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.
Cannabis Control Commission: The City Council, meeting as the city's local cannabis control commission to act on licenses for cannabis businesses in Winooski.
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.
Deputy Mayor: The councilor the City Council chooses from its members to act as mayor when the mayor is absent, and to become mayor if the office falls vacant until the next annual election.
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.
Liquor Control Board: The City Council, meeting as the city's local liquor control board to act on liquor licenses for Winooski businesses.
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.
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.
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.