The border village of Derby Line was chartered 115 years ago, and now the Village Trustees are proposing a couple big changes to its 1898 incorporation document. The problem is, very few people are paying attention. Last week only two members of the public turned out for the first public hearing on the changes.
Now village officials are trying to create some buzz before the second and final hearing. Sharon Booth is Village Clerk and Treasurer. She has sent out notices to local newspapers, trying to draw attention to the matter.
"I believe this is a big deal in light that the charter of was drafted in 1898 and these are a couple of big changes," she said in an email this week.
Both proposed changes have to do with residency requirements outlined in the charter. The first stipulation Trustees want to remove requires residents to live in the village for a year before being eligible to vote at the annual Village Meeting.
The annual meeting of said corporation shall be holden on the first Tuesday in April ... and at such meetings none but inhabitants qualified to vote in town meeting in said town and who shall have resided for one year within the bounds of said corporation shall be entitled to vote.
The Vermont League of Cities and Towns has informed Derby Line that the one-year residency requirement violates the Vermont Constitution.
The second stipulation the Trustees are seeking to eliminate states that only village residents are able to hold the village offices of clerk, treasurer, and collector of delinquent taxes. The Trustees are proposing language that allows these posts to be filled by residents of the Town of Derby who live outside the village limits.
In order to amend the charter, two local public hearings must be held before the public votes on the matter. If passed, the proposal goes to the legislature for its approval. The second public hearing on the Derby Line charter changes is scheduled for August 6, at 7 p.m. A vote on the changes is warned for August 20.