§ 5. Powers
The District shall be a body politic and corporate with the powers incident to a municipal
corporation under the laws of the State of Vermont consistent with the purpose of
the District, and in addition shall have the following powers:
(1) To operate, cause to be operated, and contract for the operation of any and all facilities
for the collection, transportation, resource recovery, recycling, and disposal of
solid waste.
(2) To purchase, sell, lease, own, acquire, convey, mortgage, improve, and use real and
personal property in connection with the purposes of the District and to construct,
develop, and maintain solid waste management facilities in accordance with federal,
State, and local law. At the election of the municipality in which District-owned
or leased real property is located (which election, once made, shall be final unless
otherwise mutually agreed upon by the District and such municipality), District-owned
and leased real property shall be exempt from municipal property taxation and special
assessments; the District may agree to make payments to the municipality in lieu of
such taxes or special assessments.
(3) To sue and be sued.
(4) To make contracts of every kind and nature.
(5) To fix, alter, charge, and establish fees and other charges for the services and facilities
within its area of operation, which fees and charges shall be equitable and just.
(6) To enter into management contracts with any person or persons for the management of
District facilities for such period or periods of time and under such compensation
and other items and conditions as shall be deemed advisable by the District Board.
(7) To accept gifts or grants or loans of money or other property from any person.
(8) To enter into contracts, leases, or other transactions with any federal agency, the
State, any agency of the State, or with any other public body of the State, including
municipalities.
(9) To exercise the power of eminent domain within the District.
(10) To borrow money and issue evidence of indebtedness as provided by 24 V.S.A. chapter
53 as presently enacted and as later may be amended. For the purpose of that chapter,
the grand list of the District shall be deemed to be the total of the grand lists
of member municipalities, and the debt limit of the District shall not be diminished
by any obligation incurred by a member municipality alone. Obligations incurred under
such chapter shall be the joint obligations of the District and, except as otherwise
expressly provided in the terms thereof, of each member municipality as provided in
section 34 of this chapter but shall not be included in the indebtedness of a member
municipality for purposes of compliance with debt limitations. The cost of debt service
shall be included in the annual budget of the District as provided in section 31 of
this chapter, and to the extent not paid by user fees and revenues shall be allocated
among the member municipalities as set forth in sections 31 and 34 of this chapter.
Where voter approval is required pursuant to 24 V.S.A. chapter 53, the Board of Commissioners
shall determine the number and location of polling places, and when a majority of
all the voters present and voting on the question from all of the member municipalities
at such meeting vote to authorize the issuance of bonds, the Board of Commissioners
shall be authorized to issue the bonds as provided in 24 V.S.A. chapter 53 and in
this chapter.
(11) To hire and fix the compensation of employees.
(12) To contract with architects, engineers, financial and legal consultants, and other
experts for services.
(13) To contract with individuals, corporations, associations, authorities, and agencies
for services.
(14) To provide solid waste disposal services for the member municipalities, the inhabitants
thereof, and the businesses therein, and for such others as its facilities and obligations
may allow.
(15) To contract to pay for solid waste disposal services, including on the basis of guaranteed
amounts, whether delivered for disposal and accepted for disposal or not, of solid
waste, with payments based on such guaranteed amounts, whether actually disposed of
or not, which payments may be variable and may be determined by formulae expressed
in such contracts.
(16) To contract with any member municipality for the services of any officers or employees
of that municipality useful to the District.
(17) To promote cooperative arrangements and coordinated action among its member municipalities.
(18) To make recommendations for review and action to its member municipalities and other
public agencies that perform functions within the region in which its member municipalities
are located.
(19) To exercise any other powers that are necessary or desirable for dealing with solid
waste problems of mutual concern and that are exercised or are capable of exercise
by any of its member municipalities.
(20) To establish a budget and assess member municipalities in accordance therewith.
(21) To appropriate and expend monies.
(22) To establish sinking funds for the retirement of bonded or other indebtedness.
(23) To establish debt service reserve funds, operating reserve funds, capital reserve
funds for public improvements, and such other funds and accounts as the Board of Commissioners
deems necessary or desirable.
(24) To regulate by ordinance, rule, or regulation the collection, transportation, resource
recovery, recycling, and disposal of solid waste within the District and to require
that acceptable solid wastes generated within the District and any member municipality
therein shall be disposed of only in and upon facilities operated by or on behalf
of the District.
(25) To enact and enforce any and all necessary or desirable regulations for the orderly
conduct of the government and for carrying out the purpose of the District.
(26) To enter on any lands and premises for the purpose of making surveys and conducting
hydrogeological and other scientific studies and to obtain an order for this purpose
from a court of competent jurisdiction in the event entry is denied or resisted.
(27) To enter into cooperative or interlocal agreements with other municipalities or persons,
within or beyond the territorial limits of the District, providing for the disposal
and management of solid waste.
(28) To exercise the power of eminent domain within any municipality that has withdrawn
from the District, provided such property or site to be taken by eminent domain must
have been considered, by official action of the Board of Commissioners, as a potential
site or sites for a solid waste management facility during the 12-month period immediately
preceding the date of withdrawal.
(29) To appoint a Grand Juror, a Constable, and such other officers and agents for the
enforcement of ordinances, rules, and regulations of the District. The District Grand
Juror shall have the same powers, perform the same duties, and incur the same liabilities
as grand jurors in towns, and shall be entitled to such salary as the Board of Commissioners
may determine within limits established by the budget. The District Grand Juror may
prosecute before applicable Vermont courts violations of the ordinances, rules, and
regulations of the District.
(30) To enter into contracts with banks, insurance companies, or other financial institutions
so as to obtain a letter of credit, bond insurance, or other forms of financial guarantees
or credit enhancement in connection with District bonds, notes, or other evidence
of indebtedness.
(31) To enter into siting agreements with municipalities within which a District facility
is to be located, which agreements may specify the terms, conditions, and provisions
under which a District facility shall be constructed, maintained, and operated. Such
agreements may further provide, in the event it is impossible or impracticable to
determine whether damage to the environment is caused by the District facility or
from adjacent property, the District may indemnify and hold harmless the municipality
from any such damage, costs, and liabilities.
(32) To provide host communities of District facilities with incentive payments, services,
and benefits, including monetary payments to protect the health, safety, comfort,
convenience, and social and economic security of the host community and its inhabitants;
monetary payments and other provisions to assure the protection of the environment
and natural resources of the host community; and reimbursement of costs incurred by
the host community in negotiating siting agreements including costs of mediation or
arbitration.
(33) To exercise all powers necessary, appurtenant, convenient, or incidental to the carrying
out of the District’s purpose and to exercise all powers granted by any act of the
General Assembly, either generally to a class of solid waste districts including the
District or specifically to the District. Such powers may be exercised by the District
without further amendment of this charter unless specifically required by such act
of the General Assembly granting such powers.