Business View Civil and Municipal | March 2021

144 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL MARCH 2021 I n the heart of Chittenden County, Vermont, just north of the Winooski River, lies an offbeat municipality scenario with both a village and a town government. Five Selectboard Members oversee the town of Essex as a whole, including 33 additional square miles of suburbs and farmland, while five Trustees govern the village of Essex Junction, where nearly half the town’s population lives. Each government does its own planning and zoning. They share the same school district, but each operates its own fire department and library. Each has its own taxing authority. And on March 2, 2021, the town and village residents will vote on whether to adopt the Plan for Merger and the proposed Charter for merged communities. “Over the course of decades, we’ve debated about whether to merge or separate, divide or consolidate in some way,” says Elaine Haney, Chair of the Essex Town Selectboard. “There’s always been contention about a merger due to taxation issues.” Given the complications that can arise when managing two municipalities under the banner of one community, most Vermont towns have done away with their villages. It’s why half of the state’s 76 previously incorporated villages have AT A GLANCE TOWN OF ESSEX & VILLAGE OF ESSEX JUNCTION, VERMONT WHAT: Unique town and village planning to merge their communities WHERE: Chittendon County, VT WEBSITE: www.essexvt.org www.essexjunction.org TOWN OF ESSEX & ESSEX JUNCTION, VERMONT Finding a common path for the future