Rep. Will Greer seeks repeal of 1959 restriction to let Bennington town maintain Old Bennington roads

Representative Will Greer, sponsor of H.404, told the House Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee that the Village of Old Bennington has for years sought to shift highway maintenance to the Town of Bennington because the village’s current contract arrangements are "astronomically expensive" and the town can achieve economies of scale.

The bill, Greer said, would repeal section 3 of 1959 Acts and Resolves No. 300 so that the town highway commissioner could have authority over village roads and the town could collect and use highway-related taxes from property in the village. Greer said the village plans a local vote on April 22 (originally scheduled for April 1) and asked the committee whether any specific voting method would be required to satisfy legislative expectations.

Tucker Anderson of Legislative Council told the committee that H.404 contains a single operative provision: repeal of section 3 of the 1959 act. Anderson walked members through the state’s historical approach to municipal charters — session laws that were later codified in municipal charter binders — and explained that section 3 explicitly barred the town highway commissioner from authority over village highways and barred village voters from voting for the town highway commissioner. He said the bill as introduced would remove that prohibition and allow the town to provide highway services to the village.

Committee members pressed for clarity about local process. Counsel said municipal charter amendments are usually done under the charter amendment procedure (17 V.S.A. § 2645) and often require a local vote; Anderson noted that the General Assembly has in some past instances amended or superseded municipal charters by session law without waiting for a local vote, though mergers of municipalities do typically require votes by both affected municipalities. Members also asked whether the village currently elects its own road commissioners; one committee member referenced the village website and said it appears they do.

Greer said only section 3 repeal is necessary for the village and town to move forward, but Legislative Council noted the General Assembly could choose a broader repeal reverting the village to general municipal law. Members asked procedural questions about how the village’s April 22 vote must be warned and whether a show of hands, secret ballot or Australian ballot would be required; Greer said he would confirm the village’s intended mechanics. The committee did not take formal action on H.404 during the hearing.

The committee discussion underlined two themes: (1) the bill’s narrow legal effect — removing the 1959 prohibition on town authority over village highways — and (2) the remaining local procedural steps, notably the village vote and the town’s willingness to accept responsibility. Several members suggested staff follow up if the committee needs to advise the village about the form of its local vote.

No formal motion or committee vote on H.404 was recorded during this meeting.