MAC

If you’re reading this, you’re likely a member of VLCT. You’re one of more than 5,000 elected, appointed, or employed municipal officials here in Vermont. One of your greatest membership benefits is the VLCT connection to people facing similar challenges, similar opportunities, and similar head-slapping moments in the town office. You’re not alone, you don’t need to have the answer to every question, and there are people interested in your success. Come meet them at Town Fair 2024 in Killington on October 2^nd.  

This year’s theme, “Making Connections and Sharing Solutions”, emphasizes the importance of coming together. Being in the same room with several hundred other selectboard members, top-level managers, clerks, treasurers, listers, mayors, and other colleagues is the best part of Town Fair. And let’s not forget the fun – from this year’s silent auction, to a packed exhibit hall, to an ice cream social and the grand raffle. The committee also put together some deep content in five different workshop tracks: Finance, Administration and Operations; Leadership; Building Safe and Healthy Communities; Elections; and the fifth track – which aims to create more space for networking, discussion, and dialogue – Facilitated Discussions. 

Facilitated Discussions  

At the suggestion of our Town Fair Planning Committee, we created an entire track that aims to create space to talk about what you want to talk about, not what VLCT thinks you should talk about. One of our board members likened this track to an “un-conference”. These loosely structured and lightly facilitated sessions will bring people together around a common topic for conversation. I’m personally most excited about our young municipal leaders session. What’s “young”, you ask? I don’t know for sure, but if you have to ask, you might not be young. We also have a new session focused on what different municipal officers do and a session dedicated to simply asking any question you want of VLCT lawyers or other municipal officials. It’s an experiment that I hope you’ll sign up to participate in.  

You don’t need to worry about which workshops are in which tracks. Bounce between tracks, sample a session from each, and follow your interests.

Finance, Administration, and Operations 

Some of the most popular content at Town Fair has always been the most practical. Designed to appeal to those in the town office every day – such as clerks, treasurers, listers, department heads, administrators, and managers – this track may also appeal to members of legislative bodies. This year you’ll find sessions aimed at helping you engage residents better, introducing you to the new procurement portal “VTBuys”, updating you on new property tax system changes, and helping you recruit and retain good people. 

Leadership 

In order to lead, municipal officials need a big-picture understanding of what’s happening throughout the state, how state policy changes could affect their communities, and what tools exist to help catalyze change in their communities. That’s why we’ve created sessions for this track about equity in land use, workplace culture, and one of the largest leadership challenges we’ve recently seen in municipal government: how leaders in Pawlet handled the Slate Ridge dispute. This track is intended for members of municipal legislative bodies, mayors, and managers, but anyone with an interest in these topics is encouraged to attend.  

Building Safe and Healthy Communities 

Designed to inspire and educate land use officials, mayors, selectboards, city councils, village trustees, and anyone who wants to use municipal authorities to improve the livability of their communities, this track features legislative updates, tips for good governance practices, and more. We included a session on the newly passed housing and land use bill that significantly affects Act 250 and municipal zoning, a session on civility and effective meeting management, and a session on cyber security (there’s money coming to help you tackle this issue).  

Elections 

Clerks! Clerks! Clerks! Featuring appearances from our Secretary of State’s office as well as our former elections director Will Senning (now a big wig with the federal office that oversees election security), this track is singular in focus: helping clerks prepare for this year’s election. VLCT couldn’t have offered this track without the help of the Vermont Municipal Clerks’ & Treasurers’ Association.  

Here's the best part of the workshop tracks being offered at Town Fair this year: you don’t need to worry about which workshops are in which tracks if you don’t want to. Bounce between tracks, sample a session from each, and follow your interests.  
 

But Wait, There’s More! 

My favorite part of Town Fair is presenting the annual municipal service awards – the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Municipal Service Award, and the Legislative Service Award. We’ll do that at lunch this year – where we’ll also hear from VTDigger CEO Sky Barsch about how the media and local government depend on each other. It’s not too late to nominate someone for a VLCT Municipal Service Award. 

Finally, to use your time as efficiently as possible, Town Fair 2024 is a densely packed one-day event. Register by August 31 to get the early bird price of just $79 for the entire day, which includes breakfast roundtables, lunch, and the ice cream social in addition to all the great sessions, exhibitors, and raffle prizes. To provide all that in one day, we will hold the annual meetings for VLCT, PACIF, and VERB in a hybrid fashion the day before, on October 1. It’s free to attend the annual meeting and critically important that every member has a representative there. Attend from your desk, your kitchen table, or your car (safely parked, of course). Our member-owned insurance trusts need your input. We’ll be voting on a new municipal policy to guide our work in the legislature next biennium. And we’ll be electing members to the VLCT Board of Directors.  

Once you’ve hit the lake one last time, gotten another cut of hay in the barn, or sent the kids back to school, we’ll announce our keynote speaker. Until then, get yourself registered for Town Fair. It’s one of the best benefits of being a member of VLCT.