Link to Essex Jct Separation Page
Latest News:
Third reading of bill by the Senate expected on April 5th.
Separation was passed by the Senate Government Operations Committee on March. 29th.
Separation was passed by the full Vermont House on Feb. 22nd.
Separation was passed by the House Ways and Means Committee on Feb. 16th.
Separation was passed by the House Government Operations Committee on Feb. 1st.
Separation PASSES with a vote of 3070 YES to 411 NO on November 1st, 2021. Next stop, Montpelier!
Details here.
On Sept. 28th, the Village Trustees conducted a public hearing and warned a special election for Nov. 2nd. More details here.
On Sept. 14th, the Village Trustees approved, with no public comment, the Separation Charter.
Public Hearings
The Essex Junction Village Trustees are holding two public hearings on the charter for the city of Essex Junction.
September 28, 2021
October 12, 2021
DRAFT Charter for City of Essex Junction - version 9/10/2021
At their August 24th Meeting, the Village Trustees had approved mailing ballots to all active registered voters for the November 2nd Election.
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Public Forums
Town of Essex staff plus facilitator Jen Knauer hosted three public forums in August. Here's a summary of the first two:
Staff: Merge Fire Budgets Before Separation Vote
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For summaries of what was discussed and decided at board meetings about Separation this summer, please see:
Boards Discuss Separation-with-Sharing
and
SB Agrees to Talk to Trustees About Sharing
and
Trustees Send Separation Conditions to Selectboard
Background:
Essex Junction residents, in a non-binding vote on April 13th, 2021, asked for a Separation Charter to be drafted, provided merger failed, which it did.
Link to the City Charter draft, as of May 27th.
Link to Staff Survey Results, Organization Charts as of June 8th.
Below is a graphic depiction of the process in simplified steps:
Below is the timeline of actions that Village Trustees and their associates are working to complete in time for a November vote: