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1. When are the Town Offices open?

Office Hours

Monday through Friday
7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
(Except for federal holidays and weather emergencies)

2. What are the current tax rates?

For a list of the current tax rates please see the current tax rate page for the Town and the Village.

3. When are taxes and water due?

The Town of Essex is on a fiscal year of July 1 to June 30. Taxes are due September 15 and March 15 of each year. Water bills are due in June and December. Payments must be postmarked by the due date and a drop box is available at 81 Main Street.

4. Where do I apply for a dog license?

Dog licenses are handled by the town clerk's office.

5. I live in the Town - why is my address in Essex Junction?

All home deliveries in the Town or Village have a mailing address of Essex Junction with an 05452 zip code. If you have a P.O. Box in the Town of Essex Post Office (on Essex Way) your mailing address will have a 05451 zip code. If you have a P.O. Box in the Village of Essex Junction Post Office (on Pearl Street) your mailing address will be Essex Junction and your zip code will be 05453.

6. How do I know if I live in the Town or the Village?

The street listing handout document (PDF) lists all of the streets in the Town and the Village, showing which entity as well as if it is a private drive.

7. Where do we get a marriage license and what do we need to bring with us?

In Vermont you get your license in the community in which one of you resides, so you would get your license in the Town Clerk's Office. For more information visit our Marriage License Information page.

8. Can I get a hunting / fishing license at the Town office?

Fishing and Hunting licenses are no longer available for purchase at the town clerk’s office. Licenses can be purchased at the Department of Fish & Wildlife, 111 West Street, Bibens Ace Hardware, 15 Essex way, or - online (State of Vermont)

9. When is recycling / trash picked up?

Recycling and solid waste disposal will vary depending on your provider. Solid waste disposal is not currently a service provided by the Town.

Community members may contact and hire an independent hauler or bring their own refuse to the Chittenden Solid Waste District located at 218 Colchester Road (across from Route 289’s Exit 7 ramp). For more information on the disposal of refuse, visit the Chittenden Solid Waste District website or call 802-878-3152.

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1. What is Essex Police Department Incident Mapping?

Crime Reports is a company that provides law enforcement agencies with a web-based service for managing and controlling the sharing of incident data with the public, in near real-time. Community members can then access their neighborhood police incident information for free, empowering them to make informed decisions to help improve the safety of their families, friends, property and the community at large.

2. Is any of my personal information contained here?

No. No personal data such as names, date of birth, social security number, or other personal information are used in this product. The only data used to create these maps are reported incidents, dates, times and locations.

3. Does this show everything Essex Police Department is doing?

No, Crime Report shows only certain types of incidents that the Essex Police are dealing with. To see a list or display certain types of incidents, click on the "Crime Types" button on the top of the webpage just above the map. With this button you can see the "types" of incidents that are listed on our maps and can choose which incidents you choose to see or not see.

4. Are all "incidents" crimes?

No. Although many of the incident listed on our map are in fact crimes, they are not "all" crimes. For example, you will see some flags with cars, these are traffic complaints which in many cases are not criminal. This may be where an officer issued someone a traffic ticket for speeding.

5. When do incidents get posted to the map?

Incidents that are in the crime types that are listed but first be verified by the investigating officer to ensure the report is accurate. Once an officer has verified an incident that is a crime type listed, it typically takes about 24 hours to show up on the map.

6. What if I want to look for incidents on a specific date or time range?

Like searching for a type of incident, you can choose to search for incidents on specific dates by clicking on the date options on the top left of the map. You can quickly select 3, 7, 14 and 30 days or you can open up the calender and pick the dates you want.

7. What if I have information about an incident that may help?

If you have information about an incident that may help, please contact us. Write down the "incident number" you are referring to and contact us at 802-878-8331 - 24 hours, 7 days a week.

8. I know there was an incident, why can't I see it?

Incidents that are in the crime types that are listed but first be verified by the investigating officer to ensure the report is accurate. Once an officer has verified an incident that is a crime type listed, it typically takes about 24 hours to show up on the map.

9. How do I search for a specific type of incident?

Click on the "Crime Type" button on the top of the map and then select which crime types you want to see and then click the "Done" button. Note that you can choose to see "All" or "None" of the incidents by using the same method.

10. How do I see a different area of the map?

When you point at the map with your mouse you should see a "hand". Simply click your left mouse button and drag the map to the left, right, up or down to get the area you want.

11. How do I see more or less of the map?

To make the map smaller or larger simply click on the "+" or "-" signs on the top left of the map. You can also use the slide bar to make the map larger or smaller

12. How long are these records available on this map?

Six months of incidents are available on these maps.

13. How many incidents can be displayed?

Crime Reports has the ability to show up to 9,999 incidents on the map at one time.

14. What if I have additional questions?

If you have a question that was not answered please email the Police Department. If you have a question or helpful hint that may help others using this site please let us know.

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1. Where can I purchase a pass?

Season passes will be available for purchase online, over the phone, or at the Recreation Office at the end of March.  Passes purchased before the official start date of the season can be picked up at Indian Brook Park at the front entrance during the season with proof of purchase (printed or electronic).  Gate staff will issue your purchased pass to you upon arrival.

Learn more on our Pass Information.

2. What if I (we) wish to horseback, bike, walk-in?

You still need to have your pass with you and show it at the gate.

3. What if I would like to enter the park early to fish, walk, etc.?

The seasonal pass to the park is valid approximately late April through early October from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. If you wish to enter the park outside those hours, you must secure a separate permit in advance from the Parks and Recreation Department located at:
75 Main Street
Essex Junction, VT 05452
Phone: 802-878-1376

4. Does my dog need to be on a leash?

Dogs must be on a leash in the parking lots and driveways, picnic area adjacent to the dam and at the water in front of these areas. Dogs are only allowed to be off their leash beginning at the trail head past the parking lot on the east side of the reservoir and beyond the trail head at the lower parking lot on the south end of the reservoir. Dogs must respond to voice commands, cannot chase the wildlife in the park, and must be under the owner's complete supervision and control at all times. 

Dog Mitts & Trash Receptacles

At each trail head we have provided dog mitts and trash receptacles. Please be a responsible dog owner/caretaker; you must pick up after your dog and dispose of properly.

5. I have additional questions, who do I contact?

If you have more questions please call the Parks and Recreation Department at 802-878-1376 Monday through Friday, 8 am-4 pm.

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1. My workstation/email is account is locked!

Workstation & Email security policies for TOE accounts will lock your account...

after 3 invalid attempts - your account will be locked for 15 minutes. Wait 15 mintues and try again

after 6 invalid attempts - your account will be permenentely locked and you must contact a system administrator to unlock your account

2. I need to reset my password!

For users at 81 Main Street, your computer password is also your email password. You can reset your password by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del on your keyboard at the same time and then select the "change password" option

You will have to type in your old password and then your new password twice to make sure you type if correctly.

Remember, TOE requires that you use "Complex Passwords" which means your password MUST be at least eight characters long, include at lease 1 capitol letter and one special character which could be a number or sign like, # or @. You also can not use your username or 7 of your most recent passwords again.

For remote users, passwords need to be reset while you are onsite on our network.

3. Quarantined Emails

E-mails that do not pass the spam filter criteria will be held in "quarantine". You will receive an e-mail notification each morning when you have messages held there. Each e-mail in the list can be taken care of in one of three ways:
 - if you do not want the e-mail then - no action needed
 - if you know it is legitimate and want to receive it and future e-mails from that sender without being quarantined first, click the Report as Not Junk link and then the Release to Inbox link
 - if you want to receive the e-mail but are not sure you want to continue to receive from that sender, then only click the Release to Inbox

If you are expecting an e-mail and it occurs after the daily quarantine message has been sent, first check your junk mail folder, if it is not there, then specify the following URL in a web browser: https://protection.office.com/quarantine, log in as if normally logging into your e-mail and follow the steps in the document below:

If you continue to have issues with a sender that you have marked as safe/not junk then please put in a ticket for IT to manually add the sender to the allowed list - you need to tell them exactly how it is spelled out.

4. Should I leave my computer on when I leave?

It is our preference that you leave your computer powered on, all of the time.  Our computer updates, such at Antivirus Updates, are pushed out and run at night.

So when you leave at night, "Log Off", do not "turn off or shut down"

Most of our computers at TOE have power saving features which will reduce power consumption after the computer is not in use for one hour.  If you have any questions about if the power saving features are enabled on your computer please contact the IT department.

5. How do I change my voicemail greeting?

1) Press the Voicemail button on your phone

2) Press the * button

3) Enter your voicemail box number

4) The system will ask for your password, then press #

5) Press 4 for personal options

6) Press 1 for personal greeting

7) Press 1 to select your primary greeting, listen to your message, press 3 to erase and re-record, 

8) Follow the recording instructions

6. I lost a call on hold, help!

On TOE Mitel phone systems, if you hit the "Outgoing" line your phone call is sent to a "digital circuit" line that you do not see on your phone. So.... if you then hit the red "Hold" button it looks like your call disappeared......

Not really.....when you place a call on holds from the digital circuit it simply "parks" the call on your ext. So, simply lift the handset, press #4 and then your ext. number you will connected to your holding call.

With this same method you could pick up a call from someone else phone that they put on hold by again dialing #4 and then their ext. number and you will be connected to the call that was put on hold on their extension.

7. How do I use Do-Not-Disturb?

All TOE phones have the ability to use DND (Do Not Disturb). Using this feature locks the phone so that calls do not come into the phone. In DND mode, some TOE phones can even send messages back to other TOE phones such as, "Busy", "Leave a Message", "On Vacation", etc.

Some phones have a DND button programmed into one of the buttons on the phone. If so, you can turn on or off the DND function by simply pressing this button and selecting the message you want others to see. (DND messages below).

If you do not have a DND button on your phone you can activate the DND feature by simply entering a feature code. #370 will turn on DND. #371 will turn off DND.

Here are the DND messages available to some phones. You will get prompted for a message if you phone has this option.....

These codes are available inside your phone manual.

01 - Do not Disturb
02 - Leave a Message
03 - In Meeting Until......
04 - In Meeting
05 - On Vacation until ....
06 - On Vacation
07 - Call me at ......
08 - At the Doctor
09 - On a trip
10 - On Break
11 - Out of Town until.....
12 - Out of Office
13 - Out until.....
14 - With a client
15 - With a guest
16 - Unavailable
17 - In Conference
18 - Away from Desk
19 - Gone Home
20 - Out to lunch

8. Can I forward my desk phone?

With your handset down, dial 355 then enter the extension of the phone you want to forward to.  If you are forwarding outside of the building, dial 355, then your outgoing button, then the number you want to forward to.  The display of your phone with say "FWD to xxxx"

To turn this off, dial 355, lift your handset and set it back down.  Display of your phone will say "Any Call Forward Canceled"

9. How do I review call history on calls that I have already received and disconnected from?

Press the blue button with the picture of the phone/paper or dial 333

Select the “Call History” button on the screen

Select the “Answered”, “Made” or “Missed” calls

You will now see a list that you can scroll through and select for the call you want to review date/time/ext. and phone or caller ID if it was provided

Hit close to close the screen and return to the normal phone screen

10. Can I record a phone call?

You have the ability to start recording any call using the "voicemail" feature which will start recording your conversation and dump it into the voicemail system as a message. To do this, while talking press the "infinity key - looks like a sideways #8" and then dial 385. The phone will beep and if you are on your personal extension will forward into your voicemail, if you are on a shared phone it will ask you which voicemail box you want the recording sent to…just punch in your voicemail box number.

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1. What is stormwater?

Stormwater is surface flow water from precipitation that accumulates in and flows through natural and/or man-made conveyance systems during and immediately following a storm event.

2. Why is stormwater an issue?

As stormwater travels through a conveyance system, such as catch basins, culverts, pipes, and open ditches, it collects and carries significant sources of pollution to streams, rivers and lakes. Common pollutants carried in stormwater include:

• Bacteria
• Cleaning agents
• Excess nutrients
• Grease
• Herbicides
• Industrial chemicals
• Oil and heavy metals
• Pesticides
• Salt
• Sand
• Soil/silt
• Toxins
• Trash
• Yard waste

Potential Problems

Although pollution conveyed by stormwater has historically been overlooked due to the complications associated with identifying and treating the contaminants, it is one of the most significant sources of stream and lake water quality degradation. Lack of proper stormwater management can lead to:

• Impaired water bodies which limit swimming, fishing and other forms of recreation (Lake Champlain beach closings)
• Polluted drinking water supplies (the community's stormwater discharges ultimately go to Lake Champlain which is also the source of the Town's drinking water supply)
• Increased flooding due to clogging of streams
• Degraded wildlife habitat, as erosion washes silt into streams
• Increased algal blooms in the Lake due to high levels of phosphorous and fertilizers
• Loss of tourist revenue as streams become polluted and the Lake is no longer viewed as "clean" or "environmentally safe"

3. What benefits can be expected from improved stormwater management?

• Decreased flooding; increased safety and reduced property damage
• Improved drinking water quality
• Improved surface water quality -- potential increase in recreation/tourism
• Improved wetland and estuary habitats for waterfowl / other animal life
• Improved/preserved animal habitats
• Increased viability for fish -- preservation of the fishing industry
• Land preservation due to erosion control measures -- less property loss
• Preservation of natural resources for future generations

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1. Where can I access frequently requested phone numbers?

You can access frequently requested phone numbers in the Staff Directory. The following phone numbers are some of the most frequently requested:

• Assessor: 802-878-1345 (Property Valuation)
• Chittenden Solid Waste District: 802-872-8111 (Recycling)
• Essex High School: 802-879-7121
• Essex Junction Parks and Recreation: 802-878-1375
• Essex Police Department (Non-Emergency): 802-878-8331
• Essex Town Clerk: 802-879-0413 (Marriage, Birth, Death Certificates)
• U.S. Post Office: 802-878-3085 (Essex Way) or 802-879-7794(Pearl Street)
• Vermont State Tax Department: 802-828-2865 (Homestead and Property Tax)

2. Where do I vote if I live in the Village?

Village residents vote at Essex High School. The General Election is run by the Town Clerk, early/absentee voting can be done at the Town Office. Requests for absentee ballots can be made by calling 802-879-0413.

3. What are the Village Office hours?

The Village Office is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

4. Do I live in the Village?

View the Village Street List (PDF) to see a list of Village streets in alphabetical order. If you live on one of these streets and have an Essex Junction mailing address, you live in the Village.

5. What is the difference between Essex Junction and Essex Town?

Essex Junction is an incorporated village within Essex Town.

6. What does being an incorporated village mean?

Many towns and cities have villages or sections of the community that are referred to as villages but most of them are not incorporated villages. In Vermont, an incorporated village is a legal municipality. Incorporated villages have elected governments which have the authority to raise taxes and institute and enforce municipal laws. Under state law, incorporated village governments have all the same rights and responsibilities as town and city governments.

However, incorporated villages must also be associated with a town. They remain part of that town's grand list and come under the jurisdiction of the town clerk. As long as both sides agree, villages and towns may each have their own municipal services or they may share some or all of them.

Essex Junction and Essex Town each have their own public works departments, fire departments, planning and zoning departments, and recreation departments and libraries. However, they share the same police department. Some essential government functions, such as assessing property values, are performed only by Essex Town.

7. I live in Essex Junction, so why do I pay taxes to Essex Town?

As mentioned, incorporated villages are associated with a town and remain part of that town's grand list. Essex Junction is associated with Essex Town, which means that all Essex Junction residents and businesses are part of Essex Town's grand list and, therefore, can be taxed by Essex Town.

8. If I'm being taxed by Essex Junction for municipal services delivered by the Village government and I'm also being taxed by Essex Town, what services does the Town provide?

The budget for the Essex Police Department is contained within the Essex Town budget. So are some other essential municipal services such as property assessment, elections, and vital records. For example, the deeds and titles for all the properties in Essex Junction and Essex Town are maintained by the Essex Town clerk's office.

9. If we must pay taxes to Essex Town, why not just have one local government? Wouldn't that be easier?

The present governing structure was established by the Vermont Legislature in the 19th century so that Essex Town residents outside of the village area would not have to pay for infrastructure development and municipal operations within the village area of the town. This was during a period when the village, which eventually became Essex Junction, was experiencing rapid economic development while the remainder of the town was still largely rural.

Over the last few decades, there have been a number of attempts to reorganize the local governments, but none of them have won the approval of the majority of voters in the Village and Town.

10. Are there any benefits to keeping the present local government system?

We believe that having a village government as well as a town government provides Essex Junction residents with a higher quality of municipal services at relatively low cost, compared to other communities in Chittenden County. It allows us to provide excellent street and sidewalk maintenance, excellent fire safety services, an excellent community library, and a small, accessible municipal government that has the resources and flexibility to respond to your needs.

For more information about the history and organization of Essex Junction, visit the History of Essex Junction page.

11. I don’t like sending large checks through the mail. Where do I go to pay my taxes in person and get a receipt?

You can pay all your Property taxes at either the Town office, or the Essex Junction Village offices on Lincoln Street at Five Corners. An option is also available to have your tax payments automatically withdrawn from your bank account on the due date. Access the authorization form (PDF) for that service.

12. Who do I call if I have a question about my homestead declaration and property tax adjustment?

The homestead declaration and property tax adjustment are administered through the Vermont State Tax Department. You can call the Taxpayer Services for Homestead Declaration and Property Tax Adjustment Claims number at 1-866-828-2865 (toll free in Vermont), 1-802-828-2865 (local or out-of-state), or email the Tax Department.

13. If I’m an Essex Junction resident, where do I go for a zoning permit?

You go to the Essex Junction municipal office at Five Corners. The Essex Junction Development Director and/or Assistant Zoning Administrator authorizes permits within the Village of Essex Junction.

14. Who do I call to report a problem about a street, sidewalk, sign, streetlight, hydrant, or sewer?

The best place to start is the Village office at 802-878-6944. Someone there will be able to take your call and direct the problem to the appropriate person within the Village government. If there is an emergency water or sewer problem after office hours, call the Essex Police at 802-878-8331 and they will contact the public works pager.

15. If I’m an Essex Junction resident, can I still use services in Essex Town?

Absolutely. All Essex Junction residents are also residents of Essex Town and are entitled to use all Town services and facilities, such as the Essex Free Library, the Essex Recreation Department, Indian Brook reservoir, and all Essex Town hiking and biking paths. Visit the Town website for more information.