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Selectboard votes to warn public hearing on municipal code-of-ethics ordinance
Summary
The Selectboard agreed to warn a public hearing on a model VLCT municipal code-of-ethics ordinance, and members discussed clarifying who receives and investigates complaints if the municipal manager is the subject.
The Northfield Selectboard voted on Sept. 23 to warrant a public hearing on a municipal code-of-ethics ordinance based on the Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) model. Board members discussed the need to clarify roles in the draft ordinance: the designated complaint recipient, the ethics liaison and the pathway for complaints when the designated recipient is the subject of a complaint.
Several members said the town’s prior appointments (naming an ethics liaison and a designated complaint recipient) created confusion about who would investigate complaints. One board member suggested the ordinance explicitly provide that if the designated complaint recipient is the person named in a complaint, the chair of the legislative body (the chair of the Selectboard) would serve as the recipient or the matter would be handled by the full board.
The board discussed timing for the notice and hearing, noting that an adoption would take effect after the required public-notice schedule and a statutory waiting period (the draft notes effectiveness at 60 days after adoption). Members asked staff to correct wording where the draft referenced the municipal manager receiving complaints and to ensure the notice appears in the paper for the required period before the hearing.
The motion to warn the hearing was moved and seconded; the board will schedule the hearing and return with finalized notice language and corrected role assignments before an adoption vote.
