§ 19. Town Manager
(a) The Selectboard shall appoint a Town Manager in accordance with the provisions of
State law and this charter. The Town Manager:
(1) may serve for a fixed or an indefinite term at the discretion of the Selectboard of
the Town;
(2) before entering upon his or her duties, shall be sworn to the faithful performance
of his or her duties and shall give a bond to the Town in an amount and with sureties
as the Selectboard may require;
(3) shall be considered an executive officer of the Town removable at any time in the
discretion of the Selectboard upon the Selectboard adopting a resolution providing
for removal and passed with the affirmative votes of a majority of the Selectboard;
the resolution may be effective immediately upon passage, or upon the expiration of
a period of time set forth in the resolution.
(b) The Town Manager, subject to the requirements of State law, shall have general supervision
of the affairs of the Town, shall be the adminis- trative head of all departments
of the Town government, and shall be responsible for the efficient administration
of the Town.
(c) The Town Manager shall have authority, and it shall be the Town Manager’s duty:
(1) To cause duties required of towns not committed to the care of any particular officer
to be duly performed and executed.
(2) To perform all duties now conferred by law upon the Selectboard, except that he or
she shall not prepare tax bills, sign orders on the General Fund of the Town other
than orders for poor relief, call special or annual Town meetings, lay out highways,
establish and lay out public parks, make assessments, award damages, act as a member
of the Board of Civil Authority, nor make appointments to fill vacancies that the
Selectboard is now authorized by law to fill; but the Town Manager shall, in all matters
excepted in this subdivision, render the Selectboard assistance as it requires.
(3) To be the general purchasing agent of the Town and purchase all supplies for every
department of the Town; but purchases of supplies for departments over which the Town
Manager is not given control shall be made according to requisition by those departments.
(4) To have charge and supervision of all public Town buildings and their repairs; and
all building done by the Town, unless otherwise specially voted, shall be done under
his or her charge and supervision.
(5) To perform all the duties now conferred by law upon the Road Commissioner of the Town,
including the signing of orders.
(6) To supervise and expend all special appropriations of the Town, as if the same were
a separate department of the Town, unless otherwise voted by the Town.
(7) To appoint, upon merit and fitness alone, and, when the Town Manager deems necessary
for the good of the Town, suspend or remove any subordinate official, employee, or
agent under the Town Manager’s supervision as provided for in this charter. All appointments
may be without definite terms unless for provisional, temporary, or emergency service,
in which case, terms shall not exceed the maximum periods prescribed by the personnel
rules and regulations. The Town Manager may authorize the head of a department or
of an office responsible to the Town Manager to appoint and remove subordinates in
the office or department.
(8) To collect all taxes due the Town and to perform all duties now conferred by law upon
the Collector of Taxes, if the Town so votes. The Town Manager shall continue to do
so until the Town votes otherwise at a meeting duly warned for the purpose of voting
on that question. For the collection of taxes, a Town Manager may charge and collect
the same fees as a collector of taxes, and the fees collected shall be paid into the
Treasury of the Town.
(d) The powers, duties, and liabilities imposed upon any other departments of the Town
inconsistent with the provisions of this article shall be suspended and shall be conferred
and imposed upon the Manager; wherever in the Town charter there is a reference to
the Town Administrator, that reference shall be deemed to be to the Town Manager.
(e) In the event of resignation, illness, injury, death, suspension, or removal of the
Town Manager, the Selectboard may appoint an interim Town Manager to serve during
any period of incapacity due to illness, injury, or temporary suspension of the Town
Manager, or in the case of resignation, death, permanent suspension, or removal during
the transition period in which the Selectboard is interviewing, identifying, selecting,
and appointing a Town Manager. An interim Town Manager shall have all of the powers
and perform all of the duties of the Town Manager. Interim Town Managers shall serve
as such at the discretion of the Selectboard and shall be appointed or reappointed
for terms not to exceed 180 days. In the event of the absence of either a Town Manager
or an Interim Town Manager, the acting Town Manager designated as such by the Selectboard
under subsection 12(e) of this charte (Amended 1999, No. M-12 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. May 9, 2000; 2005, No. M-13 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. May 17, 2006; 2007, No. M-19 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 13, 2008.)