The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 24 Appendix : Municipal Charters

Chapter 123A : Town of Hartford

• § 203. Duties of elected officers

  (a) Selectboard.

  (1) Terms of office.

  (A) There shall be a Selectboard consisting of seven members.

  (B) Terms of office shall be as follows:

  (i) four members for three years;

  (ii) three members for two years.

  (C) Members shall serve until successors are elected and qualified.

  (D) Members shall be elected at large.

  (E) In the event of a death, resignation, change of residence to a location outside the Town, or incapacity of any Selectboard member, the remaining members may appoint a person eligible to fill that position until the next annual or special Town meeting. If the Selectboard is unable to agree upon an interim replacement until the next annual Town meeting, a special election shall be held forthwith to fill the position.

  (i) Incapacity shall include the failure by any member of the Selectboard to attend at least 70 percent of the meetings in any 12-month period or missing three consecutive meetings without the consent of the Selectboard.

  (ii) In the event of two or more vacancies, an election shall be held forthwith to fill all vacant positions.

  (2) Organization.

  (A) Forthwith after the election and qualification of the members, the Selectboard shall organize and elect a Chair, Vice Chair, and Clerk by a majority vote of the Board and shall file a certificate of the elections for record in the office of the Town Clerk.

  (B) The Chair of the Selectboard, or in his or her absence the Vice Chair, shall preside at all meetings of the Selectboard.

  (C) As soon as possible after the election of Chair and Vice Chair, the Selectboard shall fix the time and place of its regular meetings.

  (D) The Selectboard shall determine its own rules and orders of business not addressed by this charter.

  (E) The presence of four or more members shall constitute a quorum for the purposes of holding a meeting. The affirmative vote of three members present at a meeting at which a quorum of at least five members are present shall be necessary to exercise authority.

  (F) All meetings of the Selectboard shall be open to the public; unless, by an affirmative vote of a majority of members present, the Selectboard shall vote that any particular session shall be an executive session in accordance with State statute.

  (G) An official record of the proceedings of the Selectboard shall be kept by its Clerk. The record shall be filed with the office of the Town Clerk and shall be open for public inspection once draft minutes are approved by the Selectboard.

  (3) Appointments.

  (A) Before any appointments are made, the Selectboard shall compile and publicly post a list of all vacancies.

  (B) The Selectboard shall appoint and remove the Town Manager pursuant to section 301 of this charter.

  (C) The Selectboard may examine or cause to be examined, with or without notice, the affairs of the Town Manager by having access to all tools used by the Town Manager in performance of his or her duties, including to books, papers, and wireless and electronic records, for information necessary to determine the proper performance of the Town Manager in the performance of his or her duties and responsibilities.

  (D) Standing boards, commissions, and authorities to be appointed include:

  (i) Business Revolving Loan Fund (five appointed, three years);

  (ii) Conservation Commission (seven appointed, four years);

  (iii) Design Review Commission (five appointed, three years);

  (iv) Energy Commission (seven appointed, three years);

  (v) Hartford Housing Authority (five appointed, five years);

  (vi) Historic Preservation Commission (five appointed, three years);

  (vii) Parks and Recreation Commission (seven appointed, three years);

  (viii) Planning Commission (seven appointed, three years);

  (ix) Tree Board (five appointed, three years);

  (x) Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) (five appointed, three years).

  (E) The Selectboard may appoint or dissolve any authorities, boards, commissions, or committees under their purview as authorized by this charter or State statute, excluding the School and Town Meeting Committee established in subsection 201(b) of this charter and any authorities, boards, commissions, or committees created by the General Assembly.

  (4) Powers and duties.

  (A) General. The Selectboard shall constitute the legislative body of the Town for all purposes required by statute except as otherwise provided in this charter and shall have all powers and authority given to, and perform all duties required of, town legislative bodies or selectboards under the laws of the State of Vermont.

  (B) Powers. The Selectboard may:

  (i) authorize the expenditure of all Town monies and may:

  (I) submit the annual operational budget to the Town Meeting; and

  (II) fix the compensation of all officers, appointees, and municipal employees except as otherwise provided in this charter;

  (ii) inquire into the conduct of any officer, appointee, commission, or department and investigate any and all Town affairs.

  (b) Moderator. The Moderator:

  (1) shall perform all duties and responsibilities prescribed by this charter and the State of Vermont;

  (2) shall follow Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised (RONR) in deliberations and conduct of all meetings;

  (3) may be the same individual who presides at Town and School District budget and Candidates Night meeting, annual Town meeting, and special Town and School District meeting.

  (c) Town Clerk. The Town Clerk shall be appointed by and shall serve at the pleasure of the Selectboard. The Town Clerk shall perform all duties and responsibilities prescribed by the laws of the State of Vermont and any additional duties set forth in this charter.

  (d) Assessor. The Selectboard shall contract with or employ a qualified professional assessor, who need not be a resident of the Town. The Assessor shall have the same powers and responsibilities and shall perform the same functions as prescribed by law for listers and boards of listers.

  (e) Trustees of Public Funds. The Selectboard may appoint annually one Trustee of Public Funds if a qualified candidate presents themselves, otherwise these duties shall be assumed by the Town Manager or his or her designee.

  (f) All others. Any other elected officials of the Town or School District shall have powers and duties prescribed to that office as specified in the general law. (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; 2017, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 163; amended 2023, No. M-26 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 29, 2024.)