2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 24 Appendix - Municipal Charters › Chapter 149 - Town of Springfield › App § 22. Town meeting; elections

§ 22. Town meeting; elections
(a) [Repealed.]
(b) Meetings and Elections.
(1) Annual Town meeting.
(A) On the Monday preceding the first Tuesday in March, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at a place designated by the Selectboard, the Town shall start its annual meeting and may transact at that time any business not involving Australian ballot. At this meeting, public discussion of ballot questions and all other issues appearing on the warning, other than the election of candidates, shall be permitted.
(B) A meeting so started shall be adjourned until the following day, the first Tuesday in March, at which time business involving Australian ballot will be transacted.
(C) The date of the annual Town meeting may be changed by a vote of the citizens at an annual or a special Town meeting duly warned for that purpose.
(2) Special Town meetings.
(A) Special Town meetings may be called at any time for reasons as prescribed by charter, by a majority vote of the Selectboard, or by the decree of the Town Clerk upon receipt of a petition signed by no less than five percent of the voters registered at the time the petition is submitted.
(B) A special Town meeting, called in accordance with subdivision (2)(A) of this subsection, shall be held within 60 days from the date of the official call to meeting.
(3) Warnings.
(A) Timetable and notice. Public notice of every annual or special Town meeting, or Town election, shall be given by a warning posted in not less than four public places in the Town and on the Town’s website,not less than 30, nor more than 40 days prior to the meeting, and published in a newspaper or newspapers of general circulation in the municipality as may be directed or designated by the Selectboard.
(B) Contents. The warning shall contain:
(i) the date, time, and location of the meeting;
(ii) separate articles specifically indicating the business to be transacted in the language to be voted upon;
(iii) the signatures of a majority of the Selectboard.
(C) Placing of articles on a warning for the annual Town meeting.
(i) Articles may be placed on the warning by:
(I) a majority vote of the Selectboard;
(II) a petition of at least five percent of the voters registered at the time the petition is submitted.
(ii) Articles submitted by petition must be filed pursuant to State statute as to form and process.
(4) Power of Selectboard on Australian ballot decree.
(A) The Selectboard may cause any question to be voted by Australian ballot at any annual or special Town meeting called on their action, or by petition, provided that the warning for such meeting specifies the question to be voted.
(B) All articles to be voted by Australian ballot shall be preceded by a public informational hearing. The warning of the vote shall include the notice of the public informational hearing and set forth the time and place of the public informational hearing.
(5) Presiding officials at Town meeting and elections.
(A) The Moderator shall preside at all Town meetings. In the Moderator’s absence, the Town Clerk shall call the meeting to order and the first order of business shall be the election of a Moderator Pro Tempore to preside for the duration of the meeting.
(B) Town meetings shall be conducted in accordance with State law, this charter, and Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised.
(C) It shall be the duty of the Moderator to take such actions deemed necessary to preserve order in the conduct of business and to preserve the principles of free speech, openness, and fairness in government.
(D) The Town Clerk shall be the presiding official at all Australian ballot elections and, in cooperation with the Board of Civil Authority, shall assure that all laws related to elections are faithfully observed.
(E) While the polls are open, the Town Clerk shall rule on all questions covering the conduct of Australian ballot elections, except the resolution of questions concerning the checklist that shall be made by the majority of the Board of Civil Authority members present.
(F) In the absence of the Town Clerk and Assistant Town Clerk, should it occur before an election, the Board of Civil Authority shall, upon notice, immediately meet and designate an Acting Clerk for the duration of the election. Should the absence occur on election day, the Board of Civil Authority members present at the election shall designate an Acting Clerk to preside for the duration of the election.
(6) Postponing or continuing of Town meetings.
(A) The Selectboard may postpone a special Town meeting vote to the annual Town meeting if the date of the special Town meeting will fall within 75 days of the annual Town meeting.
(B) If a special Town meeting called by petition falls within 45 days of a subsequent special or annual Town meeting called by petition, the Selectboard may warn the questions to be voted at such Town meeting for the later Town meeting and may by resolution rescind the call of the earlier meeting.
(7) Citizen initiatives; revote; rescission of articles other than election of officers.
(A) Any question voted at an annual or special Town meeting, except the adoption, amendment, or repeal of ordinances or of the charter and the recall of elected officials, may be submitted for revote or rescission at a subsequent annual or special Town meeting, subject to the limits contained herein.
(B) Requests for revote or rescission must be by resolution of at least four members of the Selectboard or by a petition filed with the Town Clerk and signed by at least five percent of the voters registered on the date of the action.
(C) Any request for revote or rescission must be taken or filed within 30 days following the date the question was first considered.
(D) The Town Clerk shall warn a special Town meeting to be held within 60 days of the date following the request for revote or rescission.
(E) The Town budget shall be subject to a revote only if voted in the negative.
(F) The phrasing and presentation of a revote on any question shall be identical to that used on initial consideration.
(G) Any question voted on or considered shall be subject to revote or rescission only once in the 12 months following the initial vote, except for the Town budget, which shall be voted until passed, and except for charter amendments by citizen initiative that are governed by subsection 11(c) of this charter.
(H) A vote of a proposed amendment or revision of this charter by citizen initiative that is substantially similar in substance to a previous proposed amendment by citizen initiative may occur only once in one year.
(8) Tie votes.
(A) A tie vote, other than for an elected office, at any Town meeting shall require an immediate recount; if the tie vote is affirmed, then the articles must be revoted at a special Town meeting within 60 days.
(B) Recounts other than tie votes may be requested in accordance with State statute.
(9) Nonproductive elections. In the event that a legal election fails to produce a person to fill any elected Town office, the Selectboard shall, within 30 days following the election, appoint a registered voter to serve in the position until the next annual Town meeting at which an election will occur for the term of office or remaining balance of the unexpired term, whichever is applicable.
(10) Board of Civil Authority.
(A) The Board of Civil Authority shall consist of the justices of the peace residing within the Town who shall be elected in accordance with State statute, the Town Clerk, and the Selectboard.
(B) At the first meeting following the first day of February of odd numbered years, the Board of Civil Authority shall elect a Chair and a Vice Chair from among its members.
(C) The Town Clerk shall be the Clerk of the Board of Civil Authority.
(D) The Board shall perform all duties as required by this charter and all duties as required by statute to the extent that they are not in conflict with this charter. (Amended 2021, No. M-13 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 16, 2022; 2023, No. M-2, § 2, eff. May 4, 2023.)