BOARDS | COMMITTEES
Select Board
The Select Board in Benson is made up of five elected officials. Three of the seats are rotating three-year positions, and two of them are one-year positions.
The Select Board welcomes community input and involvement and invites you to attend any of their meetings, which are commonly held at the Town Office on the first and third Mondays of the month.
You can reach the Select Board through email bensonselectboardasst@gmail.com or by calling the Town Clerk and leaving a message. Meeting agendas and minutes are posted under For Residents | Documents Upload.
Current Select Board members are: Brad Barrett (Chair), Guy Charlton (Assistant Chair), Linda Peltier, Jim Pritchard, Jerod Glover.
Planning Commission
The Planning Commission is composed of five appointed officials.
The planning commission is a municipal panel that is principally responsible for drafting the town plan and the town’s land use bylaws. In towns that do not have a development review board the planning commission generally perform site plan reviews, subdivision reviews, and becomes involved with PRD and PUD review. The planning commission participates in the regional planning program through the RRPC. The planning commission may also prepare and present to the Select Board building, housing and other safety codes, undertake capacity studies, and prepare and present a capital budget.
The Select Board appoints a representative to the RRPC (Cheryl Murray).
Members are Cheryl Murray, Ted Kellogg, Brad Barrett, Jean Sebastion-Valois and Steve Murray.
Board of Civil Authority
The Board of Civil Authority is responsible for the maintenance of the Voter Checklist. The BCA also assists the Town Clerk in supervising all town elections and meetings, and is responsible that all laws and requirements relating to elections and election procedures and town meetings are adhered to.
The BCA is chaired by Lynn Bowen (Justice of the Peace). Other members are Justices of the Peace John Hill, Eric Shaw, Ed Peltier, and Tom Neumann, the Select Board, and Town Clerk Heidi Chandler.
Listers
Listers are responsible for appraising town properties. Lois Trenn and Ed Peltier are listers. There is currently an opening for a third Lister. Please get in touch with the Select Board if you are interested.
Transportation Advisory Council (TAC)
The Transportation Advisory Council represents each of the 27 municipalities in the Rutland region and associated organizations. It’s a forum for local input to be funneled into regional decision making around transportation safety, quality, and connectivity for people and all the ways they get around.
Benson participates in the Rutland County Transportation Advisory Committee and has an appointed member (Cheryl Murray) who represents the town and its interests, including the upcoming reconstruction of Route 22A from Fair Haven to Orwell.