Council sends three charter change measures to March town meeting ballot

The Burlington City Council voted Jan. 27 to place three charter-change measures on the March 4, 2025 town-meeting ballot, unanimously waiving reading and adopting short-form ballot language prepared by the clerk.

Councilors approved measures giving the city authority to set rental-notification rules by ordinance, changing how ward boundaries are set in the charter (transferring final redistricting language authority to local voters rather than codified ward descriptions), and asking voters to reaffirm the city’s 2014 charter language banning firearms in places that serve alcohol (a city proposal modeled in part by a legislative bill, H.45).

Council President Travers and Councilor Bergman summarized the measures and explained the use of short-form ballot language to keep printed ballots concise; full charter text will appear with ballots and in election materials as required by state law. Mayor Mulvaney Stanek said she supported the firearms ballot item and described it as a worker- and public-safety tool for downtown businesses.

The measures will proceed to the Legislature if approved by voters; councilors noted that state lawmakers have authority to act on or review municipal charter changes once passed locally.

Councilors and staff said the clerk’s office will publish full text and explanations with ballots. No roll-call was recorded for these votes; the council adopted each resolution by voice vote with unanimous assent.