Committee chair moves Bennington charter amendment on town manager; committee votes to advance measure

The committee chair moved to report favorably a bill described in the transcript as "h 6 94," saying it was an approval of amendments to the charter of the town of Bennington concerning the town manager. "I would move that we pass out favorably H.694," the chair said, pressing the committee to advance the measure to the notice calendar.

The move was taken with the sponsor absent; the chair told members the sponsor was still on the floor and encouraged the panel to proceed because the change was small. The chair said the clerk and staff would prepare vote totals from the town meeting and other bodies, and offered to assist John Worley in reporting the bill.

Members on the floor gave verbal assent when polled: Senator Becholski and Senator Cole were recorded as saying "Yes," and Senator Clark was recorded as "Yes" as the chair called votes. The transcript records the committee voting the Bennington charter "favorably with no proposed amendments," but it does not include a clear, unambiguous final roll-call tally in the record; the chair said the clerk would provide vote totals.

The chair and members discussed that the amendment is composed of multiple sections and that some language appears to be standard charter (boilerplate) language; they noted sections addressing contracts and the effective date. The chair indicated the committee intended to report the bill out to the notice calendar for next week and that John Worley would report it.

The committee took no substantive amendment on the floor and advanced the measure; the transcript suggests the item will appear on the notice calendar for further action.