Municipal Code of Ethics
Vermont has adopted a Municipal Code of Ethics, here.
In compliance with the law, the following information also is provided:
– Woodbury’s personnel policy for Highway Department employees covers conflict of interest, here.
– Information about filing an ethics complaint is here.
– Woodbury’s form for filing an ethics complaint is here.
– Woodbury’s procedure for handling an ethics complaint is as follows:
That such a complaint be directed to the town’s liaison to the state Ethics Commission, who shall investigate the complaint, and report the findings to the Select Board and Auditors.
Open Meetings Law
The Vermont Legislature passed Act 133 (S.55) that amended Vermont’s Open Meeting Law, 1 V.S.A. effective July 1, 2024.
Highlights of Act 133 (S.55) include:
– permits “advisory bodies” – those that do not have supervision, control, or jurisdiction over legislative, quasi-judicial, tax, or budgetary matters – to meet electronically without a physical meeting location (i.e., remotely);
– requires all other public bodies (i.e., “nonadvisory bodies”) to record, in audio or video form, their meetings and post the recordings in a designated electronic location for a minimum of 30 days following the approval and posting of the official minutes of the meeting which was recorded;
– allows all public bodies to meet remotely in response to a state of emergency or “local incident”;
– requires all public bodies to provide local residents, members of the press, or members of the body itself electronic/telephonic or in-person meeting access options to a regularly scheduled meeting, if requested (unless it causes an undue hardship);
– requires a municipality to post on its website:
– an explanation of the procedures for submitting notice of an Open Meeting Law violation to the public body or the Attorney General, here
– a copy of the text of 1 V.S.A. § 314, here
– imposes annual training requirements on selectboard chairs, town managers, and mayors.
General Provisions about Public Information (1 V.S.A. § 310) is here.
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For Woodbury town officials: Information about using Zoom / recording a meeting / setting up audio/video (av) equipment is here.