§ 601. Withdrawal of a municipality
(a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, a member municipality
may vote to withdraw from this chapter in the same manner as it votes to adopt the
chapter if one year has elapsed since the District has become a body politic and corporate
and if the District has not voted to bond for construction and improvements, all in
accordance with 24 V.S.A. § 4863(g). The provisions of 24 V.S.A. § 4863(i) and (j) shall apply so that any vote of withdrawal taken less than one year from
the time the District has become a body politic and corporate or any vote of withdrawal
taken after the District has voted to bond for construction and improvements shall
be null and void. The membership of a withdrawing member shall terminate as of one
year following a valid vote to withdraw or as soon after such one-year period as the
financial obligations of the withdrawing member have been paid to the District. All
of the foregoing notwithstanding, however, in the event that the General Assembly
of the State of Vermont shall specifically approve, then a member may vote to withdraw
from the District at any time.
(b) The financial obligations of a withdrawing member shall include all ongoing costs
and assessments of the District until the withdrawing member has entered into a written
agreement satisfactory to counsel for the District obliging the withdrawing municipality
as follows:
(1) To continue to pay its share of all debts incurred by the District for the remaining
terms of all bonds and contracts in existence at the time when the vote to withdraw
was taken.
(2) To pay the costs of redesigning, rebuilding, or otherwise changing any facility of
the District that may be occasioned by the reduced volume of solid waste resulting
from the withdrawal of the member. Such costs shall be determined by an independent
engineering firm hired by the Board and shall bind both the Board and the withdrawing
municipality.
(3) To pay its share, based upon its assessment for the year in which it withdraws, of
the defense costs and judgment rendered in any legal action brought against the District
arising or accruing in any year during which it was a member of the District.
(4) To pay its share, based upon its assessment for the year in which it withdraws, of
all unbudgeted costs and expenses of the District arising out of the activities of
the District during the withdrawing member’s term of membership, regardless of when
such costs and expenses may be discovered.
(5) To pay all of these additional costs either in a lump sum or in installments at such
times and in such amounts as required by the Board.
(c) Subsections (a) and (b) of this section notwithstanding, in the event there is a recycling
or treatment facility or contracts for recycling or treatment in effect, and in the
further event that the withdrawal of a member would reduce the amount of solid waste
generated to less than the minimum volume required to meet the District’s long-term
contractual commitments related thereto, then no withdrawal of a member shall be permitted
during the term of such commitments.
(d) After a member has voted to withdraw, the Board shall give notice to the remaining
members of the vote to withdraw and shall hold a meeting to determine if it is in
the best interest of the District to continue to exist. All interested parties shall
be given an opportunity to be heard. If the Board determines that it would be in
the best interests of the District to cease operations, the Board may prepare and
implement a plan for dissolution of the District.