Wednesday, May 21, 2014
The Shelburne resident and retired Bear Stearns executive said that while he "did give it careful consideration," he came to the conclusion that a bid for public office would detract from the mission of his nonprofit political advocacy group.
"I was concerned that a candidacy would undermine the nonpartisan nature of Campaign for Vermont," Lisman said. "Instead of highlighting good ideas and solutions to problems we recognized, it would instead obscure them."
Since founding CFV in 2011 and investing more than a million dollars in the organization, Lisman has been seen as a possible political contender. He said Wednesday he had spoken to "a large number of groups" over the past few months about the possibility of challenging Shumlin.
"I did take seriously those people who asked me to run and did give it considerable thought, and learned a considerable amount about the political process along the way," he said. "Some wanted to have, if you will, a performance evaluation of the governor through my candidacy."
Tags: politics , election 2014 , Image , Web Only
Monday, May 19, 2014
In just two weeks — on June 3 — Burlington residents will decide whether to support a $67.4 million budget, which comes with a 7.2 percent tax increase. Until now, Weinberger withheld his endorsement, announcing in April that he wouldn't support the budget unless Superintendent Jeanne Collins was removed from her post.
Since Town Meeting Day, the school district has been embroiled in budget-related controversies, set off by the discovery that serious errors led to multi-million dollar deficits.
On May 13, Weinberger got his way when the school board and Collins announced a settlement agreement that will send Collins packing on June 30, with $225,000 in severance pay. Now, one week later, he's decided to throw his weight behind the board's new budget.
Tags: Miro Weinberger , Burlington School Board , Jeanne Collins , Town Meeting Day , Image , Web Only
Friday, May 16, 2014
Up until a few days ago, it was just the city and the school district agreeing to get to the bottom of the legal quandary at some point down the road.
Now, the state has upped the ante. The school district’s lawyer, Joe McNeil, informed the board that on Wednesday, the Agency of Education (AOE) gave the district an ultimatum: Voluntarily give up that revenue, starting in Fiscal Year 2016, or risk having to pay back the state for the previous years it had received it.
The revenues in question are the “payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT)” that Burlington’s publicly- owned utilities give to the city instead of paying property taxes. In accordance with city charter, the city then divvies up that revenue, 50-50, with the school district.
Tags: Burlington School Board , Agency of Education , Miriam Stoll , David Larcombe , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
"After a great deal of thought and consideration over the last two months, I have decided that I will not run for Vermont Governor this year," she said in a written statement. "Given the incredible support and encouragement I have received from Vermonters all over the state, this decision was a very difficult one, but it is simply not the right time for me."
The four-term state rep emerged as a leading potential candidate to challenge the two-term Democratic incumbent, Peter Shumlin. A former aide to retired U.S. senator Jim Jeffords, Scheuermann was viewed as a political moderate who, while lacking widespread name recognition and a deep donor base, could have run a strong campaign.
Tags: Heidi Scheuermann , Image , Web Only
Sunday, May 11, 2014
House Speaker Shap Smith (D-Morristown) gaveled Vermont's legislative biennium to a close early Saturday evening after the House and Senate signed off on a $5.5 billion budget and $5.5 million in new taxes.
"We have done incredible work this year," Smith said.
Gov. Peter Shumlin echoed the point in a speech he delivered to both chambers as they prepared to adjourn, calling the two-year period "one of the most productive and successful in recent memory."
"I'm extraordinarily proud of the work you have done, and I hope you are, too," the governor said.
Like much of this year's legislative session, Saturday's finale was subdued and efficient. Lawmakers put the final touches on bills promoting economic development, banning drugged driving and helping low-income Vermonters move off state assistance. They overwhelmingly approved budget and tax deals worked out late Friday night.
Tags: Vermont legislature , biennium , Shap Smith , Peter Shumlin , Image , Web Only
Friday, May 9, 2014
The first meeting last nearly three hours, ending just before 11 p.m. The second was shorter — board members met for a little over an hour.
The publicly stated purpose of these executive sessions was "discussion of appointment or employment or evaluation of a public employee." That's left Burlington residents speculating that Superintendent Jeanne Collins could be the subject of the confidential talks. Mayor Miro Weinberger and several city councilors have encouraged the board to sever ties with Collins, but so far board members have stayed mum about whether they plan to heed those calls. As long as there is no action taken, the public isn't privy to the content of those meetings, so there's no way to determine whether Collins' tenure has been under discussion.
During both evenings, the occasional crescendo of raised voices suggested that the topic at hand was contentious, but beyond that, those sitting on the other side of the door have had little to go on. Open meeting law prohibits the board from making any formal decisions during an executive session, but in both cases the meetings were adjourned immediately afterward. The board's next regularly meeting is Tuesday, May 13.
Tags: Burlington School Board , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
On this particular morning, there was plenty of news to discuss: Fewer than 48 hours earlier, Weinberger had called for Burlington School District Superintendent Jeanne Collins to step down, as a result of a series of school budget blunders that have recently come to light. Collins responded by saying the mayor was out of line to call for her ouster.
Tags: Miro Weinberger , Jeanne Collins , Burlington City Council , Image , Web Only
Friday, April 25, 2014
A beleaguered but nearly unified Burlington School Board approved a $67.4 million budget Thursday evening — its second offering after voters struck down a $66.9 million version on Town Meeting Day.
It’s scheduled to go before voters on June 3.*
In the meantime, board members have some explaining to do. The new budget is higher than the previous budget that was soundly rejected for being too costly, and it contains bigger cuts than the original.
That’s because the board recently discovered the earlier budget had been calculated based on "bad numbers," as school board member Kyle Dodson phrased it, that would have put Burlington on pace to end fiscal year 2015 with a $2.5 million deficit. This news came after a recent audit, which also estimated that the district will end FY 2014 with a $2.5 million deficit, making it the third year in a row that it’s overspent.
The problem, according to the audit, was that the administration was drawing up budgets based on the previous year’s projected budget rather than the actual spending that occurred. It was, in the words of the new finance committee chair, Miriam Stoll, a “shocking” discovery.
Tags: Burlington School Board , Jeanne Collins , Burlington City Council , IRS , Image , Web Only
Monday, April 21, 2014
Lisa M. Peduzzi, 51, of Plainfield, pleaded not guilty to five counts of embezzlement and one count of attempted embezzlement on Monday morning in Chittenden Superior Court before she was released on $10,000 bail.
When she was arrested outside her home last Friday, Peduzzi told Vermont State Police investigators that she "deserves whatever she gets and that she will pay back the state, even if it takes until she is 90," according to a Vermont State Police affidavit.
Meanwhile, court documents provide new details of her alleged scheme, which Peduzzi told investigators was motivated by financial troubles. At one point the power company threatened to shut off electricity to her double-wide trailer home, which is now in foreclosure.
Tags: embezzlement , Image , Web Only
That's the main — if not terribly surprising — takeaway from a newly released poll conducted earlier this month by the Castleton Polling Institute on behalf of VTDigger.
The poll, which queried 682 Vermonters over the course of a week, found that 49 percent approve of "the job Peter Shumlin is doing as governor of Vermont," while 40 percent disapprove. Eleven percent said they weren't sure or didn't have an opinion. The poll's margin of error was +/-4 percent.
So what does it mean?