Glossary

Words that come up in agendas, minutes, and their summaries, and what they mean.

abatement: A reduction or cancellation of a property tax bill, granted by the assessors, for example after an error in the assessment.
ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act, the federal law on access for people with disabilities.
CBA: Collective bargaining agreement: a contract between the city or town and a union of its employees, setting pay and working conditions.
CDBG: Community Development Block Grant: federal money, from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, for housing and neighborhood projects that serve low- and moderate-income residents.
CIP: Capital Improvement Program: the plan for buildings, roads, equipment, and other long-lasting purchases over the next several years, and how to pay for them.
COLA: Cost-of-living adjustment: a raise in pay or a pension to keep up with rising prices.
Committee of the Whole: The full council or board meeting as a committee, to discuss a matter before voting on it at a regular meeting.
consent agenda: Routine items, such as minutes and reports, voted on together in one motion without discussion. A member can ask to take any of them up separately.
ends policy: One of the School Board's policies stating what students are expected to achieve. Under the Board's Policy Governance model, the Superintendent decides how the district meets them, and reports on them in monitoring reports. As used by: School Board.
executive session: A part of a public meeting closed to the public. Vermont's Open Meeting Law allows it only for specific reasons, such as lawsuits, contracts, or personnel matters, and no final decision may be made in it.
first reading: The first time a council or board takes up an ordinance or other measure. It usually votes on it at a later meeting.
grand list: The total listed value of a city's or town's taxable property. Property tax rates are applied to it.
LDR: Land Development Regulations: South Burlington's zoning and subdivision rules. The Planning Commission drafts changes to them, numbered like LDR-26-09, and the City Council adopts them.
mill rate: The property tax rate, in dollars for each $1,000 of a property's assessed value. A mill is a tenth of a cent.
monitoring report: A report from the Superintendent showing how the district is meeting one of the School Board's policies. The Board rates the report and the district's progress, and votes on whether to accept it. As used by: School Board.
quitclaim deed: A deed in which the city or town gives up whatever claim it has to a property, such as one it took for unpaid taxes.
receive and file: To accept a letter, report, or other document into the record, without taking any other action on it.
Select Board: The board of three to five elected residents that runs a town between town meetings: it sets policy, hires the town manager or administrator, and calls town meeting. Also called the Board of Selectmen or the Selectboard.
Steering Committee: The City Council and the School Board meeting together with the City Manager and the Superintendent, as the city charter provides, to review the city's and the school district's budgets and plans. Its meetings are always public: it can't meet in executive session.
tabled: Set aside by a vote, to take up later. A tabled item comes back when the board votes to take it off the table.
TIF: Tax increment financing: a district where some of the new property tax from development is set aside, for public projects or for the development itself.
town meeting: A meeting of a town's voters that acts as its legislature: it votes on the budget, local laws, and the other articles of the warrant. In a representative town meeting, elected members vote.
Town Meeting Day: The first Tuesday in March, when Vermont's towns hold town meeting and many cities and towns vote on their budgets and elect their officials.
variance: Permission from the zoning board to use or build on a property in a way the zoning doesn't allow, such as closer to a lot line, because of a hardship particular to the property.
VSA: Vermont Statutes Annotated, the state's laws (also written V.S.A.).
warrant article: One item on the warrant, the list of what a town meeting will vote on. Each article is voted on separately.