Following please my testimony to the Committee:

Good Morning. Thank you for inviting us to your committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs. I am Pam Loranger, Chair of the Colchester Selectboard. I am joined today by Town Manager Aaron Frank, Inge Schaefer Member Board of Ethics of my fellow Board member Maureen P. Dakin. My colleagues will take the floor for the majority of testimony. Their testimony will reflect the exhaustive and deliberate work the Town of Colchester has undertaken to create and conform to a comprehensive Ethics Framework. We are not alone in that endeavor and other municipalities have availed themselves of their particular resources, expertise and experiences based on the Town’s individuality as well as the model provided by VLCT to create their own Ethics Policy, Framework and Boards. Questions regarding enforcement, training and cost remain outstanding in this current legislative initiative. We have the proven capacity to manage those items locally and have done so. We consider removing control from each municipality unnecessary and detrimental to a process that is best managed on a local level. Individualism and independence are a hallmark of the Vermont spirit. Intervention in our policies, framework and process is unwarranted and unnecessary. I respectfully request the Committee to abandon this draft. We have the policies and tools in place to do the job, please respect our ability to self-govern.

Thank you for your time and consideration this morning.