Section 156-14 - Local elected officials(a) Elective offices. Local elective offices to be filled by the voters of the Town of Williston shall be only those articulated by this charter, and shall include: (b) Provisions related generally to all elected local offices.(1) Term. (A) Terms for elective offices shall begin officially when the Town Clerk and Board of Civil Authority certify election returns as final, and the elected candidates take their oath of allegiance and oath of office.(B) In the event of a recount or unresolved irregularities in election returns should emergency action be required, the elective officials sitting at the time of the election shall take such action.(2) Oath of office. (A) Before taking any official action, an elected official shall take the oath of office prescribed by statute.(B) A signed copy of the oath must be filed with the Town Clerk within one week from its execution.(3) Compensation. (A) The manner of compensation for the Selectboard shall be fixed by the voters and for all other elective offices by the Selectboard.(B) Expenses actual and necessary to the performance of the duties of office may be paid, provided they are submitted through the administration for processing and payment, except as may be provided by the voters.(4) Holding of more than one office. (A) Elective offices. Nothing herein shall be interpreted as limiting any person from holding a State or federal elective office at the same time he or she holds local office, provided such service does not interfere or conflict with the proper attendance at meetings and execution of the duties of the office. Conflicts of interest established by statute remain unaffected by this charter.(B) Local appointed boards and commissions. Elected officials shall not be prevented from serving on local appointed boards and commissions, provided the service does not conflict or interfere with the proper execution of the elective office.(5) Qualification to run for and hold local office.(A) No person shall be qualified to run for or be elected to hold an elective office unless he or she is a duly registered voter and resident in the Town of Williston.(B) Should an elected holder of local office establish residence in some place other than Williston, the office shall be declared immediately vacant by the Selectboard, and said vacancy shall be filled in accordance with the provisions of the charter.(C) The requirements above dictate that a candidate or officeholder must actually dwell in the Town and not merely maintain a residence therein.(6) Vacancy. (A) A vacancy shall be deemed to exist in any local office where an officer dies, or resigns from office, or is judicially declared to be mentally incompetent, or is no longer a resident.(B) The declaration of a condition for forfeiture of office shall be made by the unanimous vote of the Selectboard, or in the case of a Selectboard member, by the other members of the Selectboard, and shall be according to procedures established in 3 V.S.A. chapter 25, as that chapter pertains to contested cases, and may be appealed to the Superior Court as contested cases are appealed.(C) A vacancy shall be filled by a majority vote of the Selectboard, and the appointment shall run until an election is held.(c) Elected officers; duties, responsibilities, and conduct. (1) Selectboard. (A) Number and term. Unless altered by the procedures provided herein, the policy making body for the Town shall be a five-member Selectboard, elected at large, on a nonpartisan basis, to three staggered three-year terms and two staggered two-year terms.(B) Powers and duties. The Selectboard shall discharge all duties conferred, imposed, or implied, by statute or prescribed by this charter, for selectboards, except as herein limited, or specifically transferred to the Town Manager. All committees of the Board and all citizen boards and commissions shall be advisory in nature unless a specific legal or policymaking function is otherwise provided by State law or ordinance as limited by this charter. In this charter, the failure to mention a particular power shall not serve to exclude it or be restrictive of the scope of powers that the Selectboard would otherwise have.(C) Organization. (i) The Selectboard shall have a Chair who shall be elected annually by a majority vote of the five members.(ii) The Board shall, in a similar manner, choose a Vice Chair to serve in the absence or disability of the Chair.(D) Duties of the Chair.(i) The Chair shall be the official head of the Town for all ceremonial purposes.(ii) The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Selectboard and may participate in all proceedings as a regular member.(iii) All duties of an administrative nature, except as otherwise provided by this charter, shall be exercised by the Town Manager as provided herein.(E) Organizational meetings. (i) Within 14 days after the annual Town meeting, the Selectboard, duly certified, shall meet for the purpose of taking the oath of office, organizing, electing a Chair and Vice Chair, and the adopting of rules for the transaction of business.(ii) The Town Manager shall preside at the organizational meeting of the Selectboard prior to the election of the Board Chair.(iii) The Board may transact any other business required at that meeting.(F) Regular meetings. (i) The Board shall hold regular meetings at a regular time.(ii) The time and place of regular Selectboard meetings shall be publicly announced to the media. Special meetings shall be limited to the agenda as warned for purposes of voting.(G) Quorums; votes.(i) Three members shall constitute a quorum for any Board meeting except as provided otherwise by this charter.(ii) Voting may be by roll call vote or voice vote. Secret ballot voting shall not be permitted.(iii) No action of the Board shall be valid or binding unless acted upon by the affirmative vote of three or more members of the Board unless otherwise provided for by this charter.(H) Special meetings and workshops. (i) Special meetings may be called at any time by the Chair, or the Vice Chair in the absence of the Chair, or by written request, signed by three Board members.(ii) Notice of a special meeting shall be served in a reasonable manner on all members of the Selectboard.(iii) Notice of the special meeting shall be released to the local news media.(iv) An agenda shall be issued at a special meeting.(v) If an emergency meeting of the Selectboard is required on very short notice, every possible effort shall be made to notify the media.(I) Correction of irregularities. Any irregularities or defects in the notice or conduct of any meeting of the Selectboard may be cured at any subsequent regular meeting, provided that such resolution is included on the agenda of a regular or special meeting and is adopted by a majority of the Board.(J) Vacancies. A vacancy on the Selectboard shall be filled by a majority vote of the remaining Board, said appointment to run until the next annual Town meeting at which an election shall be warned to fill the unexpired term. In case of a vacancy in the majority of the Board members at the same time, such vacancy shall be filled at a special Town meeting called for that purpose. In the event there are so many vacancies on the Selectboard that a quorum cannot be achieved, the remaining selectperson or selectpersons shall be authorized to draw orders for payment of continuing obligations and necessary expenses until the vacancies are filled.(2) Town Clerk. (A) There shall be a Town Clerk elected on a nonpartisan basis for a three-year term.(3) Listers. (A) There shall be three elected listers elected on a nonpartisan basis for three-year staggered terms.(B) Duties and responsibilities of the listers shall be in accordance with State statute and herein limited.(C) The Town may vote by a majority of the legal voters present at an annual or special meeting duly warned for that purpose to eliminate the office of lister or change the office to an appointed position. If the Town votes to eliminate the office of lister, the Town manager shall contract with or employ a professionally qualified assessor, who need not be a resident of the Town. The assessor shall have the same powers, discharge the same duties, proceed in the discharge thereof in the same manner, and be subject to the same liabilities as are prescribed for lister or board of listers under the provisions of Title 32 of the Vermont Statutes Annotated.(D) A vote to eliminate the office of lister shall remain in effect until rescinded by majority vote of the legal voters present at an annual or special meeting warned for that purpose.(E) The term of office of any lister in office on the date a town votes to eliminate that office shall expire on the 45th day after the vote or on the date upon which the Selectboard appoints an assessor.(4) Moderator. A Moderator shall be elected on a nonpartisan basis for a one-year term, who shall perform all duties prescribed by this charter and State law.(6) Board of Library Trustees. (A) The Board of Library Trustees consists of seven members elected by the voters of the Town to staggered five-year terms.(B) The library trustees have full power to manage the library, pursuant to 22 V.S.A. § 143 and other general State law.24 Appendix V.S.A. § 156-14
Added 2003, No. M-11 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. 5/3/2004; amended 2007, No. M-8, § 5, eff. 4/17/2007; 2019, No. M-5, §2, eff. 5/23/2019; 2019, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 271.