Northeast Kingdom - Government

Government

As in the rest of New England, there is a strong state government. Town government often uses unpaid volunteers for its services. There is a superficial county government, all funded by the state. The three-county area each have sheriffs, judges, prosecutors, and other officers, all, except for judges, elected by the county, but funded by the state.

Recognizing the need for services on an intermediate level, the legislation created the Regional Planning Commissions (RPC), to aid the towns in land use issues and Economic Development Commissions (EDC), tasked with fostering economic development in their jurisdictions. These RPCs and EDCs report to the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development they must also report to their boards, which are made up of representatives of each town in the commission. As with some state agencies there is provision for these commissions to also organize as nonprofit groups, yet still maintain status as government agencies. This method of organization permits RPCs and EDCs to augment their state and federal funding with other sources of income. This arrangement also allows the EDCs to own properties such as Industrial Parks and Business Incubator Facilities.

RPCs and EDCs have no taxing or regulatory authority. However RPCs do write a regional plan (as towns can have town plans.) Town plans can not run contrary to the regional plans. RPCs also have automatic party status to any ACT 250 applications. ACT 250 permits are the State’s Land Use Permit issued by the Land Use Panel of the Vermont Natural Resources Board. ACT 250 applications must be in compliance with the RPC’s Regional Plan. A copy of all ACT 250 permit applications must be submitted (by the applicants) to the RPCs for review.

The Northeast Kingdom is unique, as they have the only agency that is both the Economic Development Commission as well as the Regional Planning Commission, known as the Northeastern Vermont Development Association and Regional Planning Commission (NVDA). Under the legislators’ study to lower State spending, they have been looking to the Northeast Kingdom’s RPC/EDC as a model for possible consolidation of agencies throughout the state.

Municipalities are governed by an elected Board of Selectmen and managed by an elected town or city clerk.