Sign at Killington town offices on River Road

Sign at Killington town offices on River Road

The plan by Killington to secede from Vermont and join New Hampshire is back in the news. The select-board, in cooperation with the town manager, Dave Lewis, are considering formally requesting that the legislature of Vermont consider the matter. Last fall, the New Hampshire legislature passed a bill calling for a study to consider Killington joining the Granite State. That bill had a clause in it which results in no action until the legislature in Vermont passes a similar bill, so that the two legislative bodies could work together. To date, no action has been taken by the Vermont legislature, other than to mock the proposal by Killington to secede. To get the process moving forward, the select-board is looking at the options to introduce a bill before the legislature. The bill would either be stand-alone, or piggybacked on a proposal made by a legislator last year to examine charging towns seceding from Vermont an "Exit Fee" for the privilege.

This issue is starting to heat up again for several reasons. Act 60/68 tax bills are due. Killington once again saw taxes increase. Also, late last week, a Rutland Superior Court judge once again dismissed a suit brought by the "Coalition of Municipalities", asking for Act 60/68 to be overturned. The reason the judge gave was based upon the legal technicality that Towns in Vermont are chartered by the legislature, and as such are "creatures of the state" without the right to sue the state.

In the interest of completeness, it should be noted that at town meeting, I voted to allow the select-board to pursue the succession issue, and I voted to allow the town to pursue all legal avenues. My personal opinion is that debates about taxes and education are healthy. There a pros and cons to both sides; as long as we all agree that educating children is a priority. However, as to the legal process I do have my concerns. In particular, I think that we are all headed down a very slippery slope (and I am not talking about skiing) when a judge rules that a duly authorized representative (i.e. the town government) of a citizen (i.e. the residents of Killington) is not allowed to bring legal action against the state when authorized to do so by the citizen.