The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at 6:15pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Brattleboro Municipal Center (230 Main Street, Room 212) and over Zoom. The attached agenda contains information on how to access the meeting remotely, including the required “passcode.” Closed captioning will be available for deaf and hard-of-hearing community members.
Jessica Sticklor (she/her/hers)
Executive Assistant
Town of Brattleboro
230 Main Street, Suite 208
Brattleboro, VT 05301
(802) 251 – 8115
* Please note that all correspondence with Town staff is part of the public record and may be shared with others.
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BRATTLEBORO SELECTBOARD
TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2026
SELECTBOARD MEETING ROOM + ZOOM
SPECIAL MEETING – 6:15 PM
The physical location for this meeting will be the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center
at 230 Main Street.
Selectboard Meeting materials can be found on the Town’s website, Brattleboro.gov/Selectboard.
If you join the meeting from your computer, tablet, or smartphone, please use the link below.
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81564656649?pwd=hX9AZJbP203lT4d2bwZv1qPCeLHRbS.1
Meeting ID: 815 6465 6649
Passcode: 529415
The meeting also will be carried live on BCTV.
Cable TV: Channel 1079
Streaming Online: https://www.brattleborotv.org/live/gov-ed-channel/
Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/brattleborotv
AGENDA
(please note that all times indicated are approximate)
1. CONVENE REGULAR MEETING (6:15 PM)
2. ADJUSTMENTS TO AGENDA
3. CHAIR’S REMARKS
4. MANAGER’S COMMENTS
5. SELECTBOARD COMMENTS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
6. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (6:25 PM)
7. REGULAR BUSINESS (6:35 PM)
A. Public Hearing on Charter Petition #1 and Charter Petition #2 (6:35 PM)
Presentation by Charter Petitioners
8. CORRESPONDENCE
9. ADJOURNMENT (8:00 PM)
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Town of Brattleboro Petition for a Charter Amendment
First Public Hearing
The Town of Brattleboro has received two petitions signed by 5% of the legal voters of the Town of Brattleboro to amend the Town Charter as follows:
Petition #1:
Article 1: Shall Brattleboro discontinue the representative form of annual meeting?
Article 2: In the event that the vote on Article 1 is in the affirmative, shall Brattleboro vote by Australian ballot at any annual or special Town meeting on the following:
(1) The election of officers of the Town;
(2) The approval of the annual general fund budget;
(3) All authorizations for major bonding or borrowing:
(4) All public questions; and
(5) Charter amendments?
Petition #2:
Article 3: In the event that Representative Town Meeting is discontinued in the Town of Brattleboro, shall the Town vote on all budget articles and public questions by Open Town Meeting? This ballot option includes the rule that the Australian ballot form of voting will be used to elect Town officers, as well as for any articles required by law to be voted by Australian ballot.
The petitions were received on August 4, 2025 and September 9, 2025, respectively, and the requisite number of signatures was verified by the Town Clerk, Hilary Francis.
The statute requires that the Selectboard hold at least two public hearings prior to the meeting to vote on the charter proposal. The first hearing is set for January 27, 2026.
The second public hearing is set for February 5, 2026. The Board will open each public hearing to hear all comment on the proposed charter amendments. However, because the charter amendment was brought by petition, the Board has no authority to make changes to the proposed charter amendment. Once the public hearings are concluded, the matter is then submitted to the voters at the 2026 annual town meeting because that is the “next annual meeting, primary or general election” before which the appropriate warnings can be made and for which early voting can be accommodated.
The proposed language of the two competing Charter Amendments are set forth below:
Petition #1: Article II, Section 3.F shall be added to the Charter as follows:
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Article and Article III, the Australian ballot system of voting shall be utilized for the following:
1. The election of officers of the Town;
2. The approval of the annual general fund budget;
3. All authorizations for major bonding or borrowing;
4. All public questions; and
5. Charter amendments.
Petition #2: Article II, Section 3.F shall be added to the Charter as follows:
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Article and Article III, all budget articles and public questions shall be voted upon at an annual or special open town meeting.
