[B]ENNINGTON — A set of town charter changes that sparked a tepid level of public comment over the past year was decisively endorsed Tuesday by Bennington voters — though not many of them cast ballots.
Town Clerk Cassandra Barbeau reported shortly after the election polls closed at 7 p.m. that the single ballot question was approved, 440 votes to 148, representing about 6.5 percent of the town’s 9,166 registered voters.
“I am pleased that the committee’s changes were accepted by the voters, disappointed that there had not been more input or participation,” said Charter Review Committee Co-chair Sean-Marie Oller.
The charter changes pave the way for a local option tax plan.
Select Board Chairman Thomas Jacobs, speaking during an informational meeting on Monday night, said the overhaul represented the first major update in the history of the 48-year-old charter document.
The changes must be approved by the Legislature and signed off by the governor.
Jacobs said he’s uncertain whether the board will propose a local option tax plan, but if it does the process could easily take more than a year following charter revision approvals by the Legislature and governor next year.
If approved at the state level, the board could then propose a 1 percent local tax on up to four categories of sales — merchandise, rooms, meals and alcohol. The state would collect the revenue along with its own portion of those sales taxes and would return 70 percent of the additional revenue to the town.
Currently, 18 Vermont communities have some form of local option tax.
Other charter revisions approved Tuesday include setting a three-year term for the town manager, after which the contract must be renewed; requiring a review of the manager’s performance annually; designating the Select Board chair as head of town government for all ceremonial purposes; adding an absenteeism provision to allow removal of Select Board members who often miss meetings; calling for the board to adopt board rules of procedure and review them annually.
Also, there are revisions calling for the board to adopt policies for the town manager to follow in purchasing and bidding contracts; allowing the board to change the boundaries of the Downtown Improvement District after a public hearing, rather than require a town vote; clarifying that the downtown district’s taxes will be levied on all taxable properties except for owner-occupied residential properties; and requiring a charter committee review be undertaken every five years.
