Member Inquiry Service

The Inquiry Service assists municipal officials by answering questions related to general municipal law and local government management. It is designed to help members understand their statutory roles and carry out their duties lawfully and effectively.

The Inquiry Service is provided by VLCT Inquiry Service Staff (“Staff”). “Staff” refers to VLCT’s Municipal Assistance Center (MAC) attorneys and Municipal Operations Support (MOS) staff who are non-lawyer professionals with expertise in management, administration, finance, operations, project development, planning, grants, and funding. All Staff work under the MAC staff attorneys’ licenses.

In general, any elected or appointed municipal official, a municipal volunteer, or a municipal employee may use the Inquiry Service, so long as their municipality is a VLCT member. Because the Inquiry Service is a VLCT membership benefit, Staff cannot answer inquiries from or on behalf of the public.

The Inquiry Service is for member municipal officials to ask questions related to municipal law, management, administration, and finance.

No. The Inquiry Service is not for comprehensive legal services. It is a membership benefit and does not constitute a right to an attorney for any particular municipal official.

No. Due to the volume of inquiries associated with assisting all of Vermont’s municipalities, VLCT does not provide direct legal representation, such as litigation or mediation services. Inquiries involving litigation, potential litigation, or litigation strategy should be directed to the municipality’s attorney in most instances.

Typically, no. The Inquiry Service does not typically develop or review complex documents, such as contracts, or decisions of local boards. Inquiries that depend on complex or voluminous facts and documents should be directed to the municipality’s attorney in most instances.

Yes. There will be occasions when Staff cannot advise a member because use of the Inquiry Service creates an attorney-client relationship governed by the Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct.

Staff can only respond to inquiries that are relevant to the municipal official’s job duties or statutory responsibilities. Staff cannot advise municipal officials on private legal matters, questions that may pose a conflict for VLCT’s municipal clients, or questions unrelated to job duties or statutory responsibilities. However, if an unrelated question is being asked on behalf of, or at the direction of, the affected municipal official, Staff may be able to assist.

No. Staff cannot advise on questions that are, or may be, adverse to the municipal corporation, the municipality’s legislative body (e.g., selectboard, trustees, council, aldermen, prudential committee, etc.), or that call its actions into question.

Not without the express written consent of all members. Even with consent, providing advice must be deemed appropriate by Staff.

No. The Inquiry Service is not intended to interfere with or replace local legal representation or fulfill the role of the municipality’s attorney. Staff cannot advise on matters that have already been directed to or discussed with the municipal attorney. In such circumstances, a member municipality’s attorney may use the Inquiry Service on behalf of the municipality.

No. Staff do not advise or represent VLCT’s Property and Casualty Intermunicipal Fund (PACIF) or its Employment Resource and Benefits Trust (VERB), and they do not act as VLCT’s corporate attorney. Staff do not speak on PACIF or VERB’s behalf and do not advise on insurance coverage or insurance policy language. While Staff may discuss issues of general liability, any advice provided is unrelated to PACIF/VERB coverage and should not be construed as a guarantee or representation of coverage. Insurance and coverage-related inquiries should be directed to the municipality’s VLCT PACIF or VERB representative at underwritingdept@vlct.org or kavery@vlct.org respectively, or to the municipality’s other insurer.

Use of the Inquiry Service creates an attorney-client relationship. Under the Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct, the attorney-client relationship is between Staff and the member municipality. The client is the member municipality acting through the majority of its legislative body (e.g., selectboard, village trustees, city council, prudential committee, alderpersons, etc.), not any individual municipal official.

It depends on who Staff is communicating with. Because an attorney-client relationship exists between Staff and the member municipality’s legislative body, the right to keep information confidential belongs to the municipality. While Staff, in most instances, will not disclose information produced or received while members use the Inquiry Service they may disclose confidential information with other affected officials in the municipality who use the Inquiry Service when asked, provided that official is a member of the municipality’s legislative body or such information pertains to the official’s statutory roles and responsibilities. 

In most instances, Staff will not publicly disclose information produced or received while using the Inquiry Service. However, Staff may disclose confidential information with other affected officials in the municipality who use the Inquiry Service, provided that official is a member of the municipality’s legislative body or the information pertains to the official’s statutory roles and responsibilities. Information disclosed to Staff by a member of a municipality’s legislative body will not be disclosed to another municipal official outside of that body, even when that information also pertains to that municipal official’s duties.

Information disclosed through use of the Inquiry Service may be disclosed to other VLCT MAC and MOS staff, VLCT’s Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) staff, and VLCT’s Executive Director, all of whom agree to the confidentiality provisions set forth in the Terms of Use. Information may also be disclosed by Staff when deemed necessary to facilitate responding to the inquiry posed or to otherwise serve the best interests of the member municipality. Information shared with Staff is not shared with the VLCT Risk Management Services department (PACIF and/or VERB) without the express consent of the municipality’s legislative body or its duly authorized representative.

Yes. Non-identifiable information disclosed to Staff may be disclosed to other federal and state officials and local officials of other municipalities and their attorneys; other state municipal leagues; academic researchers; and others, to assist member municipalities and further their collective interests.

MAC fee-based services include formal legal opinions, as well as legal review of ordinances, policies, charters and bylaws. Inquiries requiring more than one hour of a MAC staff attorney’s time will typically be treated as a fee-based service, billed at an hourly rate set by VLCT’s Board of Directors, but only after consultation with and contingent upon the express approval of the member municipality’s legislative body. Members will not be billed without their express consent for services.