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Londonderry delays in-person vote; Selectboard plans informational hearings on cannabis and local tax
Summary
After months of remote meeting planning and legal checks, the Selectboard postponed in-person timing in 2021 and scheduled public information sessions and an Australian-ballot question to let voters decide whether to opt in to retail cannabis and a 1% local option sales tax. The Board emphasized more state guidance is needed before binding votes.
The Londonderry Selectboard spent much of 2021 balancing pandemic safety, statutory deadlines and emerging state rules for recreational cannabis before setting a path for voter consideration.
Town Clerk Kelly Pajala told the board that pending state legislation and new rules from the Cannabis Control Board left local officials without needed details early in the year. "There is little definition or guidance for the community," Pajala said in a February briefing. With the legislatively enabled flexibility and public-health concerns, the Selectboard postponed the traditional March Town Meeting in 2021 and, by motion, rescheduled the annual meeting to May 1, 2021 to preserve an outdoor floor vote option while also keeping the Australian-ballot pathway available.
Why it matters: Vermont’s law requires local ‘opt in’ votes to permit retail cannabis sales, and the Selectboard’s work determined how and when residents could be asked to weigh in. The board studied three local choices: permit retail stores, permit "integrated" licensees (larger multi-purpose cannabis operators), or allow both. They also debated whether to combine that decision with a separate one to adopt a 1% local option sales tax, the only local tax that would capture cannabis sales locally.
Board discussions repeatedly stressed the need for more state rule-making and public education. Selectboard Chair Georgianne Mora said the board was "not prepared to call a special Town Meeting" until the state rules, the VLCT guidance, and community outreach clarified the implications. The board instead set public informational hearings and scheduled an Australian-ballot special Town Meeting for October 20, 2021 after clearing notice requirements.
At the hearings the board invited technical briefers, including the Vermont League of Cities & Towns and public-health partners, and distributed plain-language materials explaining the scope of the options. "Local voters will only have a little say about whether to allow a retail establishment in their communities," the Selectboard summarized from VLCT materials; that fact shaped board deliberations.
What’s next: The Selectboard committed to proceed with more public outreach and to present clear ballot questions by the rescheduled special Town Meeting. The board also agreed to monitor the Cannabis Control Board’s rules and to hold additional informational hearings if needed.
Provenance: This article draws from Selectboard meeting briefings and motions recorded by the Town Clerk and Selectboard during 2021 and public informational sessions held before the October 20, 2021 Australian-ballot scheduling decisions.
