§ 151-5. Powers

Under the general grant of authority contained in and conferred upon the town by section 4 of this charter, the Town of St. Johnsbury may exercise the following powers and functions:

(1) To levy, assess, and collect taxes, in order to carry out its powers, to appropriate and to borrow money, within the limits prescribed by the general laws; and to collect special assessments for benefits conferred.

(2) To furnish all local public services, including without limiting the generality of the foregoing a water system, electric light and power system, and a sewage system and disposal plant; to purchase, hire, construct, own, maintain, and operate or lease local public utilities subject to chapter 411 of V.S. 47; to acquire, by condemnation or otherwise, within or without the limits of said Town, property necessary for any such purpose, subject to restrictions imposed by the general law for the protection of other communities.

(3) To make local public improvements and to acquire, by condemnation or otherwise, property within its corporate limits necessary for such improvements; and also to acquire an excess over that needed for any such improvement, and to sell or lease such excess property with restrictions, in order to protect and preserve the improvement.

(4) To acquire by gift or purchase, sell, convey, lease, assign, maintain, and service real and personal property as may be necessary or incidental to the exercise of its municipal powers, duties, and functions and to exercise in connection therewith any incidental powers as may be necessary to preserve and maintain the value of any such property once lawfully acquired.

(5) To issue and sell bonds on the security of any such property, or of any public utility owned by the Town, or of the revenues thereof, or of both, including in the case of a public utility, if deemed desirable by the Town, a franchise stating the terms upon which, in case of foreclosure, the purchaser may operate such utility.

(6) To purchase or lease lands within or without the corporate limits of the Town, to lay out or widen streets, highways, lanes, commons, alleys, and walks, to provide places of healthy recreation in summer or in winter such as a skating rink, a swimming pool, a playing field, a public park; to provide for tourist camping sites, and aviation landing field, and a municipal forest reserve; and for any municipal purposes whatever.

(7) To adopt and enforce within its limits local police, sanitary, zoning, Town planning, and other similar regulations, not in conflict with the laws of this State.

(8) To establish and maintain a fire department.

(9) To establish and maintain a police department, to provide for the appointment of police officers, who shall be sworn and who shall have the same powers as constables in the service of civil and criminal process, and such further special authority as may be provided in the bylaws or ordinances of said Town enacted under authority of law. Such fire and police departments may be consolidated into one department if the Town shall so vote.

(10) To appropriate annually money for the maintenance, care, improvement, and support of Fairbanks Museum, so long as the same shall remain a nonprofit institution for the promotion of education.