§ 310. Powers and duties
(a) The members of the Council shall be and constitute the legislative body of the City
of South Burlington for all purposes required by statutes and except as otherwise
herein specifically provided, shall have all powers and authority given to, and perform
all duties required of, city legislative bodies under the laws of the State of Vermont.
(b) Within the limitations of the foregoing, the Council shall have the power to:
(1) Appoint and remove the City Manager and supervise, create, change, and abolish offices,
commissions, or departments other than the offices, commissions, or departments established
by this charter.
(2) Assign additional duties to offices, commissions, or departments established by this
charter, but may not discontinue or assign to any other office, commission, or department
duties assigned to a particular office, commission, or department established by this
charter.
(3) Make, amend, and repeal ordinances.
(4) Provide for an independent audit by a registered or certified public accountant who
shall perform an annual audit of all City departments, including the Water Department.
Said auditor shall also perform an annual audit of the South Burlington School District
accounts. The elective Office of Auditor shall be abolished and the appointed auditor
shall be responsible for and have all the powers and duties as are prescribed for
town auditors under the laws of this State.
(5) Adopt an official seal for the City.
(6) Direct the City Treasurer to create and maintain a Special Reserve Fund for the City
Fire Department to be used exclusively for the purchase or rebuilding of necessary
vehicles and attendant equipment. The Council shall have the authority to purchase
or rebuild such necessary vehicles and attendant equipment by utilizing the proceeds
of the Special Reserve Fund and may partially fund any expenditure by incurring indebtedness
in an amount not to exceed four times the amount of proceeds paid from the Special
Reserve Fund for the purchase or rebuilding. Any indebtedness shall be paid within
four years of the date it is originally incurred in as equal annual installments as
possible. The funds appropriated to this Special Reserve Fund and the funds used to
pay any indebtedness incurred shall be included in the allowable net cost of operations
as specified in section 1309.1 of this charter.
(7) The City Council and the School Board, by their own actions, may establish reserve
funds to pay for public improvements, replacement of equipment, and planned or unplanned
operating expenditures. Monies to be deposited in any fund shall be included in a
City or School District budget and shall not be excluded in calculating the net cost
of operation pursuant to subsection 1309(a) of this charter. Reserve funds shall
be kept in separate accounts and invested in the same manner as other public funds.
The City Council and the School Board may, from time to time, expend monies in those
Funds for purposes for which they were established without voter approval.
(8) Neighborhood forums.
(A) Whenever the City Council or the School Board (either individually being the convening
Board) shall determine that there has been a sufficient showing of interest or need
to suggest that a public forum should be conducted in a neighborhood or neighborhoods
within the City on a matter of public interest or concern, the convening Board may,
in its discretion, issue a call for a neighborhood forum. The convening Board may
make such a determination on the request of an interested citizen or citizens or on
its own motion.
(B) Promptly upon such a determination, the convening Board shall describe the neighborhood
or neighborhoods having a community interest in the issue at hand; specify a date,
time, and place for a neighborhood forum; describe the issues to be considered; appoint
any suitable person as a temporary chair to convene the meeting; and issue a public
warning of the meeting. The convening Board shall further specify the objective or
objectives of the meeting, such as to: (1) share information with the residents of
the specified community; (2) solicit information or opinions; (3) permit the residents
to make recommendations relating to the issues; or (4) serve some other appropriate
objective. The temporary chair shall begin the meeting as warned and shall assist
the meeting in the election of a meeting chair.
(c) The Council shall approve the budget of the City for submission to the voters, as
provided herein. (Amended 2007, No. M-14, § 2, eff. Nov. 11, 2007.)