Vermont League of Cities & Towns VLCT is accepting applications to fill a vacancy on the VLCT Board of Directors. Please consider applying or nominating a qualified municipal leader to support VLCT in fulfilling its mission to serve and strengthen local government. Applications are due Friday February 27.
Announcements & Updates
Brush up on the details before your town's dog owners start arriving.
Plan Now to Update Contacts Soon After Town Meeting
Please plan to update the names and contact information of elected officials in the VLCT MAP database soon after town meeting – so new officeholders can use our trainings and resources right away!
Muni-Pal, VLCT’s new artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistant, is designed especially to help you find the information and resources you need on our website. We encourage early adopters to try the beta version soon to help us improve this tool before we activate it fully.
Free Risk Management Training for Employees of PACIF Members
Is your municipality making full use of PACIF Learn, with its wide array of online courses? Many are for all employees; others focus on high-risk departments such as police and public works.
It's Not Too Late to Start the Governing All with Skill Course
Learn about the psychology of governance and gain useful skills in diplomacy, conflict resolution, and dealing with complexity. The format uses online components – eight training modules and a thought-sharing platform – as well as in-person roundtable discussions to explore and develop.
Notable Resources
How to Handle Online Public Meeting Disruptions
Disruptions can occur during any open meeting, but the technology for hybrid and remote meetings requires learning special ways to respond to disruptions. This new resource can help officers and administrative staff plan for, manage, and respond to disruptions of virtual public meetings.
Meeting Federal Grant Requirements for Cybersecurity Internal Controls
From starter steps to higher-cost efforts, find ideas that help you meet a new federal grant requirement for cybersecurity internal controls and keep your systems strong.
Events Calendar
Thu 2/26, 2 PM – 3 PM
Are you the Unemployment Insurance (UI) contact at a member of VLCT’s UI Trust? If so, please attend this live walk-though and discussion of how to make full use of Equifax’s online claims system, CaseBuilder.
Mon 3/9, 1 PM – 2 PM
Join Josh Hanford, Samantha Sheehan, and your colleagues to discuss the issues being considered by legislators and how proposed legislation could affect local government.
Wed 3/11, 12 PM – 1 PM
Bring your lunch and your questions for a live, interactive Q&A with VLCT's attorneys.
Workplace Matters: An Employer's Role During a Labor Organizing Petition
Thu 3/12, 12 PM – 1 PM
Learn from the Executive Director of the Vermont Labor Relations Board what municipal employers need to know when employees seek to organize or change a union affiliation.
Morning Session: Open Meeting Law Basics
Wed 3/18, 10 AM – 11:30 AM
If you serve on a municipal board, council, commission, or committee, learn the essential requirements for complying with Vermont’s Open Meeting Law in this 90-minute webinar.
Evening Session: Open Meeting Law Basics
Wed 3/18, 6 PM – 7:30 PM
If you serve on a municipal board, council, commission, or committee, learn the essential requirements for complying with Vermont’s Open Meeting Law in this 90-minute webinar.
Windham Region Selectboard Meet-Up
Wed 3/25, 12 PM – 1:30 PM
NewBrook Volunteer Fire and Rescue
All selectboard members, city councilors, and village trustees from Windham County are invited to meet each other, network, and share their successes and challenges.
Partner Events
Making Change at The New England Town Meeting
Wed 3/11, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and online, celebrate the New England Town Meeting’s role in the American Revolution, its ongoing contemporary usage, and its innovative future. Join practitioners and scholars in a symposium where attendees will build knowledge and skills to deliberate across division and engage with renowned practitioners and scholars including those working in local government, politics, public policy, history, law, communication, theory, indigenous studies, planning, and business. Hosted by the Political Science Department of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Animal control officers (ACOs) and humane investigators are invited for a daylong training on Sat 3/14. Seven specialists including VLCT’s Trevor Whipple will present during this immersive group experience (all attendees participating together in all sessions). Free of charge and food will be provided – but space is limited, so register soon. Sponsored by the Humane Society of Chittenden County.
Vermont Bond Bank’s 2026 Capital Planning Forum
Attend the fifth annual forum on Thu 4/9, 8:30 AM – 4 PM. This in-person event is for governmental units of all sizes and associated professionals to explore Vermont-specific best practices in capital planning.
Partner News
Municipal Leaders Who Sought Olympic Gold
Learn about the small but fascinating group of Olympians who have taken the discipline, teamwork, and pressure of elite sport and carried it into public service, winning local elections instead of races and trading the field of play for city halls.
Acrisure’s Latest Employer Compliance News
Find up-to-the-minute reminders concerning employee benefits such as health insurance.
Vermont Bond Bank Housing Infrastructure Loan Program
The Vermont Bond Bank is now accepting applications for the pilot round of the newly created Housing Infrastructure Loan Program in partnership with the State of Vermont. The purpose of the program is to support new housing unit creation by lowering the cost to expand or develop municipally owned and operated water, wastewater, and mobility/transportation infrastructure.
Apply for the Vermont Local Roads Leadership Academy
The Leadership Academy, designed for experienced and aspiring road foremen, provides practical leadership training, meaningful peer networking, and targeted skill development. Apply by Fri 3/27.
Consider Remembering Jon Gailmor at Town Meeting
In honor of the late Jon Gailmor – beloved Vermonter, musician, longtime Elmore Town Moderator, and champion of Town Meeting – towns are invited to play the audio of his Town Meeting tune before convening. It’s a simple way to celebrate his spirit and the tradition he loved so deeply. (Just beware of online ads.)
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