Charlotte Selectboard endorses Declaration of Inclusion

And then there were 160.

On Monday night, Jan. 13, Charlotte joined 159 of Vermont’s towns in endorsing the state’s Declaration of Inclusion. This means that now almost 80 percent of state residents live in towns that have adopted the declaration.

The discussion on the issue began with chair Jim Faulkner reading the declaration and then making a motion to accept it, which was seconded by Natalie Kanner.

The declaration says:

“The town of Charlotte condemns racism and welcomes all persons, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, disability, or socioeconomic status, and wants everyone to feel safe and welcome in our community.

“As a town, we formally condemn all discrimination in all of its forms, commit to fair and equal treatment of everyone in our community, and will strive to ensure all of our actions, policies and operating procedures reflect this commitment.

“The town of Charlotte has and will continue to be a place where individuals can live freely and express their opinions.”

Board members Kelly Devine and Frank Tenney said they wanted the issue to be decided by residents on Town Meeting Day, rather than by the selectboard.

Fellow board member Lewis Mudge argued for adding political affiliation to the list of groups which the town condemns discriminating against. Personally, Mudge said, he supported the declaration as it is, but he had heard from people who felt bullied because of their political affiliation and who thought the selectboard should add this to the declaration.

The town is not doing anything wrong in regards to diversity, equity and inclusion, said board member Natalie Kanner, but the declaration had been drafted to address issues confronting “marginalized populations.” Although a case might be made that political affiliation might marginalize people, she said, “My recommendation is that we stick to the language that was brought before us.”

Faulkner agreed with Kanner that Charlotte should not change the language of the declaration.

“It is what it is. If we want to modify it in the future, we have the ability to do that,” Faulkner said, adding that passing the declaration as it is, is a way “to get over the hump” where the debate is now.

Passing the declaration has taken longer than expected because the board wanted to make sure it would not create any financial obligation to the town, he said. The town’s lawyers have confirmed it won’t cost the town.

“We are not interested at all in burdening the taxpayers with another program,” Faulkner said.

Although it is important for people to know that the town condemns discrimination on the basis of party affiliation, Kanner said she feels that is a separate issue. Passing the declaration is a way of saying the town stands in alliance with other towns which have adopted the resolution as it stands.

The board began by proposing to limit its discussion to the board itself and not for more than five minutes. Ultimately, its discussion lasted well past five minutes, but the public was not allowed to comment.

The subject of opening the discussion up to the public was breached. Faulkner said that, according to the selectboard’s rules of procedure, it had the right to decide whether or not to open up the discussion to public comments. He, Kanner and Kenney were skeptical that they would hear anything they hadn’t already heard about the issue.

“I don’t think we’re going to find any ground rules that are going to satisfy the group,” Devine added. “We’re getting a lot of nonverbal feedback from the audience.”

Kanner said the board could pass the declaration and later modify it, possibly adding political affiliation.

When the vote was taken, four of the five selectboard members voted for the motion with Frank Tenney abstaining.

Although some, in what was a large audience for a selectboard meeting, didn’t support the declaration, the enthusiastic applause after the motion was approved seemed to indicate a sizeable majority did support it.

Supporters of the declaration had been circulating a petition to have the issue put before voters on Town Meeting Day, but they said this was a backup measure. They had hoped the selectboard would do what it did and pass the declaration itself.

The supporters had collected twice the number of signatures they needed.