Summary

Survey Draft Refined for Charter Review

BurlingtonMar 25, 20261 min read

At a glance

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The subcommittee revised a resident survey for Burlington’s charter review, including questions on board appointments, employee-policy authority, administrative roles, and possible government forms. Stephanie is expected to circulate the next draft by March 30, with further review scheduled for April 7 and April 14.

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Government Review Committee

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What this means

The survey is being designed to gather resident views on how Burlington’s government is structured and operated. Revisions will make questions clearer and more neutral, including comparisons between the current Representative Town Meeting system and council-manager or mayor-council alternatives. The draft will also ask about authority over non-union employee policies, board and committee appointments, term limits, and how residents get government information.

Key decisions

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Revise questions about board and committee appointments, including adding Town Meeting and the Zoning Board of Appeals and removing the Transportation Committee and Government Review Committee.
Add a question measuring whether residents view the government structure as effective and accountable.
Reword questions about policies for non-union employees to address whether employees should follow consistent townwide rules and who should enforce those policies.
Simplify the question about the chief administrative officer’s day-to-day role and distinguish the terms town administrator and town manager.
Restructure the government-form question to explain Burlington’s current Representative Town Meeting system and compare it with council-manager and mayor-council alternatives.
Remove the question about town meeting attendance while retaining questions about residents’ sources of government information.
Change the voting question to ask about typical participation in town elections, participation in the most recent local election, or not typically voting in town elections.

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