in Vermont, Native Americans lived here—well, like everywhere in North America—they lived here in Vermont for over ten thousand years. The ecosystem was basically intact, and that’s because they had that ethical system built into their fundamental cultural assumptions—the assumptions that guided their lives. They didn’t think about them. They didn’t question them. They were simply the assumptions, the unthought assumptions.

Merino Vermont

3)(A) The warning shall also contain any article or articles requested by a petition signed by at least five percent of the voters of the municipality and filed with the municipal clerk not less than 47 days before the day of the meeting. (B) The clerk receiving the petitions shall immediately proceed to examine them to ascertain whether they contain the required number of signatures of registered voters set forth in subdivision (A) of this subdivision (3). If found not to conform, he or she shall state in writing on the petition why it cannot be accepted, and within 24 hours from receipt, he or she shall return it to the petitioners. In this case, supplementary petitions may be filed not later than 48 hours after the petition was returned to the petitioners by the clerk or the filing deadline set forth in subdivision (A) of this subdivision (3), whichever is later. However, supplementary petitions shall not be accepted if petitions with signatures of different persons totaling at least the number specified in subdivision (A) of this subdivision (3) were not filed by the filing deadline. (C) A petition submitted under this subdivision (3): (i) may include more than one proposed article; (ii) shall contain the petition language on each page on which signatures are collected; and (iii) shall include the printed name, signature, and street address of each voter who signed the petition. (D) A voter may withdraw his or her name from a petitioned article at any time prior to the signing of the warning by a majority of the legislative body.

(b)(1) A representative form of annual or special meeting is a meeting of members elected by district to exercise the powers vested in the voters of the town to act upon articles. However, the election of officers, public questions, and all articles to be voted upon by Australian ballot as required by law or as voted under section 2680 of this title at a prior annual or special meeting, and reconsideration of articles under section 2661 of this title shall remain vested in the voters of the town. (2) An organizational resolution to adopt a representative form of annual or special meeting may be made by the legislative body of the municipality or by petition of five percent of the voters of the municipality. An official copy of the organizational resolution shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the municipality at least 10 days before the annual or special meeting at which the vote whether to adopt the organizational resolution shall take place, and copies thereof shall be made available to members of the public upon request.

§ 2661. Reconsideration or rescission of vote (a) A warned article voted on at an annual or special meeting of a municipality shall not be submitted to the voters for reconsideration or rescission at the same meeting after the assembly has begun consideration of another article. If the voters have begun consideration of another article, the original article may only be submitted to the voters at a subsequent annual or special meeting duly warned for the purpose and called by the legislative body on its own motion or pursuant to a petition requesting such reconsideration or rescission signed and submitted in accordance with subsection (b) of this section. A vote taken at an annual or special meeting shall remain in effect unless rescinded or amended. (b) If a petition requesting reconsideration or rescission of a question considered or voted on at a previous annual or special meeting is filed with the clerk of the municipality within 30 days following the date of that meeting, the legislative body shall provide for a vote by the municipality in accordance with the petition within 60 days of the submission at an annual or special meeting duly warned for that purpose. The number of signatures required for a petition for reconsideration or rescission shall be not less than five percent of the registered voters unless the voters of the municipality increase that percentage pursuant to the following: (1) At a meeting duly warned for the purpose, the voters of a municipality may require that a petition for reconsideration be signed by a percentage of registered voters that is not less than five percent nor greater than 20 percent. (2) A vote to increase the percentage of voters required to sign a petition for reconsideration or rescission to up to 20 percent shall be in substantially the following form: "Shall the (name of municipality) increase the percentage of voters required on a petition for reconsideration or rescission from five to (up to 20) percent?" (3) Once the voters of a municipality have voted to require a new percentage, that percentage shall remain in effect until the voters of the municipality vote to change the percentage. (c) A question voted on shall not be presented for reconsideration or rescission at more than one subsequent meeting within a one-year period, except with the approval of the legislative body. (d) For a vote by Australian ballot: (1) The form of the ballot shall be as follows: "Article 1: [cite the article to be reconsidered as lastly voted]." (2) Absentee ballots for the reconsideration or rescission vote shall be sent to any voter who requested an absentee ballot for the initial vote on the article to be reconsidered or rescinded, whether or not a separate request for an absentee ballot for the reconsideration or rescission vote is submitted by the voter. (e) A majority vote in favor of reconsideration or rescission of a question voted on by paper or Australian ballot shall not be effective unless the number of votes cast in favor of reconsideration or rescission exceeds two-thirds of the number of votes cast for the prevailing side at the original meeting unless the voters of the municipality approve a different percentage pursuant to the following: (1) At a meeting duly warned for the purpose, the voters of a municipality may require that a vote in favor of reconsideration or rescission shall not be effective unless the number of votes cast in favor of reconsideration or rescission exceeds a certain percentage of the number of votes cast for the prevailing side at the original meeting. (2) A vote to increase or decrease the percentage shall be in substantially the following form: "Shall the (name of municipality) change the percentage of votes cast in favor of reconsideration or rescission required for a vote to reconsider or rescind a question considered or voted on at a previous annual or special meeting to be effective to (percentage)?" (3) Once the voters of a municipality have voted to require a new percentage, that percentage shall remain in effect until the voters of the municipality vote to change the percentage. (f) A municipality shall not reconsider a vote to elect a local officer. (g) This section shall not apply to nonbinding advisory articles, which shall not be subject to reconsideration or rescission. (Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1979, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 105; 1991, No. 235 (Adj. Sess.); 2007, No. 36, § 1; 2013, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 50; 2017, No. 50, § 52.)

§ 2645. Charters; adoption, repeal, or amendment; procedure (a) A municipality may propose to the General Assembly to adopt, repeal, or amend its charter by majority vote of the legal voters of the municipality present and voting at any annual or special meeting warned for that purpose in accordance with the following procedure: (1) A proposal to adopt, repeal, or amend a municipal charter (charter proposal) may be made by the legislative body of the municipality or by petition of five percent of the voters of the municipality. (2) An official copy of the charter proposal shall be filed as a public record in the office of the clerk of the municipality at least 10 days before the first public hearing. The clerk shall certify the date on which he or she received the official copy, and the dated copies thereof shall be made available to members of the public upon request. (3)(A) The legislative body of the municipality shall hold at least two public hearings prior to the meeting to vote on the charter proposal. (B) The first public hearing shall be held in accordance with subdivision (a)(2) of this section and at least 30 days before the vote. (4)(A) If the charter proposal is made by the legislative body, the legislative body may revise the proposal as a result of suggestions and recommendations made at a public hearing, but in no event shall such revisions be made less than 20 days before the date of the meeting to vote on the charter proposal. (B) If revisions are made, the legislative body shall post a notice of these revisions in the same places as the warning for the meeting not less than 20 days before the date of the meeting and shall attach such revisions to the official copy kept on file for public inspection in the office of the clerk of the municipality. (5)(A) If the charter proposal is made by petition, the second public hearing shall be held no later than 10 days after the first public hearing. The legislative body shall not have the authority to revise a charter proposal made by petition. (B) After the warning and hearing requirements of this section are satisfied, the petitioned charter proposal shall be submitted to the voters at the next annual meeting, primary, or general election in the form in which it was filed, except that the legislative body may make technical corrections. (6)(A) Notice of each public hearing and of the annual or special meeting shall be given in accordance with section 2641 of this chapter. (B)(i) Each notice shall specify the charter sections to be adopted, repealed, or amended, setting out those sections in the amended form, with deleted matter struck through and new matter underlined. (ii) If the legislative body of the municipality determines that the charter proposal is too long or unwieldy to set out in amended form, the notice shall include a concise summary of the charter proposal and shall state that an official copy of the charter proposal is on file for public inspection in the office of the clerk of the municipality and that copies thereof shall be made available to members of the public upon request. (7)(A) Voting on a charter proposal shall be by Australian ballot. (B)(i) The ballot shall show each charter section to be adopted, repealed, or amended in the amended form, with deleted matter struck through and new matter underlined, and shall permit the voter to vote on each separate proposal contained within the charter proposal. (ii) If the legislative body determines that the charter proposal is too long or unwieldy to be shown in the amended form, voters shall be permitted to vote upon each separate proposal in its entirety in the form of a yes or no proposition. (C) An official copy of the charter proposal shall be posted conspicuously in each ballot booth for inspection by the voters during the balloting. (b)(1) The clerk of the municipality, under the direction of the legislative body, shall announce and post the results of the vote immediately after the vote is counted. (2) The clerk, within 10 days after the day of the meeting, shall certify to the Secretary of State each separate proposal contained within the charter proposal, showing the facts as to its origin and the procedure followed, which shall include: (A)(i) If the charter proposal was made by the legislative body, the minutes recorded by the legislative body that detail the origins and intent of each separate proposal; (ii) If the charter proposal was made by voter petition, the body of the petition and evidence of the required number of petition signatures; (B) A copy of the official certified copy of the charter proposal filed with the clerk of the municipality pursuant to subdivision (a)(2) of this section; (C) Copies of the warnings and published notices for each of the public hearings held pursuant to subdivision (a)(3) of this section; (D) Minutes recorded by the legislative body that detail each of the public hearings held pursuant to subdivision (a)(3) of this section; (E) Copies of warnings and published notices for the meeting to vote on the charter proposal; and (F) A copy of the ballot and the results of the vote or votes on the charter proposal. (c) After confirming that the clerk of the municipality has certified each of the documents listed in subdivision (b)(2) of this section, the Secretary of State shall file the certificate and deliver copies of it to the Attorney General, the Clerk of the House, the Secretary of the Senate, and the chairs of the committees concerned with municipal charters of both houses of the General Assembly. (d) The charter proposal shall become effective upon affirmative enactment of the proposal, either as proposed or as amended by the General Assembly. (Added 1977, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1979, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 100; 1981, No. 239 (Adj. Sess.), § 22, eff. May 4, 1982; 1983, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.); 1987, No. 63; 2017, No. M-7, § 2A, eff. May 22, 2017.)

(3) Any electrical work by an owner or his or her regular employees in the owner's freestanding single unit residence, in outbuildings accessory to such freestanding single unit residence or any structure on owner-occupied farms;