Charter change again in wind
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By STEPHANIE M. PETERS STAFF WRITER - Published: August 7, 2009
After being briefed Wednesday night about municipal governmental structures and the charter change process in Vermont, the Board of Aldermen hopes to soon form a Charter Review Committee to evaluate what aspects of Rutland City's charter and government do and don't work, according to Board President David Allaire.
"We haven't talked yet about how to do it, but I think (the creation of a Charter Review Committee) will be the next step," Allaire on Wednesday told the aldermen's Committee of the Whole, city officials and residents gathered to listen to a presentation from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns' senior staff attorney Jim Barlow.
Allaire said he will schedule another Committee of the Whole meeting in the next few weeks for that purpose.
Wednesday's meeting marked the revival of a discussion begun in May about whether it is best for the city to operate with an elected mayor, treasurer and assessor, or whether it might be best to alter the charter to allow for any or all of those positions to be appointed. Any such change would need to be approved by voters first. Before taking the conversation — which was suspended after that meeting due to June's month-long budget process — any further, the aldermen choose to seek VLCT's guidance.
Barlow's two-hour presentation Wednesday touched on considerations ranging from developing a charter amendment proposal, adopting charter amendments and town versus city models of government to a comparison of Rutland to the cities of Barre, Montpelier and South Burlington, each of which has a slightly different structure.
He cautioned aldermen, however, that there is no best or worst model.
In Vermont, there are nine cities, including Rutland. Rutland and Burlington are the only two that do not employ a full-time city manager to handle day-to-day responsibilities including employee direction and the administration of the budget. Rutland is also the only city to elect its assessor, according to Barlow.
"Towns all over the state are questioning whether locally elected folks have the ability to accurately assess real estate," he said. "Most appraisal work is actually being done by contracted appraisers."
In terms of a treasurer's responsibilities, they vary widely between the state's cities, he said. Some appoint a finance director, others have fused the office with that of the clerk and in towns that adopt a town manager form of government, those functions are assumed by a town manager, Barlow said. Rutland is one of five cities to elect a treasurer.
After his presentation, Barlow fielded questions from the group, including resident Dawn Hance, who has been instrumental in passing several charter changes, including getting on the ballot the question of whether residents wanted the right to vote on the city's municipal and school budgets.
Hance spoke out in favor of the election of city officials and noted that if Rutland employed an appointment process, it would be difficult to find qualified individuals who'd work for what are typically modest salaries given their expertise.
"That's an important point," Barlow said in response. "All throughout the state, municipalities are having trouble finding people. It's an issue driving some of these charter discussions."
stephanie.peters@rutlandherald.com
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