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Senate committee hears Morristown charter testimony, plans vote after tomorrow’s testimony
Summary
A Senate Government Operations committee took testimony Thursday on a proposed charter for the Town of Morristown that would codify a town manager role; members said they intend to vote on the measure after additional testimony tomorrow.
The Senate Committee on Government Operations heard testimony Thursday on a proposed charter to formally establish a town manager for the Town of Morristown and said it plans to vote on the measure after tomorrow’s witnesses have testified.
Representative Saviye Lamont, who introduced the charter to the committee, said the proposal is “hoping to do is just to codify our position of town manager.” She told the panel the charter is intended to formalize current practice rather than to change the structure of local government.
The committee heard that voters previously approved a charter question in November. Representative Lamont reported broad voter support at the town level, saying an “overwhelming” share favored the charter; raw tallies in the transcript were unclear and are not specified here. Committee members asked how Morristown and the village of Morrisville interact; witnesses said village trustees remain responsible primarily for water and light services and that townwide votes are held for other matters.
Committee members and witnesses also discussed an alphabetical listing issue in the statutory appendix (Title 20 appendix) that would require an amendment to maintain correct ordering when Morristown is added to the list of chartered municipalities. The committee agreed to address a related placement for West Rutland when it takes up Rutland’s charter later.
Senators noted the town had considered a local option tax in earlier discussions but that element was dropped and that the current charter effort focuses on codifying the manager role. The committee confirmed that the select board chair and town clerk of Morristown will testify remotely tomorrow; the committee’s chair said the committee intends to vote after that testimony.
The hearing concluded with committee members directing staff to prepare the final draft for tomorrow’s session and with the committee chair saying the matter will move toward a floor vote if approved by the committee.
The committee did not take a formal vote during Thursday’s session; a committee vote is expected after the scheduled testimony tomorrow.
