Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Weinberger said in a statement that his family returned home around 5 p.m. to find their home had been broken into. They immediately called the police.
"I am grateful to the officers who responded quickly and professionally, and who work every day to keep Burlingtonians safe," the mayor's statement said. "I am also heartened by the messages from many neighbors who have already shared concern for our family.”
Tags: Burlington , Mayor Miro Weinberger , break-in , vandalism , crime , police , Web Only , Image
Mayor Miro Weinberger has said the 4-cent tax rate hike is necessary to address revenue shortfalls, pay for city equity initiatives and combat record-high inflation rates.
Burlington city councilors also voted Monday to place two bonds on the March 1 ballot. A $23.8 million capital bond would replace aging fire trucks and shoddy sidewalks, and a $25.9 million spending plan would upgrade a large section of Main Street in the city’s downtown tax-increment financing district.
After some debate, councilors also approved a charter change that would remove the city’s authority to regulate sex work.
Voters will also consider elections in all eight city wards, and a $98.2 million school budget, which represents a 13.1 percent increase in per-pupil spending.
Despite this, school officials anticipate a 7 percent decrease in the education tax rate, which would offset the city’s increase and result in an overall tax decrease.
Tags: Town Meeting Day , ballot items , bond vote , Burlington , taxes , sex work , charter change , Web Only , Image
Friday, January 21, 2022
The Federal Highway Administration issued its final approval, called a record of decision, on Thursday. Work could begin as soon as this summer.
Envisioned as a four-lane highway in the 1960s, the modern Champlain Parkway is a low-speed roadway meant to improve traffic flow between the city’s South End and its downtown. The route would begin at the unfinished Interstate 189 interchange on Shelburne Road, extend from Home to Lakeside avenue, then jog down Pine Street to Main.
“It is time to get this project built, deliver its benefits to the people of Burlington and the region, and demonstrate that our systems for building new public infrastructure still function,” Mayor Miro Weinberger said in a statement Friday.
Tags: Burlington , Champlain Parkway , Vermont Racial Justice Alliance , Federal Highway Administration , record of decision , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, January 18, 2022
More than 200 people registered for the virtual caucus, which featured uncontested races and several familiar faces. Incumbent councilors Zoraya Hightower (P-Ward 1) and Joe Magee (P-Ward 3) are hoping to be elected to another term, and longtime Prog Gene Bergman is running for the Ward 2 seat being vacated by outgoing Progressive City Council President Max Tracy.
Newcomers include Olivia Taylor in Ward 7 — an area of the New North End currently controlled by independent Councilor Ali Dieng — and Ali House, a social worker and University of Vermont senior who is running in the student-heavy Ward 8. The latter seat's current councilor, Jane Stromberg, announced last week that she won't seek another term.
Rounding out the potential Prog slate is FaRied Munarsyah, who will compete for the historically Democratic seat in Ward 5. Incumbent Councilor Chip Mason, a Democrat, is stepping down from that seat after a decade.
Tags: Burlington City Council , elections , Burlington Progressive Party , Town Meeting Day , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, January 12, 2022
The Prog incumbents announced their plans Wednesday evening, when two other candidates jumped in the race: Ali House is running as a Progressive for Stromberg's seat and will face Democrat-endorsed Hannah King in Ward 8. Rob Gutman, a Democrat, will challenge Hightower in Ward 1.
With Hightower in and Stromberg out, just two of the four incumbent Progs up for reelection this March are seeking another term. After serving 10 years and nearly winning the mayorship last year, City Council President Max Tracy (P-Ward 2) is not running for reelection. Councilor Joe Magee (P-Ward 3), who was elected in a special August contest, is running and will join other Prog hopefuls at the party’s nominating caucus on Tuesday, January 18.
Tags: Burlington City Council , Jane Stromberg , Zoraya Hightower , Progressives , Web Only , Image
Friday, January 7, 2022
Hanson, a former VPIRG employee, was recently accused of sexually assaulting a subordinate after a party in 2017. In a social media post last July, the anonymous accuser said Hanson initiated sexual contact when the person was incapacitated and vulnerable. Hanson, who was not a councilor at the time, allegedly told the person not to tell anyone what had happened because he could get fired.
Tags: Jack Hanson , Burlington City Council , investigation , VPIRG , Web Only , Image
Thursday, January 6, 2022
Burlington City Council President Max Tracy (P-Ward 2) said on Thursday that he will not run for reelection in March.
The current council’s longest serving Progressive, Tracy said that it's become too difficult to balance his demanding council role with his full-time work as a health care union organizer, particularly with contract negotiations looming at the University of Vermont Medical Center.
“Serving on the city council as council president, having to run for reelection while also working on the next contract in the spring, seems really untenable,” Tracy said. “I don't think I’d be able to do either role justice.”
Tags: Burlington City Council , Max Tracy , Burlington , elections , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
In a press release Tuesday afternoon, Weinberger said council Progressives had made consensus on the search process "impossible" by refusing to take steps the mayor thinks would attract a broader pool of applicants. A monthslong search has yielded just two viable hires, the mayor has said: acting Chief Jon Murad and another unnamed candidate.
Weinberger, a Democrat, said Tuesday that he'll move forward with the two applicants, and bring a finalist to the council for a vote early next year.
"It remains within the Mayor’s authority under City Charter to select and make department head appointments, and I believe it is my duty to do so urgently," Weinberger said in the statement. "The community and our police department need a permanent chief now."
Tags: Burlington , Burlington Police Department , police chief search , Mayor Miro Weinberger , Web Only , Image
The vote was just one of many on a packed city council agenda, which also included deliberations on short-term rentals, overdose-prevention sites, property tax relief and more.
The police chief resolution says the city will allocate $75,000 toward hiring a firm, which will work with a city search committee to identify a finalist by March 2022. The measure passed on a narrow 6-5 margin that fell on party lines, with independent Councilor Ali Dieng (Ward 7) joining five Progressives in favor. Councilor Perri Freeman (P-Central District) was absent.
Weinberger called the resolution "extremely disappointing." In a November memo, the mayor had also said the council should offer a higher salary range for the position; hire a recruiter and public information officer for the department; and allow the new chief to maintain authority over officer discipline.
But the Progs wouldn’t budge.
“It is very problematic and disrespectful to the people of Burlington who have serious concerns about public safety and are basically just being played games with here,” Weinberger said.
Tags: Burlington , Burlington City Council , short-term rentals , overdose-prevention sites , policing , police chief search , Web Only , Image
Sunday, December 19, 2021
The party finalized its slate Sunday night during a virtual nominating caucus for Town Meeting elections, when all eight “ward” seats are up for grabs. The council has 12 total members.
The Democratic crop includes incumbent councilors Karen Paul (D-Ward 6) and Sarah Carpenter (D-Ward 4), along with newcomers Ben Traverse in Ward 5; Aleczander Stith in Ward 7; and Hannah King in Ward 8.
All of the candidates ran unopposed in the caucus, and most vowed to address housing affordability and enact public safety reforms if elected.
Mayor Miro Weinberger, a fellow Democrat, said the choice is clear for voters.
“If voters want racial justice and public safety,” he said at the beginning of the caucus, “if voters want competent, responsible government to deliver to the people in this community, they need to elect Democrats."
Tags: Burlington City Council , Burlington , elections , Burlington Democratic Committee , caucus , Web Only , Image