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House approves third reading order for Bennington charter amendment on town manager removal
Summary
H.694 would approve voter‑passed amendments to Bennington’s charter permitting contract‑based exemptions to notice, cause, and hearing requirements for removing a town manager; committee recommended passage and the House ordered third reading after a voice vote.
The House considered H.694, a bill approving amendments to the Bennington town charter that change the town manager removal procedures. Representative Pinstenalt (member from Dorset) told members the proposed charter amendment provides a contract‑based exemption to the current requirement for notice, cause, and hearing for the removal of the town manager.
Representative Pinstenalt said the voters of Bennington approved the proposal on March 4, 2025, and the committee report read the local tally as 12,231 to 7,99 (as presented in the committee’s remarks on the floor). The revised charter language would permit removal without cause by majority vote of the select board with 90 days’ written notice unless a contract expressly modifies that requirement; suspension with pay during the 90‑day period is retained.
The Government Operations and Military Affairs Committee reported the amendment favorably (committee vote recorded as 10‑0‑1 in the committee report), and the House ordered third reading following a voice vote. The bill will return to the floor for its third reading and any further debate or amendments.
