A KEY ELEMENT OF LOCAL DEMOCRACY UNDER THREAT
Reposted -- by former Burlington Planning Commission Chair, Wayne Senville
Summary: Our City Council will be voting on Monday, Jan. 28th on whether to place an advisory question about City Hall Park's future on the March ballot. There is a public forum at 7:30 pm. I urge you to attend and ask the Council to honor the request of 3,300 Burlington voters who signed a petition calling for this question to be put on the ballot. I also urge you to contact your City Councilors. Their contact info is at: https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/CityCouncil -- or email the full Council: CityCouncil@burlingtonVT.gov
----- I've posted previously on FPF about major problems with the Mayor's proposed plan for City Hall Park. I'm not going to talk about the pros and cons of the Plan now. What I do want to discuss is a serious threat to a key element of local democracy that will be at issue at our City Council's Jan. 28th meeting.
As some of you know, a local volunteer group, Keep the Park Green (KTPG), has mounted a petition drive to put on the March ballot an advisory question asking the Mayor and Council to cancel the proposed plan for City Hall Park.
Here's the straightforward wording of the petition:
"We, the undersigned voters of the City of Burlington hereby petition our City Council to warn the advisory resolution below for a Town Meeting vote:
Whereas, City Hall Park needs work, but the city's current redevelopment plan removes approximately 40% of the trees and increases paved area to cover about 1/3 of the park, at an estimated cost of $4 million; Shall we, the citizens of Burlington, advise the Mayor and City Council to:
A) cancel the current plan for City Hall Park that was approved by the City Council on 6-25-18; and
B) instead, repair, maintain, and improve the Park by preserving more existing trees and shaded areas, repairing grass and existing walkways, increasing lighting and benches, and retaining the historic character of the Park?"
------- Over 3,300 Burlington voters have signed their names to this petition -- far in excess of the 1,999 voter threshold. Consider that 12,064 Burlington voters cast ballots last March (and there was a heated Mayoral race on the ballot). 3,300 signatures is over 25% of the total of those who voted last March, a truly huge number to sign a petition in our city.
Vermont law specifically allows for the use of citizen petitions. Title 17, Section 2642 of the VT Statutes: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/17/055/02642
It is with great disappointment that we have learned that our Mayor and several members of the City Council have already announced they will refuse to place this petition and question on the ballot. This is an exercise in raw political power. In past years, Burlington Mayors and Council members have honored citizen petition drives that have met the very high threshold of required signatures.
The City Council will be voting at its Jan. 28th meeting on whether to put the City Hall Park advisory question on the ballot. The Council's choice will be whether or not to respect thousands of Burlington voters. We can keep local democracy alive & strong in Burlington, or we can head down the road taken in some states where democratic values are ignored.
Former State Rep Suzi Wizowaty recently wrote to our City Councilors:
"Dear neighbors on the council (we are all neighbors in this small town), I assume that of course you will honor the process no matter how uncomfortable it makes you, to let voters have a say in the decision about the park plan. I would be shocked if you determined otherwise. … I hope you will remember our shared passion for 'citizen' democracy ..."
----- The City Council just voted unanimously to put another advisory question on the ballot, on the use of single-use plastic bags. This was not based on the request of thousands of citizens, but on the Council's own initiative (that is, there was no citizen petition). I have no problem with the Council's putting the plastics issue on the ballot to get voters' advice. But isn't there even more reason to ask for the voters' advice on the future of City Hall Park, when 3,300 voters have requested it be put on the ballot?
I urge you call or email the Mayor & City Council, and copy KTPG:
Mayor@burlingtonVT.gov
CityCouncil@burlingtonVT.gov
keep.the.park.green@gmail.com
-- and consider giving an hour of your time to be at the Council meeting at City Hall on Mon., Jan. 28th, and say a word in support of local democracy during the 7:30 pm "public forum" part of the meeting. (Arrive at 7 pm; to sign up to speak, go to the table on the left side of the room. Keep your comments under 2 minutes).
When it comes to local democracy, even in a great city like Burlington, we need to remain vigilant.