Municipal Code of Ethics Adopted in Vermont
Act 171 (H.875), an Act establishing a municipal ethics framework in Vermont, went into effect on June 10th, 2024.
The Act establishes a statewide municipal code of ethics and allows the State Ethics Commission to provide municipalities with free training and advisory services. It also requires municipalities to investigate and record ethics complaints, which can be filed either with the municipality or with the Ethics Commission (complaints filed with the Ethics Commission will be referred to the municipality for investigation); to appoint an Ethics Liaison (an existing employee or select board member) to receive complaints and serve as a point of contact for the Ethics Commission; and for municipal officers to complete a free basic ethics training, which is available through the Ethics Commission’s website.
The primary purpose of the bill is to set minimum statewide standards while allowing municipalities to adopt supplemental (or maintain existing) ethics policies that do not conflict with the statewide code, and develop individualized policies and procedures related to complaint investigation and tracking. Many municipalities may already have such policies or procedures in place. The majority of the provisions of the bill related to municipal ethics, including the municipal code of ethics and the training requirement, do not go into effect until January 1, 2025 or later.
What does this mean for Grand Isle?
On January 27, 2025, the Grand Isle Selectboard appointed Lynda Morgan Gardiner as our community liaison to help ensure all municipal employees and volunteers complete the now required training on the Municipal Code of Ethics. Lynda is available by email at , and when you complete your training, please forward your certificate to her by email.
Municipal Code of Ethics
Municipal Officers may contact the Ethics Commission for confidential ethics advice at the following information:
Vermont State Ethics Commission
6 Baldwin St.
Montpelier, VT 05633-7950
802-828-7187