Burlington Charter Panel Tables Administrator Hiring Powers, Seeks Rewrite

BURLINGTON — February 10, 2026 — Burlington's charter committee advances one provision, deadlocks on town administrator hiring power. The Government Review and Charter Committee voted 7-2 at its February 10 all-virtual meeting to provisionally approve broad enabling language defining the town administrator's authority as flowing from the charter, town bylaws, town meeting votes, and select board votes — replacing narrower bylaw-derived language tied solely to select board jurisdiction. The panel then spent more than an hour unable to agree on a companion proposal that would give the administrator broad appointment and removal authority over all town employees, with elected boards holding ratification power and the select board retaining a rejection window of up to 30 days. Members Jack and Russ argued the draft left too much ambiguous, while Jess said the goal was codifying existing but poorly understood practice. The committee voted unanimously to table the appointment section and directed the Collins Center consultants to return with a single consolidated paragraph. A separate charter-survey subcommittee kickoff with the Collins Center survey team was set for February 17 at 4 p.m.