return of their doings to the office of the Clerk of said Village who shall record the same. When any person shall be dissatisfied with the decision of said trustees in the award for damages of land taken as aforesaid he or she may proceed in the manner provided in section 20 of this charter, when land is taken for a sewer or drain.

  (b) Said Village may lay out, grade, and otherwise improve or ornament said public parks or common, and may make such bylaws and negotiations concerning the same as may be necessary and proper; and may in providing for the payment of the expenses of the same lay a tax as provided in section 20 of this charter, and may also vote to borrow money for the same and issue its notes or bonds in the manner provided in sections 25 and 37 of this charter. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 44.)

• § 45. Duties of trustees respecting monies received and disbursed

  No money shall be expended by any person for or in behalf of said Village, except the trustees, and no money shall be paid out of the Village treasury except upon orders signed by the trustees or a majority of them. The trustees shall keep a full and true record and account of all orders drawn and expenditures made by them, and the trustees shall also keep a correct account of all Village monies received and disbursed by them, and all of said officers shall make report thereof at each annual meeting of said Village, or such other time or times as said Village shall direct. And said Village may make all needful bylaws, rules, and regulations in reference thereto, and for the government of said officers. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 45; amended 1933, No. 193, § 2.)

• § 46. Abatement of highway and Village taxes

  The officers of the Village corporation, excepting the Collector of Taxes, are hereby constituted a Board for the Abatement of highway and Village taxes, and shall have the same powers in relation thereto as is now provided by law for the board of civil authority in relation to the abatement of town taxes. A majority of such offices shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and the trustees when requested thereto by the Collector of Taxes shall call a meeting of said Board within 30 days of the time for the annual meeting of said Village corporation by posting notices thereof in two public places in said Village at least three days before the meeting of said Board. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 46.)

• § 47. Existing bylaws to remain in force until repealed

  All bylaws and regulations heretofore adopted by said Village and in force not inconsistent with the provisions of this charter shall remain in force until amended or repealed by said Village. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 47.)

• § 48. Present Village officers to hold office until their successors are chosen

  [Excluded transitional provision related to Village officers elected on the first Tuesday of January of 1892] (Added 1892, No. 114, § 48.)

• § 49. Subject to future legislation; when to take effect

  This charter shall be subject to future Legislature to alter, amend, or repeal; and shall take effect when accepted by a majority of the legal voters of said corporation at a special meeting to be called by the trustees for that purpose. Such meeting to be called and notified in the manner now provided by the bylaws of said corporation for calling special meetings thereof. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 49.)

• § 50. Authority of Village to buy and sell electric current

  The Village of Orleans is hereby authorized to buy and sell electric current for domestic use and for mechanical purposes. It may make such regulations or bylaws relating to the conduct of such business as it deems expedient. The provisions of this charter relating to the collection of water rates or rents so far as applicable thereto are hereby extended and made applicable to the collection of rates or rents for the use of electric current and such rates or rents for the use of electric current and such rates for electric current when unpaid shall be a lien in the nature of a tax on property supplied therewith and may be collected in the same manner as a tax assessed by such Village. (Added 1919, No. 260, § 1.)

• § 51. Licensing and activities of itinerant street vendors and peddlers

  (a) No person shall engage in the business of an itinerant street vendor or peddler within the corporate limits of the Village of Orleans without first applying for and receiving a license so to do. Such license fee shall be fixed by the trustees of such Village, but in the case of persons required to pay a peddler’s license tax to the State, such fee shall not exceed $2.00 per year. The provisions of this section shall not apply to person engaged in selling meats, poultry, eggs, butter, fruits, or vegetables that are raised or produced by them.

  (b) Any person who shall engage in the business of an itinerant street vendor or peddler, either as principal or agent, within the corporate limits of the Village of Orleans, without first obtaining the license required in this charter, shall be fined not more than $25.00 nor less than $5.00 for each day that the person shall engage in such business without such license. (Added 1935, No. 256, § 1.)