Senate committee reviews H.10 to update Barre City charter: move annual meeting to May, split clerk and treasurer roles

At a meeting of the Senate Committee on Government Operations, lawmakers heard testimony on H.10, a bill that would amend the charter of the City of Barre to remove references to a city school district, move the municipal annual meeting from the first Tuesday in March to the second Tuesday in May, and separate the combined clerk and treasurer into two offices with the treasurer appointable by the city council.

Supporters said the changes are largely technical and aimed at aligning local practice with current municipal needs. Representative Michael Boutin, sponsor of H.10, told the committee the charter still contained language from before Act 46 that referenced a city school district "and when they went to their own district, the charter language did not change." Boutin said the date shift and the clerk/treasurer separation were intended to be cleanup and to give the municipal manager more…