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The Burlington, Vermont City Council’s Board of Finance held a special session Monday evening to review two items. The panel reviewed the proposed 2022 budget, which includes some federal COVID relief funds, and discussed the status of a citywide property reappraisal.
Burlington officials expect to receive $27 million in American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, federal relief funds. During a special meeting of the Board of Finance, which is comprised of city councilors, there was a presentation on budget goals and principles and an outline of how the funds could be used. Mayor Miro Weinberger, a Democrat, expects there will be some discomfort with the amount of ARPA funds and said part of the reason for the meeting is to help determine how much of the federal dollars should be used in the 2022 budget.
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The Burlington, Vermont City Council met this week and approved several routine ordinance changes. Councilors also heard an update on police transformation initiatives and discussed what to do about graffiti in the city center.
Tension between the city of Burlington, activists and the police department has built for over a year. A Police Transformation Joint Committee was formed at the end of June 2020. It has hired consultants to review policing and draft strategies for policing in Burlington. During Monday’s meeting committee chair Ward 1 Progressive Zoraya Hightower updated interactions with consultants.
“They’re really supposed to be getting community feedback, Hightower said. They’re supposed to draft a strategy for continuous community input into a methodical transition to public safety. Switching to CNA, is a larger contract. They’re supposed reevaluate the public safety needs in Burlington and reassess the role of BPD (Burlington Police Department).
Unemployment rate falls another tenth to 3.1 percent
The Vermont Department of Labor has reported that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for February was 3.1 percent. This reflects a decrease of one-tenth of one percentage point from the prior month’s revised estimate of 3.2 percent. The comparable United States rate in February was 6.2 percent, which was a decrease of one-tenth of one percentage point from the revised January estimate. The decline is largely due to a sharp decrease in the Labor Force from January. The number of unemployed also fell. Both the Labor Force and total Employed represent about 30,000 fewer workers than a year ago, which was pre-pandemic.
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On Town Meeting Day, Burlington, Vermont voters elected one new city councilor and re-elected three councilors and the mayor. They were sworn in Monday and the mayor delivered his state of the city address, which focused on racial justice efforts.
The first item on the Burlington City Council’s organization day agenda tasked city attorney Eileen Blackwood with swearing in Democratic Mayor Miro Weinberger to his fourth three-year term. “Mr. Weinberger would you please rise and raise your right hand?”
Weinberger: “Under the pains and penalties of perjury I Miro Weinberger do solemnly swear and affirm that I will faithfully execute the duties of the office of mayor to the best of my judgement and abilities according to law.”
Tue, 04/06/2021 - 8:39am tim
In annual State of the City address, Mayor Weinberger asks all Burlington residents to imagine a future where we have eliminated racial disparities and where everyone in the Burlington community feels true belonging
Vermont Business Magazine Monday night, Mayor Miro Weinberger virtually delivered the annual State of the City address, during which he reported that the State of the City is one of great hope. Mayor Weinberger outlined how over the past year, Burlingtonians have worked together to contain the virus as well as any City in America, and how, with the end of the pandemic in sight, Burlington is ready to take on the opportunities ahead and emerge from this time of historic challenge as a healthier, greener, more equitable, and more racially just community.