A little-noticed legislative study could reopen a long-dormant question in Vermont: should counties play a larger role in how the state is governed?

Lawmakers created the County and Regional Governance Study Committee in 2024 through Act 118, directing a group of legislators to examine whether Vermont’s traditional town-based governance model is equipped to handle the demands of modern public policy.

Now, a bill moving through the Legislature — H.762 — would extend the committee’s timeline, pushing its reporting deadline to December 15, 2026 and allowing the panel more time to continue its work.

The committee’s assignment is not to propose immediate changes, but to study whether Vermont should strengthen county-level or regional governance structures and how that could affect the delivery of public services.

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Vermont’s unusual system

Vermont is unusual among U.S. states. While it has 14 counties, they play only a minimal role in governing.

County government primarily consists of elected officials such as sheriffs, state’s attorneys and assistant judges, along with administrative responsibilities tied to courthouse facilities. Counties do not generally pass ordinances or administer broad public services the way county governments do in most other states.

Instead, most local governance in Vermont occurs at the town level, with cities and towns responsible for services ranging from road maintenance to zoning and local public safety.

A memo prepared for the study committee by the Vermont Office of Legislative Counsel described Vermont counties as entities with very limited governing authority, noting that they largely serve as electoral and judicial districts rather than active governing bodies.

Why lawmakers are studying the issue

Supporters of the study say Vermont’s local governance model is facing increasing pressure.

Regional planning officials and other witnesses told lawmakers that small towns are being asked to manage growing responsibilities — including infrastructure planning, flood resilience, housing development and environmental policy — often with limited staff and resources.

Regional Planning Commissions, which coordinate planning among groups of municipalities, have argued that many towns struggle to meet expanding state and federal requirements.

In testimony to lawmakers, the Vermont Association of Planning and Development Agencies said municipalities are expected to implement a wide range of statewide policies, including climate mitigation measures, transportation planning and land-use initiatives.

Those demands, the group said, are growing faster than the capacity of many small local governments.

Looking beyond Vermont

During hearings on the study bill, lawmakers also heard presentations describing how other states organize regional governance.

One example discussed was Connecticut, which eliminated most county government functions decades ago and instead relies on regional Councils of Governments (COGs) that coordinate planning, transportation programs and regional services across multiple municipalities.

The model was presented to lawmakers as an example of how a state dominated by small municipalities can organize services and planning at a broader regional scale while towns retain local identity and control.

Some observers say Vermont’s existing Regional Planning Commissions could potentially evolve into similar regional governance bodies, though no such proposal has been formally introduced.

What counties could become

The study committee has also received background materials from the National Association of Counties, which described how county governments function across the United States.

In many states, counties play a major role in delivering services such as public health, regional infrastructure planning, law enforcement coordination and social services.

Compared with those systems, Vermont counties have relatively limited authority and few responsibilities beyond the courts and certain law-enforcement functions.

That difference has prompted some policymakers to ask whether stronger regional or county structures might help manage issues that extend beyond individual town boundaries.

A legal question in the background

The Legislature’s authority to reshape county government has also been part of the discussion.

According to a memorandum prepared for the study committee by the Office of Legislative Counsel, the Vermont Constitution grants the General Assembly broad authority to create or modify counties and other political subdivisions of the state.

The memo noted that courts have historically recognized the Legislature’s wide latitude to establish governmental entities to carry out public functions, meaning significant changes to county governance could theoretically be enacted through legislation if lawmakers chose to pursue them.

At this stage, however, the study committee has been tasked only with examining options and reporting its findings.

Questions about local control

Municipal officials have urged caution.

In testimony to lawmakers, the Vermont Municipal Clerks and Treasurers Association warned that focusing on county governance could assume a solution before fully defining the problem.

Local officials also noted that Vermont counties currently lack the representative governing structures typically associated with county governments elsewhere.

Any move toward a stronger county system would likely require new elected offices or governing bodies, raising questions about accountability and representation.

What happens next

For now, the County and Regional Governance Study Committee remains in the research phase.

Lawmakers have asked the panel to examine topics including regional public safety coordination, opportunities for municipalities to share services, the structure of county governments in other states and the role of regional collaboration in areas such as infrastructure and emergency planning.

If lawmakers approve the proposed extension in H.762, the committee will have additional time to complete its work and deliver recommendations to the Legislature.

Those recommendations could range from modest proposals for increased regional cooperation to broader discussions about whether Vermont should rethink the role of counties in its governance structure.

At this point, no specific changes have been proposed.

But the study signals that lawmakers are beginning to ask a fundamental question about Vermont’s system of government — whether a model built around independent towns can continue to meet the demands of a changing policy landscape.

For now, the question remains open.

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Dave Soulia | FYIVT

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