Vermont Gov. Phil Scott signed a bill Wednesday extending Covid-19-era options for how and when the state’s 247 cities and towns decide local leaders, spending and special articles.
H.42, adopted by the Vermont House and Senate last week, mirrors short-term, pandemic-safe legislation Scott approved in 2021 and 2022 to allow temporary changes in the state’s annual Town Meeting season.
Local leaders had asked for action sooner rather than later, as communities wanting to make decisions on the traditional first Tuesday in March — which this year is March 7 — must alert the public by Feb. 5.
But the legislation has one provision — a temporary suspension of requirements for how schools report per-pupil costs on budget ballots — that drew criticism from Vermont Education Secretary Daniel French.
The governor approved the new law in a written statement awaited by cities and towns for almost a week.
“I’m signing this bill at the request of Vermont municipalities who value an extension to pandemic-era flexibilities,” Scott said before going on to support French’s concerns.
“Voters deserve this transparency,” the governor said, “and I see no defensible reason why we should extend its omission from ballots.”
Scott also repeated his past objections to the fact the latest bill didn’t call for the automatic mailing of municipal and primary ballots.
“As I have said, we should all support increasing voter participation,” Scott said. “Currently, universal mail-in voting only applies to general elections, which already has the highest voter turnout.”
Some 80% of Vermont municipalities in 2021 and almost 75% in 2022 used the temporary laws to replace shoulder-to-shoulder Town Meeting decision-making with mailable ballots, while most of the rest tapped the legislation to reschedule proceedings until residents could open windows or move outdoors in warmer weather.
The latest law, which extends the options to July 1, 2024, also allows municipalities to gather governing boards and public information sessions online.
The move isn’t expected to affect Vermont’s 28 cities and towns with 5,000 or more people, as they annually vote on local matters using ballots. But most of the 219 communities with smaller populations traditionally hold some sort of Town Meeting, which must be warned at least 30 days in advance.
The Brattleboro Selectboard, now deciding its plans like other local leaders statewide, voted 3-2 this week to return to a traditional gathering for 2023.
Brattleboro is the only Vermont community granted the option of holding its Town Meeting electronically, as its unique gathering of elected representatives is the sole one that can limit video participation to official members and let everyone else watch on public access television.
Because of time and technical challenges, Brattleboro can meet either in-person or online but not through a combination of both. That sparked concerns for those worried about catching Covid.
“A remote option seems to be the only way to ensure the accessibility of this meeting for the folks who struggle with health needs,” selectboard member Jessica Gelter said.
But a majority of her colleagues said that wasn’t easy for residents without the means to log on to technology.
“It’s not completely accessible to those people who don’t have computer skills,” board member Tim Wessel said. “That’s also exclusion.”
Concluded board Chair Ian Goodnow: “There isn’t really a fully right answer.”