Proposed Northfield Town Charter

Today, the Town of Northfield operates under the laws of the State of Vermont as found primarily in Title 24 of Vermont Statutes Annotated. These laws have worked pretty well over the years, but there are things in Statutes that are antiquated, things like requiring the Town to have a “Weigher of Coal.” For this reason and others, many towns in Vermont have adopted a Charter that provides the laws under which their Town will operate that are more current for today’s world, and in May 2009 the Northfield Selectboard requested that a Charter Committee be formed.

Beginning in 2009, the Charter Committee met regularly in duly warned and completely open meetings to create a Draft Charter. This was done by closely and carefully examining the Statutes under which the Town of Northfield currently operates, researching how Charters from other Vermont Towns work, discussing and debating the various pros and cons of each aspect, and then voting on what the Committee felt was best for Northfield.

On September 12, 2011, the Charter Committee formally turned the Final Draft of Charter over to the Selectboard, at which point the Selectboard and Charter Committee began the process of scheduling the public discussions and eventual Hearings that will then set the stage for the Charter to formally come before the voters at Town Meeting in March.

After several public discussions that resulted in numerous suggestions on how the draft document should be revised, the Board of Town Selectmen accepted the final version of the Proposed Town Charter on January 23, 2012.  Please click here to view the document that will be voted upon on Town Meeting Day (Tuesday, March 6, 2012). In addition, the Proposed Town Charter will be printed in the Town Report and hardcopies are now available for pick up in the Town Clerk's Office.  There also will be copies available in the voting booths on Town Meeting Day.  In addition, please click here to view a log that indicates the various revisions to the document prior to its acceptance.

Public Hearings for the purpose of providing written or oral views on the proposed Town Charter have been scheduled to precede the Town Selectboard's regular meetings on Monday, January 23, 2012 and Monday, February 13, 2012.  In addition, prior to the Monday, February 27, 2012 regular meeting, a Public Hearing will be held for the discussion of all Australian Ballot articles (including the proposed Town Charter) to be voted upon on Town Meeting Day.

If  you  would  like  to  contact  the  Town Charter Committee with questions and/or comments regarding the proposed charter, please email: northfieldcharter@northfield.vt.us