Committee reviews H.504 package for Rutland charter: built‑in tax rates and redevelopment board appointment change

The Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee discussed H.504, an act seeking legislative approval of four charter amendments for the city of Rutland, including changes to built‑in charter tax rates for equipment and a change allowing nonresidents to be appointed to the Rutland Redevelopment Authority.

The amendments drew substantive explanation from Kirby Keating of the Legislative Council and input from members of the Rutland Redevelopment Authority. Keating said the package includes a small increase in a charter‑embedded tax for fire equipment and the addition of a new charter tax line for police equipment. “There’s an increase…0.0225¢ on the dollar on the grand list, for…this one’s for the fire equipment,” Keating said, describing how those charter provisions operate separately from the annual municipal tax process.

Nut graf: The changes matter because Rutland (like Burlington) has unique charter provisions that create automatic, narrowly earmarked tax rates on the grand list. Keating explained those rates take effect without a separate annual voter referendum because they are written into the charter, though the package of charter amendments was previously approved locally by the city’s voters and the Board of Aldermen and now requires legislative approval.

Committee members questioned the draft language and formatting. Keating noted the new police equipment line shows a rate of “0.018” with an extra trailing zero in the draft, and a committee member suggested removing the extra zero for clarity. Keating agreed to clean up the numeric formatting.

The package also includes a change to the Rutland Redevelopment Authority’s appointment rules. Israel Mac, a member of the Rutland Redevelopment Authority, described the amendment as allowing the mayor greater flexibility to appoint a board member who does not reside in the city but has property interests or expertise relevant to redevelopment work. “This charter amendment allows the mayor some flexibility in terms of appointing a member of the board that does not reside in the city,” Mac said, adding that the change is intended to broaden the pool of qualified candidates.

Mac told the committee the Redevelopment Authority is a municipal component unit with a nine‑member board; at the time of the discussion the Authority had eight members and had previously reached nine before one member moved out of town. He said the change had been approved by the Board of Aldermen and by Rutland voters and is now before the Legislature for final approval.

Representative Anyau asked whether denials of appointments by the Board of Aldermen would be determined by a majority of current members; a staff member clarified that the Board of Aldermen is an 11‑member body. The transcript excerpt included no formal committee vote on H.504 in this session.

Ending: The committee discussion focused on clarifying technical language and the scope of local authority in the draft amendments; proponents said local voter approval already occurred and the measure is awaiting legislative action for final effect.