July 15th 2015 Minutes - As Approved

MINUTES OF COLCHESTER GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE

COLCHESTER POLICE STATION

COLCHESTER, VT

July 15th @ 9:00 a.m.

KIRKER RM

Present: Curt Taylor, Bud Meyers, Mickey Palmer and David Usher

LCATV was present. An audio recording was also made of the meeting.

1.      Call to Order: Chair David Usher called the meeting to order at 9:00 AM

2.      Approval of minutes from July 8^st  2015

MOTION by Bud Meyers

SECONDED by Curt Taylor

APPROVED by unanimous vote.

3.      Dawn Francis – Town Manager – Proposed Charter Changes

Dawn Francis provided the committee with several suggested Charter changes:

a.      Appointment of Town Manager

Section 401 of the Charter regarding appointment of the Town manager should reference State statute (Title 24, Chapter 37). The Committee agreed.

b.      Termination

Section 406 Removal of the Town manager does not specify under what conditions a town manager can be removed. Francis suggested adding the words “for cause” to specify that the Selectboard must provide a legitimate reason with cause and justification. After considerable discussion as to whether or not those causes should made explicit the committee decided to use Francis’s suggested wording.

c.       Enforcement

Section 404, Paragraph (m) Powers and Duties should include the ability for the town manager to designate another town official for the enforcement of town laws and ordinances. The Committee agreed.

d.      Performance Review

The Town’s current contract with the town manager contains a provision for an annual review. Dawn Francis agreed with the Committee’s recommendation that a provision for an annual review of the town manager be included in Charter Section 211(1).

e.       Selectboard assigning duties to Department and/or Offices

Section 211 (2) enables the Selectboard to assign duties to departments, commissions and offices, which conflicts with Section 209 specifying that the Selectboard must work through the town manager. After some discussion the Committee decided that Dawn Francis should consult with the Town’s legal counsel as to whether or not the whole paragraph should be removed or just the reference to Offices and Departments. This would retain the reference to Commissions.

f.       Regionalization

There was some discussion regarding having the Charter enable or encourage regionalization of appropriate services. No decision was made but Dawn Francis suggested that she consult with legal counsel and report back. The Committee agreed.

g.      Robert’s Rules of Order

The Town Manager suggested a change to Section 205 (c) and 206 (b) whereby instead of referencing Robert’s Rules of Order there would be reference to Selectboard developed rules that would be more understandable to the general public. Such rules have not yet been developed but are in the process. Bud Meyers pointed out that the Vermont League of Cities and Town’s Selectboard Handbook has guidelines for such rules and these might be referenced. The Committee was reluctant to remove, for the time being, the reference to Robert’s Rules of Order.

h.      Town Tree Warden and Service Officer

These two town positions are currently appointed by the Selectboard. Frances suggests they be appointed by the Town Manager. The duties of these positions are generally assumed by existing town officers. The Committee decided to let Francis suggest specific Charter language for such a change and consider it at a later date.

4.      Continued Work

The Committee decided to continue working on the Selectboard report and meet again in August to finalize. Wednesday, August 9th was selected as the next meeting date.

5.      Adjournment

MOTION by Curt Taylor

SECONDED by Bud Meyers

APPROVED by unanimous vote at 11:05AM.

Respectfully submitted (electronically),

Curt Taylor Secretary

July 16^th 2015 (DRAFT), August 21^st 2015 (Approved)