Secretary of StateVermont Municipal Monthly, May, 1998
Secretary of StateGreetings...
This month in Vermont Municipal Monthly, we have a couple of special features in addition to our regular menu of answers to interesting questions we've received during the past few weeks. I'd also like to call your attention to a quirk in the calendar that will deny municipal clerks a holiday.
- Because Labor Day this year happens to be the day before the Primary, all municipal clerks' offices must keep regular hours to accept applications for absentee ballots. Ouch! We do hope you will find a chance to relax and recreate over the course of the previous weekend! (See more on Absentee Ballots below).
- In the closing days of the Legislature, a last-minute measure passed that requires us to survey the condition of municipal records in town offices. We will fulfill this obligation in part by circulating the enclosed questionnaire via the paper edition of Vermont Municipal Monthly. We would appreciate your returning it to us promptly. Please consider this is an opportunity to alert the Legislature to the need to take specific action in the field of records preservation.
- We also include this month a list of elections officials in other states. Web readers may click on http://www.sec.state.vt.us/who/electoff.htm to find these e-mail addresses and associated Web sites, while readers of paper versions mailed to all municipal offices will find the list enclosed. These are the addresses to which you may forward voter registration information. (There was no available up-to-date list of these officials at the national level as of last week, so we compiled our own from the Internet. If you come across any mistakes or changes, please let us know.)
The month of May offers a special opportunity for clerks to prepare the town for the coming election cycle, the major events being the Primary on September 8 and the General Election on November 2. There are plenty of other deadlines along the way, of course.
Checking your election supplies is a good start, but we've also included below a short review of the law on elections for clerks and other election officials. You'll hear more about this later on, so please consider this a warmup to the longer runs you'll be taking as the season progresses.
As always, a paper copy of this edition of Vermont Municipal Monthly is being mailed to each town and city clerk. Anyone who would like to be notified electronically each time a new issue is posted on our Web site may e-mail us at publist@sec.state.vt.us with a request.
-- Jim Milne
Secretary of State
jmilne@sec.state.vt.us
Who Is the Representative District Clerk?
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A representative district clerk is the clerk of that town or part of a town having the largest population in the representative district. However, when part of one town is joined with all of another town to form a representative district, the clerk of the latter town shall always be the representative district clerk. 17 V.S.A. § 2103(29).
Petitions
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Major party candidates seeking election to the Vermont House of Representatives file their petitions and consent forms with the representative district clerk on the third Monday in July (July 20, 1998). Even if the clerk's office is not normally open on Monday, it must be open on this day, and must remain open until 5 p.m. 17 V.S.A. § 2356.
The clerk must check the petition to ascertain whether it contains the requisite number of signatures (50). The law does not require the clerk to check the petitions name by name unless the clerk has reason to believe the petitions are defective in some way.
If the petition does not conform to what is required, the clerk must state in writing why it cannot be accepted and, within seventy-two hours from receipt, return it to the candidate in whose behalf it was filed. Supplementary petitions may be filed by the candidate as long as the candidate initially had the required number of signatures on the petition (50). 17 V.S.A. § 2358.
The representative district clerk may request certified copies of the checklist from the other town clerks within the representative district. The other clerks are required to furnish copies of their checklist to the representative district clerk promptly and without charge. 17 V.S.A. § 2358(c).
Within three days of receiving the petitions and consent forms, the representative district clerk must forward the consent forms to the Office of the Secretary of State. We do not need the petitions, only a copy of the consent form for each candidate.
The representative district clerk must also notify our office of any non-conforming petitions that have not yet been resubmitted. 17 V.S.A. § 2359.
Primary petitions must be kept until 30 days following the general election in which they were used. 17 V.S.A. § 2360.
Campaign Finance Reports
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Representative district clerks also receive campaign finance reports from candidates for the general assembly who have raised or spent more than $500. 17 V.S.A. § 2821. These reports are due ten days before the primary (August 31, 1998) and ten days before the general election (October 26, 1998). 17 V.S.A. § 2103(13). Copies of all reports received by the representative district clerk must be forwarded to us within five days of receipt. 17 V.S.A. § 2821(c).
Qualification of Voters
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The board of civil authority must meet once between the deadline for application for addition to the checklist and the election. 17 V.S.A. § 2142. The board meets at the call of the clerk. Each member must receive written notice of the meeting at least five days before the meeting, and notice of the meeting must be posted in two or more public places in town at least five days before the meeting. 24 V.S.A. § 801.
A quorum of the board of civil authority for election purposes is three. 17 V.S.A. § 2103(5). Official action may be taken with the concurrence of all three members in attendance.
All applications for addition to the checklist must be received at the town clerk's office by noon of the second Saturday before an election. A mail application or an application submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles or a voter registration agency will be considered to have met the deadline if the application is postmarked, submitted or accepted by noon of the second Saturday before the election. 17 V.S.A. § 2144(a).
Warnings
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At least five days before warnings must be posted (August 4 and September 29, 1998), the clerk will receive five copies of the warning from our office. 17 V.S.A. § 2521(b).
Warnings must be posted thirty days before the primary (Sunday, August 9, 1998) and thirty days before the general election (October 4, 1998). 17 V.S.A. § 2521.
At least thirty days before any election, the town clerk shall post copies of the most recent checklist in two or more public places in the town, in addition to its being posted in the town clerk's office. 17 V.S.A. § 2141.
Sample ballots have to be posted ten days before the primary election (August 29, 1998) and ten days before the general election (October 24, 1998). 17 V.S.A. § 2522.
Absentee Ballots
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Ballots supplied by our office for primary and general elections must be available 35 days before the election. 17 V.S.A. § 2479.
An application for an absentee ballot may be made on behalf of oneself until the close of the town clerk's office on the day before an election. If the application is made on behalf of another voter, the deadline for application is noon of the day before an election. 17 V.S.A. § 2531.
Absentee ballots may be requested by an absent voter, or by an authorized family member, by telephone, in person or in writing. Any other authorized person may apply only in person or in writing. 17 V.S.A. § 2532(a).
Any person may vote in the clerk's office or receive ballots by mail, and a person who is physically disabled or ill may have ballots delivered by justices of the peace. 17 V.S.A. § 2539. No candidate with opposition, or spouse, parent or child of such a candidate, is eligible to deliver ballots, except when the candidacy is for the offices of moderator, justice of the peace, constable, town clerk, clerk-treasurer, ward clerk, or inspector of elections. 17 V.S.A. § 2456.
Absentee ballots may be delivered on any of the eight days preceding an election or on election day by justices of the peace. 17 V.S.A. § 2538(b).
A list, containing the name and address of each absent voter must be posted at the town clerk's office and in each polling place in the town upon the opening of the polls and must remain posted until all votes are counted. 17 V.S.A. § 2534.
Polling Places and Polling Hours
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The board of civil authority designates the polling places, 17 V.S.A. § 2501, and sets the polling hours, 17 V.S.A. § 2561, appoints assistant election officers, 17 V.S.A. § 2454, and, if more than one polling place is used, appoints a presiding officer for each polling place. 17 V.S.A. § 2452(b). If there is a need to change polling places or hours, the clerk should arrange to call a meeting (24 V.S.A. § 801) of the board of civil authority forty-five days before the day of the election or earlier.
As presiding officer, the clerk is responsible for the preparation of the polling place(s) and voting equipment, opening and closing the polls, scheduling the working hours of all election officials, counting votes and certifying the results of the count, securing all ballots and maintaining order at the polls. 17 V.S.A. § 2453.
The clerk must furnish the presiding officer of each polling place with two certified copies of the checklist. 17 V.S.A. § 2507. If the town uses voting machines and the board of civil authority has voted to dispense with an exit checklist, only an entrance checklist must be provided. 17 V.S.A. § 2496.
With the following exceptions, the clerk must assure that no candidate involved in a contested election serves as an election official: the only town officers who may serve as election officials when involved in a contested election are the moderator, justice of the peace, constable, town clerk, clerk-treasurer, ward clerk or inspector of elections. 17 V.S.A. § 2456.
The clerk must ensure that within the building containing the polling place, no campaign literature, stickers, buttons, information on write-in candidates or other political materials are displayed, placed, handed out or allowed to remain; and that within the building containing a polling place, no candidate, election official or other person distributes election materials, solicits voters or otherwise campaigns. The clerk is also charged with ensuring that on the walks and driveways leading to a building in which a polling place is located, that no candidate or other person physically interferes with the progress of a voter to and from the polling place. 17 V.S.A. § 2508.
Count and Return of Votes
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The presiding officer must publicly announce that the polls are closed. 17 V.S.A. § 2581.
The presiding officer directs the count of the votes, 17 V.S.A. § 2582, and is responsible for the tallying of the entrance and exit checklist. If there are discrepancies, the presiding officer must prepare a statement listing any discrepancies between the checklists, including the names involved and other details relating to the discrepancies. 17 V.S.A. § 2583.
One copy of the checklist shall be safely stored for a period of 90 days so that the public cannot reasonably have access to it without the town clerk's consent. 17 V.S.A. § 2583.
The presiding officer must open the ballot boxes and distribute the ballots in approximately equal numbers to the election officials. 17 V.S.A. § 2584.
If any two election officials have any doubt about the intent of the voter or any other question about a ballot, they shall bring it to the presiding officer who shall present the question of how to treat the ballot to the assembled election officials. The decision of how to treat the ballot shall be made by majority vote of the election officials who are present. 17 V.S.A. § 2587(a).
When the same number of persons are nominated for the position of justice of the peace as there are positions to be filled, the presiding officer may declare the whole slate of candidates elected without making individual tallies, providing each person on the slate has more votes than the largest number of write-in votes for any one candidate. 17 V.S.A. § 2587(f).
As the count of votes for each office or public question is completed, the presiding officer and at least one other election official shall collect the tally sheets, enter the totals shown on the tally sheets upon the summary sheets, add and enter the sum of such figures, and sign the summary sheets. As each summary sheet is completed, the presiding officer shall announce the results. 17 V.S.A. § 2588.
Within 48 hours of the close of the polls, the town clerk shall deliver in person or mail a certified copy of the return to each of the following: the secretary of state, the senatorial district clerk, the county clerk, and the representative district clerk. 17 V.S.A. § 2588.
The packages of ballots, tally sheets, exit checklists and other election material shall be collected by the presiding officer and delivered to the town clerk, securely sealed in the ballot bags. 17 V.S.A. § 2590(a). The town clerk shall safely store the ballot bags and shall not permit them to be tampered with in any way or to be removed from his or her custody except under court order, or by order of any authorized committee of the general assembly. 17 V.S.A. § 2590(c).
All primary and general election ballots and tally sheets shall be retained by the clerk for 22 months.
The Canvassing Committee
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The canvassing committee for the election of a state representative is comprised of the representative district clerk and one other election official from the district. 17 V.S.A. § 2592(d).
Primary canvassing committee meetings, under 17 V.S.A. § 2368, are held as follows:
- The canvassing committee for state representative in a single-town district meets the day after the election at 10 a.m. (Wednesday, September 9, 1998).
- The canvassing committee for state representative in multi-town districts meets on the Friday after the election at 10 a.m. (Friday, September 11, 1998).
At the September meeting, the canvassing committee prepares and signs certificates of nomination and mails or delivers in person to each candidate nominated a notice of his or her nomination within two days of the committee's meeting.
At the same time the canvassing committee mails or delivers the certificates of nomination, the committee shall file with our office a report showing the vote for each candidate of each party for each office. 17 V.S.A. § 2371.
Canvassing committees for the general election meet one week after the general election at 10 a.m. (November 10, 1998). 17 V.S.A. § 2592(g).
At the November meeting, the canvassing committee declares the person receiving the greatest number of votes to be elected, and it shall issue a certificate of election. The committee shall send or deliver the certificate to the candidate elected. In the case of representatives to the general assembly, the committee shall also send or deliver a copy of each certificate to our office. 17 V.S.A. § 2592(h).
In the case of justices of the peace, the town clerk shall send or deliver a certificate to each candidate elected. The certificate shall be signed by the town clerk and one other election official. 17 V.S.A. § 2592(i).
In the case of a tie, the canvassing committee shall immediately petition the appropriate superior court for a recount. 17 V.S.A. § 2592(l).
Justices of the Peace
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Although the town clerk is merely the filing officer for nominations for the office of justice of the peace, clerks seem to be expected by many in their communities to be part of this process. There are three ways to run for justice of the peace:
- The town committee may call a town caucus, on or before the first Tuesday in September (which is September 1st this year) in each even-numbered year. Notice of the caucus must be posted in at least three public places in the town not less than seven days before the date of the caucus. In towns having a population of more than 1,000, notice of the caucus must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the town not less than three days before the date of the caucus. 17 V.S.A. § 2413(a) and (d). Statements of nomination must be filled out by the chair and secretary. The statements of nomination, accompanied by the notice of the caucus, must be filed with the town clerk by Thursday, September 17, 1998 at 5 p.m. Before filing the statement of nomination, the chair or secretary must check with each nominee to confirm that he or she consents to have his or her name printed on the ballot as a candidate for the position of justice of the peace and to serve if elected. 17 V.S.A. § 2385(e).
- If the town committee does not hold a caucus before the first Tuesday in September (September 1, 1998) the town committee must hold a town committee meeting to nominate candidates for justice of the peace. Notice, in writing, must be given to all town committee members at least five days before the meeting. The notice must specifically state the offices for which nominations are to be made. 17 V.S.A. § 2383. Statements of nomination must be filled out by the chair and secretary. The statements of nomination, accompanied by the notice of the meeting, must be filed with the town clerk by Thursday, September 17, 1998 at 5:00 p.m. 17 V.S.A. § 2385(a)(b)(c). Before filing the statement of nomination, the chair or secretary must check with each nominee to confirm that he or she consents to have his or her name printed on the ballot as a candidate for the position of justice of the peace and to serve if elected. 17 V.S.A. § 2385(e).
- An individual may choose to run for the office of justice of the peace as an independent. In order to have his or her name placed on the ballot for the office of justice of the peace, an independent candidate must submit a petition and consent form to the town clerk by Thursday, September 17, 1998 at 5 p.m. The petition must contain the signatures of thirty voters of the town or the signatures of one percent of the voters of the town, whichever is less. The signatures on the petition must have been certified by the town clerk prior to the filing of the petition.
Registration of 'Almost' Voters
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Are 17-year-olds allowed to register if they will be 18 by the next election?
If a person is not eligible to register prior to the second Saturday before the day of election, but expects to be eligible on or before election day, he or she may file with the town clerk a written notice of intention to apply for addition to the checklist. The notice must be filed prior to noon of the second Saturday preceding the day of election.
If a 17-year-old will be 18 by the next general election, is he or she allowed to vote in the primary? No, in order to vote in the primary, the individual must be eighteen by or on the day of the primary.
Minor Party, Independent Candidates for JP
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Justices of the peace will be elected at the general election on Tuesday, November 3, 1998. Their terms will begin on February 1, 1999. Vermont statutes allow minor political parties to deviate from the organization requirements for major parties in one important respect. While major parties must be organized in fifteen towns, Section 2381(b) requires that a minor party be organized in only 10 towns in order to nominate candidates for statewide office.
Justices of the peace, however, are not statewide officers. They are county officers who are nominated by town caucus or committee. A minor party can hold a town caucus for the nomination of justices of the peace after the January 1, 1998 deadline and before the deadline for nominations for justices of the peace, September 17, 1998.
Instead of creating a town committee, one or more candidates can also run for justice of the peace using the process for independent candidates.
Each candidate would have to collect voter signatures equal to 30 voters or one percent of the checklist, whichever is less. Those signatures would have to be verified by the town clerk prior to the filing deadline of September 17, 1998 at 5 p.m. If no party is indicated on the consent form, the candidate is presumed to be running as an independent.
However, a candidate can put in the name of a party (not more than three words; must be substantially different from the name of any organized political party and substantially different from the political or other name already appearing on any other petition for the same office then on file with the town clerk for the general election). 17 V.S.A. §§ 2401-2403.
Even if a party is not organized, it can run a candidate for JP by having the candidate put the party name on the consent form that otherwise is used by independent candidates.
What Happens When the School Budget Does Not Pass?
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The union school budget didn't pass this year. Now what?
First, the board must prepare a revised budget. 16 V.S.A. § 711e(f). 17 V.S.A. § 2680(c). The board is allowed to set the date of the revote for at least seven days following the public notice. However, 17 V.S.A. § 2680(g) requires a public informational hearing to be held whenever a school district or town has voted to adopt the Australian ballot system of voting on any public question, including the budget.
A public informational hearing must be warned for ten days by posting warnings at least ten days in advance of the informational hearing; the hearing must be held within the ten days preceding the vote on the budget.
A seven-day warning for the vote and a ten-day warning for the hearing? Which prevails?
We advise boards that the notice for the public hearing should be posted on the eleventh day before the hearing (the twelveth day before the budget vote, not counting the day of the budget vote).
But then, how much notice should be given? Without a full thirty days, school districts should comply as closely as possible with the procedure for a meeting warned for 30-40 days—that is, posting in the district as soon as possible, publishing a newspaper warning, providing ballots as soon as possible to absentee voters. These laws don't fit together perfectly, but every effort should be made to ensure a good turnout on a budget revote.
Who Are the Officers of Our Town School District?
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The officers are the town clerk and town auditors who, by virtue of their town offices, perform the same duties for the town school district, 16 V.S.A. § 425; the town treasurer who is the treasurer of the town school district, 16 V.S.A. § 426; the school directors; the union school directors and the moderator. The town moderator is not the school district moderator unless he or she runs for the position and is elected. It is a separate office from that of town moderator.
If the school board chose to do so, it could ask the school district voters through a vote to create the positions of school district clerk and school district treasurer. If the voters approved the creation of these separate offices, the school district would begin to elect its own clerk and treasurer. The town clerk and town treasurer could be candidates for those positions.
One school district discovered it had made a mistake in moving the date of its annual meeting without thinking about when its officers took office. Each time the school district votes to move its annual meeting, it is also moving the day of election for school district officers. If the school district wants to continue to elect its officers on town meeting day, even though its annual meeting is held on another day, it must vote to continue electing its officers on town meeting day. 16 V.S.A. § 423(d). Without such a vote, the election of officers moves to the annual school meeting day.
The Authority of the School Board Chair
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What authority does the chair have over other members, other than insuring an orderly flow of matters on the agenda at meetings and an orderly exchange of ideas?
None.
Can the chair supersede a request for an emergency meeting by another board member? Can the superintendent?
First of all, the law allows an emergency meeting only when necessary to respond to an "unforeseen occurrence or condition requiring immediate attention by the public body." 1 V.S.A. § 312(c)(3). We would not recommend an emergency meeting except for a dire circumstance. A special meeting can be warned with 24-hour notice to all board members; posting in or near the clerk's office and in two other public places in the municipality; and notice to an editor, publisher or news director of a newspaper or radio station serving the area and to any of the above who have requested to be notified of special meetings.
The chair cannot supersede a request by a member for a special meeting and neither can the superintendent. Any board member can request a meeting of the board, and it should be called. If a quorum appears, the meeting goes forward. If a quorum doesn't appear, the meeting does not take place. Obviously, we would encourage communication in a spirit of accommodation between the chair and any board member wishing a meeting.
Can the superintendent refuse a request to contact other board members to call a special meeting? No. The superintendent has nothing to do with calling meetings--other than the ministerial duty of notifying the board members, and he or she cannot refuse to notify board members of a requested meeting.
How You Set the Tax Rate
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It seems a few years ago, the town clerk had done the computations for setting the tax rate for the fiscal year, which were then presented to the board. The select board then discussed adding to the tax in consideration of special needs not known at town meeting.
Can the select board, on its own initiative, decide to add a penny to the tax rate? It cannot. The select board has no authority to add money to the computed tax rate. Setting the tax rate is a ministerial task. The law states that the select board "shall, after the grand list has been computed and lodged in the office of the town clerk, set the tax rate necessary to raise the specific amounts voted." 17 V.S.A. § 2664. The board takes the amounts voted at the town and school district meetings, subtracts the revenue from other sources and divides that amount by the grand list.
If the select board deemed that extra money was necessary for a "rainy day" fund or other demands, it needed to ask the voters to raise that additional money by placing those requests in the town budget or in separate articles at town meeting.
Petitioning to Purchase Real Property
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Voters in one town launched a petition to compel the select board to vote on an article that would allow the town to lease a large building it owns in town to a nonprofit corporation for use as an art museum and art school. The select board was against putting the question to a vote.
The municipal lease or sale of real property is explicitly governed by statute. 24 V.S.A. § 1061. The law allows the legislative body (select board) to convey municipal real estate in two ways. In the first alternative, the select board must give notice of the terms of a proposed conveyance by posting a notice in at least three public places within the municipality, one of which shall be in or near the town clerk's office. Notice must also be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. The posting and publication must occur at least 30 days prior to the date of the proposed conveyance. If, within that thirty days, the select board gets a petition signed by five percent of the voters, the select board must place before the voters the question of whether the municipality should convey the real estate.
The other alternative is for the select board to allow the voters to vote at a special or annual meeting on whether the real estate should be conveyed for that purpose. The vote is a discretionary act on the select board's part. A petition can't force the board to put the conveyance to a vote. At best, a petition can ask for an advisory vote, unless the select board is willing on its own initiative to allow the voters to decide.
Voting Zoning Amendments
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With a recent vote on zoning amendments, each of the three zoning amendments was not on the face of the ballot. The question was, simply, should the town adopt the proposed bylaw amendments. Is this wrong?
There is nothing in planning and zoning law that requires a town to vote each amendment separately. The select board could design the ballot that way if it so chose, but that decision is discretionary.
Meeting With The Town Attorney
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Can the board for abatement of taxes meet in executive session with the town attorney?
The board may go into executive session for the same reasons any public body may do so, but none of these reasons depends upon the presence of the town attorney. 1 V.S.A. § 313. The board also has the right to meet in what is known as deliberative session, from which the public is excluded.
After the board has heard the appellant, the board may choose to go into deliberative session, and if the board wishes to continue a deliberative session, it may hold that deliberative session at any time without public notice. Deliberative sessions are allowed only in instances where there will be a public, written decision of the board stating its findings of fact, its conclusions of law and its order. 1 V.S.A. § 312(f).
Constables: An Overview
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Each town in Vermont has the flexibility to define the duties of the constable as it wishes. Somebody asked us if there is a minimum amount of authority that all constables have.
Constables in Vermont are law enforcement officers. They may be elected for a term of one or, if a town so votes, a term of two years. 17 V.S.A. § 2646(7). In 1992 the Legislature passed a law that gave a town some flexibility with regard to its constables. A town could, at its annual meeting, vote by Australian ballot to give the select board authority to appoint its constables rather than having constables elected. 17 V.S.A. § 2651a. The Legislature also gave a town the authority to vote, at an annual or special meeting, to prohibit its constable from exercising law enforcement authority or to prohibit the constable from exercising law enforcement authority without having successfully completed a course of training. 24 V.S.A. § 1936a.
When this happens, and the constable's wings are clipped, that officer can still perform the following functions, and no one can take them away, except when the term of office is over:
- the service of civil or criminal process, under 12 V.S.A. § 691;
- destruction of animals, in accordance with the provisions of 20 V.S.A., chapter 193;
- the killing of injured deer, under 10 V.S.A. § 4749;
- provision of assistance to the health officer in the discharge of the health officer's duties, under 18 V.S.A. S 617;
- service as a district court officer, under 24 V.S.A. § 296;
- removal of disorderly people from town meeting, under 17 V.S.A. § 2659; and
- collection of taxes, when no tax collector is elected, as provided under 24 V.S.A. § 1529.
When the Auditor Demands Records
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One of the town auditors wishes to have the town supply him with the originals of telephone bills for the past five years. The treasurer wonders what obligation she has to produce these documents.
Because the records are stored at the town office, any town officer could fill such a request. Although the records are financial records, it need not be the treasurer who produces them.
The real question is whether the auditor is acting in his capacity as auditor or whether he is acting as a private citizen.
If he is acting in his capacity as auditor, he has no authority to institute audits of prior year documents or to begin auditing this year's telephone bills without the concurrence of one of the other two auditors. If he has that concurrence, there would be no charge for copying the documents.
If he is acting as a private citizen, charging for copies is appropriate. The access to public records law allows the town to charge actual cost for the copies and for time exceeding 30 minutes directly involved with complying with a request for copies. 1 V.S.A. § 316(c)
Because it would appear that all but the current telephone bills have been audited, the town would have authority to charge him for copies of the past five year's worth of telephone bills, and for labor if copying those bills exceeds 30 minutes.
Those charges are set by our office unless the select board has, after public hearing, set its actual costs.
See the Public Records section of our Web site at www.sec.state.vt.us/access/
records/pubrec.htm for more details.Originals of documents should not be removed from the town office. If the auditor wishes to work with the originals, he should allot time to work at the town office. If he wants to work on these documents outside the office, he must accept copies of the documents.
Regarding the Availability of Public Records
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Please don't forget that minutes of public meetings must be available within five days of the meeting. 1 V.S.A. § 312(b)(2).
The minutes must be made available even if the minutes have not yet been formally approved by the public body. To ensure that recipients of the minutes understand that those minutes have not yet been formally adopted, most agencies mark them with an "unapproved" or "draft" stamp.
The open meeting law requires that the agenda for a regular or special meeting must be made available to the news media and to concerned persons prior to the meeting upon specific request. 1 V.S.A. § 312(d). If agendas are made available to the media without charge, agendas supplied to other individuals should also be without charge. The town could mail agendas to those who requested them if it chose, but the law does not require that the town mail agendas. It must, however, make them available upon request.
Although sometimes inconvenient for officials, the access to public records law does not require that a person put most requests in writing. If the request is for something as simple as minutes, putting that request in writing is cumbersome and unnecessary. The law does allow the town to require that requests which would take more than thirty minutes of staff time be made in writing. The town may also require that the charges be paid in advance. The person requesting the documents may ask for, and the town must provide, an estimate of the charge for the documents. 1 V.S.A. § 316(c).
The town is required to promptly produce a public record that has been requested. 1 V.S.A. § 318(a). Only in unusual circumstances, defined in 1 V.S.A. § 318(5), can an agency take an extensive amount of time to fill a request, and, even in that circumstance, the request must be filled within ten days. Obviously, the agency is not required to create documents for any individual. An agency may choose to create a document and may charge for the time involved in creating that document.
Although it is sometimes difficult to comply with public records requests, citizens are allowed by law to make those requests. The purposes for which the information requested is to be used is not something that the requesting individual has to share with those of us in public agencies. It does not matter what we public officials think of these requests, we must fill them as expeditiously as possible despite shortages of time and staff.
Remember that the basis for the public records law is Chapter I, Article 6th of the Vermont Constitution:
"That all power being originally inherent in and consequently derived from the people, therefore, all officers of government, whether legislative or executive, are their trustees and servants; and at all times, in a legal way, accountable to them."
Notary Reminder (Brattleboro Please Note!)
RETURN TO 'CONTENTS'
Due to popular demand, we have added a Brattleboro session to our slate of notary seminars in June. These sessions feature Justice Alfred E. Piombino, a national expert and dean of American notaries. Piombino has written a handbook for Vermont notaries and has offered many seminars in conjunction with our office, all of which seem to be very well received. Registration is $35 and each seminar runs from 6:30-9 p.m. The schedule is as follows:
Please e-mail Notary Supervisor Kathy White, at kwhite@sec.state.vt.us, or call her at (802) 828-2308 for registration information.
- Monday, June 22: Brattleboro Municipal Building, Brattleboro.
- Tuesday, June 23: Lamoille Superior Court House, Hyde Park.
- Wednesday, June 24: Montpelier City Hall.
- Thursday, June 25: Weybridge Town Hall.