§ 13-310. Powers and duties

(a) The members of the Council shall be and constitute the legislative body of the City of South Burlington for all purposes required by statutes and except as otherwise herein specifically provided, shall have all powers and authority given to, and perform all duties required of city legislative bodies under the laws of the State of Vermont.

(b) Within the limitations of the foregoing, the Council shall have the power to:

(1) Appoint and remove the City Manager and supervise, create, change, and abolish offices, commissions, or departments other than the offices, commissions, or departments established by this charter.

(2) Assign additional duties to offices, commissions, or departments established by this charter, but may not discontinue or assign to any other office, commission, or department duties assigned to a particular office, commission, or department established by this charter.

(3) Make, amend, and repeal ordinances.

(4) Provide for an independent audit by a registered or certified public accountant who shall perform an annual audit of all City departments including the Water Department. Said auditor shall also perform an annual audit of the South Burlington School District accounts. The elective Office of Auditor shall be abolished and the appointed auditor shall be responsible for and have all the powers and duties as are prescribed for town auditors under the laws of this State.

(5) Adopt an official seal for the City.

(6) Direct the City Treasurer to create and maintain a Special Reserve Fund for the City Fire Department to be used exclusively for the purchase or rebuilding of necessary vehicles and attendant equipment. The Council shall have the authority to purchase or rebuild such necessary vehicles and attendant equipment by utilizing the proceeds of the Special Reserve Fund, and may partially fund any expenditure by incurring indebtedness in amount not to exceed four times the amount of proceeds paid from the Special Reserve Fund for the purchase or rebuilding. Any indebtedness shall be paid within four years of the date it is originally incurred in as equal annual installments as possible. The funds appropriated to this Special Reserve Fund and the funds used to pay any indebtedness incurred shall be included in the allowable net cost of operations as specified in section 1309.1 of this chapter.

(7) The City Council and the School Board, by their own actions, may establish reserve funds to pay for public improvements, replacement of equipment, and planned or unplanned operating expenditures. Monies to be deposited in any fund shall be included in a City or School District budget and shall not be excluded in calculating the net cost of operation pursuant to subsection 1309(a) of this chapter. Reserve funds shall be kept in separate accounts and invested in the same manner as other public funds. The City Council and the School Board may, from time to time, expend monies in those Funds for purposes for which they were established without voter approval.

(8) Neighborhood forums.

(A) Whenever the City Council or the School Board (either individually being the convening Board) shall determine that there has been a sufficient showing of interest or need to suggest that a public forum should be conducted in a neighborhood or neighborhoods within the City on a matter of public interest or concern, the convening Board may, in its discretion, issue a call for a neighborhood forum. The convening Board may make such a determination on the request of an interested citizen or citizens, or on its own motion.

(B) Promptly upon such a determination, the convening Board shall describe the neighborhood or neighborhoods having a community interest in the issue at hand, specify a date, time, and place for a neighborhood forum, describe the issues to be considered, appoint any suitable person as a temporary chair to convene the meeting, and issue a public warning of the meeting. The convening Board shall further specify the objective or objectives of the meeting, such as to:  (1) share information with the residents of the specified community; (2) solicit information or opinions; (3) permit the residents to make recommendations relating to the issues; or (4) serve some other appropriate objective. The temporary chair shall begin the meeting as warned and shall assist the meeting in the election of a meeting chair.

(c) The Council shall approve the budget of the City for submission to the voters, as provided herein. (Amended 2007, No. M-14, § 2, eff. Nov. 11, 2007.)