§ 201. Town meeting
(a) Town and School District meeting. All governmental authority for the Town and the School District not vested by law
in a particular Town or Town School District officer ultimately rests with Town voters
who vote at Town meeting or by Australian ballot. In this tradition, the Hartford
annual Town meeting will combine and consider Town and School District matters, and
the warnings, meetings, and elections shall be combined.
(b) School and Town Meeting Committee.
(1) To augment the statutory responsibilities for the annual Town and School District
meetings that are specified to the Town and the School District and their respective
officers, there shall be a School and Town Meeting Committee that shall organize,
arrange, and provide for the comfort, presentation, publicity, program, refreshments,
entertainment, and other nonstatutory aspects of the Town meeting cycle, such as the
Warrant Information Night and School District Day meeting.
(2) The Selectboard shall appoint one member for a two-year term and one member for a
three-year term. The School Board shall appoint one member for a two-year term and
one member for a three-year term. No School Board member, Selectboard member, or Town
Clerk may serve on the School and Town Meeting Committee. Each appointing body shall
have the power to remove any incumbent member of the School and Town Meeting Committee
appointed by that body and shall have the power to appoint a replacement member to
serve the unexpired term of any person who is removed or who resigns.
(c) The method for identification and designation of eligible voters in the Town and School
District shall be established by the Board of Civil Authority.
(d) Polling places. Locations of annual or special Town or School District meetings for the purpose of
election of officers and voting all questions to be decided by Australian ballot shall
be established by the Board of Civil Authority.
(e) Meetings; dates; times; votes; ballot.
(1) Warrant Information Night; “Information Night” Meeting. Prior to Budget and Candidates Night, the Town and School Meeting Committee may call
a meeting for the purpose of providing presentations and discussion of items that
may be placed on the warrants for Voting Day.
(2) Budget and Candidates Night meeting. On the Monday night in February eight days prior to Voting Day, a Town and School
District budget discussion and Candidates Night meeting shall be called for the purpose
of:
(A) presentation, explanation of, and citizen comment upon Town and School District budgets;
(B) introduction of candidates, presentations by candidates, and opportunity for citizen
questioning of candidates;
(C) any other appropriate informational matters.
(3) Town and School District Meeting Day. The annual Town and School District floor meetings shall be called and held on the
Saturday preceding Voting Day held under subdivision (4) of this subsection, subject
to change as provided by general law. The floor meetings shall:
(A) be the venue for any public hearing to be held in advance of Voting Day;
(B) receive the reports of Town and School District officers;
(C) determine the compensation to be paid Town and School District officers for the ensuing
year;
(D) serve as the public informational hearing for matters to be considered by Australian
ballot; and
(E) conduct other business not determined at Australian ballot election.
(4) Voting Day. Voting Day shall be on Vermont Town Meeting Day, the first Tuesday in March, at which
time any business, budgets, and candidate election involving Australian ballots will
be transacted beginning at 7 a.m. until closing at 7 p.m. The Town budget as warned
by the Selectboard and the School District budget as warned by the School Board shall
be submitted to the electorate at this Town election. A majority vote shall be a simple
majority of votes cast in this election. All public questions and all matters relating
to the adoption of the Town and School District budgets shall be considered by Australian
ballot under this subdivision.
(f) Special Town and School District meetings. A special Town or School District meeting may be called at any time by a majority
of the applicable board or by the Town Clerk upon receipt of a petition signed by
no fewer than 350 registered voters. A special Town or School District meeting shall
be called and warned in accordance with State statute.
(g) Warnings. Warnings for Town and School District meetings shall be posted on the Town and School
District websites, printed in area newspapers, posted on social media, and posted
in at least 12 public places in the Town under a schedule that is in accordance with
State statute. The warning shall be signed and recorded by the Town Clerk before it
is posted. Budgets and other applicable reports shall be available not later than
10 days prior to the budget informational meeting as established under subdivision
(e) (2) of this section.
(h) Presiding officials.
(1) A Moderator shall preside at all Town meeting cycle events, such as Budget and Candidates
Night, Town and School District Meeting Day, and any special Town or School District
meetings. In the Moderator’s absence, the Town Clerk shall appoint a Moderator Pro
Tempore to preside for the duration of the meeting.
(2) Town and School District meetings shall be conducted in accordance with State statute,
this charter, and Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised.
(3) The Town Clerk shall be the presiding official at all Australian ballot elections
and, in cooperation with the Board of Civil Authority, shall ensure that all laws
related to elections are faithfully observed.
(4) In the absence or a disability of the Town Clerk, should it occur before an election,
the Board of Civil Authority shall designate a presiding official for the duration
of the election. Should the absence or disability occur on election day, the Board
of Civil Authority shall designate an on-site temporary officer to preside for the
duration of the election. (Added 2009, No. M-5, § 2, eff. April 29, 2009; amended 2011, No. M-16 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 7, 2012; 2017, No. M-4, § 2, eff. May 17, 2017; 2023, No. M-26 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 29, 2024.)