24 V.S.A. App. ch. 11, § 15: Conflict of interest

No elective or appointive official or employee of the City shall be beneficially interested directly or indirectly in any contract with the City, regardless of amount, or furnish any material, or perform any labor, except in the discharge of his or her official duties, unless such contract shall have been awarded upon bids advertised for by publication. Such publication shall be in a locally distributed newspaper. No officer or employee of the City shall take part in any decision concerning the business of the City in which he or she has a direct or indirect financial interest, aside from his or her salary as an official or employee, greater than any other citizen or taxpayer in the City. This section shall not apply in the event of an emergency where immediate action shall be deemed more important to the City than the receipt of formal bids.