Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
State sheriffs cite 1976 court ruling as a limit on county-funded policing; recommend pilots
Summary
Representatives of the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs told the committee a 1976 Vermont Supreme Court ruling constrains county authority and use of county funds for law enforcement, and urged narrow pilots such as S.255 in Windham County to test governance changes before broader reform.
Montpelier — Tim Lidders of the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs told the House Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee that legal precedent and the current county revenue model limit how counties can fund law enforcement.
Lidders cited a 1976 state Supreme Court decision that described Vermont counties as units of limited, special function and said those limits mean county funds may not be used in the same way counties in other states use…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
