An Update from City Councilors Zoraya HighTower, Gene Bergman, and Joe Magee--

The Progressive Caucus has been working hard to implement effective community safety measures, strengthen our local democracy, reduce emissions, protect tenants, and reduce the cost of housing. To that end, there are a number of charter changes on the ballot this Town Meeting Day, and we’d like to share some information as well as our position on a few of them.

2024 School Budget (Article 1) - We support this measure with caveats

Voters will be asked to vote on the School Budget for 2024. This budget could produce an increase of 4.03% in the property tax. While we need to invest in public education, this potential increase highlights the need for serious changes to our education funding system to ease the burden on working families, and folks on a fixed income. More to come on tax reform measures!

Carbon Pollution Impact Fee on Big Industrial & Commercial Buildings (Article 2) - We support this measure with caveats

If approved, industrial and commercial buildings over 50,000 square feet would be required to pay an impact fee for their pollution that the city would use to help us get off of fossil fuels and benefit low and middle income neighbors. However, there is still work to do, to ensure the fuel sources BED defines as "renewable" or "clean" are actually low-carbon emitting.

Redistricting for City Council and School Board elections (Article 3) - We support an all wards model

Voters will be asked to approve a new ward/district map following the outcome of the 2020 Census. This was a long and difficult process, and many of the changes that community members advocated for didn’t make it into the map that will be on the Town Meeting Day ballot. The Council heard extensively from residents throughout the city that we should get rid of the district model in favor of two councilors per ward. That vote failed on party lines with Progressives in support. Click here for more information.

All legal resident voting in local elections (Article 4) - We support this critical reform

If approved by voters and the legislature, all legal residents would be eligible to vote for and run for Mayor, City Council, School Board, and City Election Officers. and also vote on local ballot items. Voters in Winooski and Montpelier have approved this already. Click here for more information.

Flexibility in the siting of polling places (Article 5) - We support this critical reform

This would authorize the City Council to choose a polling place outside of a ward if a more accessible location is available in close proximity to the ward. Current charter requires elections to be conducted within each ward. Size of a site, parking, accessibility, and competition with other uses have all been issues the Council has had to confront when deciding on polling places. Finding suitable polling sites within a newly drawn ward has also been an issue when the council considers redistricting.

Ranked choice voting (RCV – Article 6) - We support this critical reform

RCV for City Council races garnered 64.44% support in 2021. This charter change would expand RCV to include elections for Mayor, School Commissioners, Ward Clerks and Inspectors of Elections. The VT Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) championed this expansion as, “a simple way to strengthen our democracy by making elections fairer and more functional...”

Independent Police Review Board (Article 7) - We support this critical reform

Currently, Burlington’s police chief has the sole authority to discipline or fire officers who commit misconduct, and the Police Commission has a very limited role in reviewing officer discipline. This has resulted in the absence of any meaningful consequences when officers who have committed serious crimes or egregious violence while on duty are allowed to continue serving on the force, with full pay, which undermines the credibility of the entire department. This proposal would create an independent citizen review board to backstop investigations of police use of excessive force and other misconduct. If allegations are proven, the Board could discipline or remove officers over the Chief’s objections.

“Proposition Zero” (Article 8) - We support this critical reform

On Town Meeting Day across Vermont, voters can petition to adopt or repeal local ordinances or resolutions, then vote directly on those changes. If adopted, this would change the city charter to allow citizen referendums on voter-initiated ballot items. This would eliminate the ’middleman’ of the city council choosing which issues are allowed to reach the city ballot, giving voters the opportunity to decide local issues directly by popular vote.

Progressives have been advocating for a robust public safety system

We imagine a Burlington where all of us feel and experience safety. We can’t achieve this simply through increasing resources (i.e. recruiting more police) or enacting more harsh penalties in the criminal-legal system. We need to recognize root causes, acknowledge and repair racial and cultural disparities, and use innovative strategies that center the needs of survivors and victims, while fostering change and accountability for people who cause harm in our community. For more information & to read our full platform click here.

1. Prevent Gun Violence
2. Increase Capacity for Alternative Responders
3. Address Root Causes
4. Increase support for survivors and victims ofviolent crime
5. Establish transparency and community control of police
6. Eliminate racial disparities in policing
7. Evaluate police staffing and retention

Town Meeting Day is coming - here's how to vote!

Polling places will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Election day, Tuesday, March 7th All registered votersin Burlington will be mailed a ballot by February 15th. Click here for more information.

For additional information on what's on the ballot this year, how to vote, or to read our full public safety platform visit this link! As always, please don't hesitate to reach out to us with ideas, questions, or feedback!

With Appreciation,
Zoraya Hightower, zhightower@burlingtonvt.gov, (P) Ward 1 City Councilor
Joe Magee, jmagee@burlingtonvt.gov, (P) Ward 3 City Councilor
Gene Bergman, gbergman@burlingtonvt.gov, (P) Ward 2 City Councilor