Vermont § 701 - Police Department

§ 701. Police Department

• (a) Upon the effective date of the merger, the geographic area formerly covered by the
  then abolished Village of Bristol shall constitute a Police Department Special Service
  District for the purpose of providing police protection therein. (b) All costs required to support said Special Service District shall be paid for by the
  taxpayers receiving said services by a special assessment property tax on the grand
  list of the property in the area covered by said Special Service District, to be assessed
  annually by the Selectboard and added to such taxpayers’ regular general property
  taxes and due as a part thereof at the same time and that shall be a lien on such
  property and shall be collected in the same manner as such regular general property
  taxes, including fees and interest charges. The Police Department of this Special
  Service District of the Town of Bristol shall be maintained separate from all other
  departments of the Town, and no part of the revenues therefrom may be used for any
  other purpose than for the Police Department. The Selectboard shall each year hold
  a special meeting for the purpose of adoption by the voters residing within said Special
  Service District of the annual budget of the Police Department Special Service District
  and the amount thereof to be raised by the special assessment property tax. (c) The Town of Bristol may adopt and enforce rules, regulations, or ordinances concerning
  the Police Department, including but not limited to provisions providing for tenure
  of police officers during good behavior with removal only after hearing and for cause,
  except for reducing the number of officers for reasons of economic necessity. (d) Said Special Service District may be modified with the separate approval of both the
  voters residing within said District as existing and the voters residing within any
  area proposed to be enlarged or diminished. Such respective approvals shall be expressed
  by the affirmative vote of a majority of such voters present and voting at special
  meetings thereof. However, the voters of the Town of Bristol at an annual or special
  Town meeting warned for the purpose may vote to abolish said Special Service District
  in favor of making the Police Department a townwide Police Department whose cost will
  become a part of the general budget expense of the Town of Bristol. (e) The procedure for warning and holding each of the aforementioned special meetings
  shall be the same as the warning and holding of a special Town meeting, except that
  the legal voters shall be only those who are entitled to vote at the particular special
  meeting. (Added 1994, No. M-20, § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 1995.)