Vermont municipality facts for kids

A Vermont municipality is like a local government area in Vermont. It's the main way that local communities in Vermont are organized. Think of it as the smallest official unit of government that helps run things where people live.

What are Vermont's Towns and Cities?

Vermont has 247 official towns and cities. Most of these are towns, with 237 of them, and there are 10 cities. These towns and cities cover almost all of the state.

There are a few places in Vermont that are not part of any town or city. These are called "unincorporated areas." They are mostly in the mountains and don't have many people living there. Most of these areas are in Essex County, which is in the northeast part of Vermont. A few other counties, like Bennington, Windham, and Chittenden, also have small unincorporated areas. Very few people, less than 100, live in these areas.

What are Incorporated Villages?

Vermont is special because it has "incorporated villages." These are smaller communities that are part of a larger town but have their own local government for some services. It's like a mini-government inside a town. There are about 30 incorporated villages in Vermont today, but there used to be many more.

A Look at Vermont's History of Towns

The way towns were set up in Vermont was a bit different from other places in New England. Often, a town was given its official "charter" (like a birth certificate) long before anyone even moved there! This was common in the 1700s. Once enough people lived in an area, they could just start their town government without needing another official step. This can make it tricky to know the exact "birthday" of a town. Sometimes, the date you see is when it was chartered, not when people actually started living there and running the town.

Vermont has far fewer cities than towns. Only about 5% of all official communities in Vermont are cities. In the early days, all communities were towns; there were no cities. For example, Burlington was first a town in 1785. It didn't become a city until 1865. For many years, Vermont only had one city, Vergennes, which became a city in 1788.

In Vermont, a community doesn't become a city just because it has a lot of people. Instead, a town becomes a city when its residents vote to change their government style. They switch from a "town meeting" style to a "city" style. This means some towns in Vermont actually have more people than some cities!

How Local Government Works in Vermont

Local governments in Vermont follow something called "Dillon's Rule." This rule means that local governments can only do what the state or federal laws specifically tell them they can do. They can also do things that are clearly needed to carry out those powers, or things essential for the community to exist. Vermont is one of only a few states that doesn't give much "home rule" to its communities. This means Vermont's local governments have very specific limits on what they can do.

Over time, the differences between towns and cities have become less clear. Since the early 1900s, towns have been allowed to change their "town meeting" government in different ways. For example, they can have a "representative town meeting" or hire a "town manager" to help run things.

What are Villages and How Do They Work?

Incorporated villages are still part of their main town. However, they take on some duties for services within their own boundaries, like managing water or fire departments. They are usually seen as less important than the main town. In recent years, many villages have decided to stop being incorporated and let the main town take over all services again.

The word "village" is also used in Vermont to describe a specific area within a town or city that is built up. This might be the main part of the town, often with the same name as the town itself. Or it could be a smaller area with a different name. For example, the town of Brownington has areas called Evansville, Brownington, and Brownington Center.

These "villages" are not separate governments. They are just parts of the larger town. Towns sometimes put up signs to show where these areas are. These informal "villages" might also have special districts for things like fire or water services. These districts are separate groups that provide specific services to a part of the town. Many villages also have their own post offices or are recognized by the United States Census Bureau as "census-designated places." For example, Barton Village is a part of the town of Barton. But these areas are not separate governments and are usually seen by people living there as just a part of their town.

It is possible for a Vermont village to become a city. If a village becomes a city, it separates completely from its parent town. It becomes its own independent community. Most cities in Vermont today were actually villages first, not towns. Because of this, cities are often much smaller in land area than a typical town. This process has created situations where you have a town and a city right next to each other with the same name. In these cases, the city was originally the main part of the town, but then it became its own separate city.

How Big are Vermont's Towns?

A typical town in Vermont was originally designed to be about 6 miles by 6 miles square. Each of these squares contained 36 smaller sections, each about 1 mile square or 640 acres. One of these sections was set aside to help pay for public schools. This idea was later used when the United States government planned out areas in Ohio in the late 1700s.

Unorganized Towns

Vermont also has some areas that are the size of towns but are "unorganized." This means they were drawn on maps long ago as future towns, but not enough people ever moved there to start a formal town government.

Essex County has three unorganized towns that have never been officially formed. In the year 2000, only 41 people lived in all three of them combined. There are no other unorganized towns in Vermont that have never been officially formed.

Towns That Disappeared

There are two unorganized areas that used to be towns but are not anymore. They became unorganized territory again because they lost too many residents.

The towns of Glastenbury and Somerset are located in the Green Mountains. They stopped being towns in 1937. In 1940, Glastenbury had only five residents, and Somerset had four. Since then, the population of either place has only reached double digits in one census.