VLCT staff members are available to deliver customized onsite workshops in municipal offices across the state. Workshops usually last around two hours and can be delivered in place of a local board or commission's regularly scheduled meeting.
Workshops cost $800, though members of VLCT PACIF are eligible for a 50 percent reduction. The Vermont Department of Housing and Community Affairs also offers a Municipal Education Grant (MEG) Program which can be used to cover all of the costs of training for local land use boards (see list below; click here to view full descriptions of our MEG-eligible workshops).
Additional workshops can also be developed upon request. To discuss a possible workshop, contact Jim Barlow.
Municipal Education Grant-eligible
- Essentials of Land Use Planning and Regulation
- Effective Zoning Enforcement
- The Major Types of Development Review
- How to Read Development Plans
- Is a Development Review Board Right for our Town?
- How to Make and Write an Effective Land Use Decision
- Field Guide to Adopting and Amending the Town Plan and Bylaws
- Roles and Responsibilities in Local Land Use
- Conducting Effective Meetings and Hearings
- Should our Town Adopt Zoning?
- Should our Town Adopt On the Record Review?
Additional Workshops
- Conducting Effective BCA Hearings
- An Orientation to Local Government for New Selectboard Members
- Essential Management Skills for Towns Without Town Managers
- The Role of the Manager vs. the Role of the Selectboard
- How to Write a Good Quasi-judicial Decision
- Leadership and Management Roles of the Selectboard
- Developing and Managing the Town Budget
- Retreats and Goal Setting Sessions
- Local Officials and the Property Tax Appeals Process
- A Field Guide to the Open Meeting Law
