Dear Neighbors,
This coming Monday, the City Council will hold its second of three meetings for the month of June. We will begin our meeting at 7pm with an annual report from the Fire and Planning Commissions.
We have a fairly lengthy deliberative agenda.
• We will hold a public hearing on three proposed development ordinance changes, the first is regarding density in the Residential-Low Density zone and the other two in regard to commercial use changes to the Enterprise – Light Manufacturing Zone (E-LM) in the South End along Industrial Avenue. These changes are being proposed in response to a desire by Burton to offer space to Higher Ground in a building presently under-utilized by Burton.
• The next five resolutions are regarding the adoption of the Mayor's Recommended Municipal Budget and authorizing the tax rate and annual borrowing.
• The first resolution asks the Council to formally approve the annual appropriation and budget for Fiscal Year 2020. The resolution details the uses of unexpended balances from prior years, current year fund balances, describes new initiatives and funding sources, employee health insurance costs, how the City's retirement plan contribution will be funded and details fees for the Early Learning Initiative, inspections and permitting. As in past years under this Administration, the resolution, which is 7 pages long offers a complete and comprehensive financial overview of the City's budget for the next year.
• The next resolution will adopt the City's tax rate for the FY20 year. The total Municipal tax rate is $0.8717 per $100 of assessed value on each property in the City. The resolution lists the 14 individual taxes for all City services.
• The next resolution is regarding the investment of the unassigned fund balance to improve City services and drive operational efficiencies. This will include additional sidewalk work among several other projects and priorities.
• The last two resolutions are bonding authorizations. The first will authorize the City to issue public improvement bonds for FY20. The City annually issues $7 million of improvement bonds. $2 million are for the City, $3 million for BED and $2 million for the Schools. The second bonding resolution is the approval of the issuance of Grant Anticipation Notes for costs for certain Airport improvement projects of at least $7 million. Due to the timing of when the Airport receives Federal funds for these projects and when the projects begin to require funding, the City issues short-term notes in anticipation of receiving the Federal monies.
• There are two remaining resolutions on our agenda. The first is a resolution regarding City Council Expense reimbursement and the last resolution is regarding a request for a report from the Burlington Police Department on creating a mental health and wellness unit.
Please keep in mind that you are always welcome to come to a Council meeting and speak on any topic you wish during public forum. This begins at a time certain of 7:30pm at every Council meeting. You may access the Council agenda at http://www.boarddocs.com/vt/burlingtonvt/Board.nsf/Public Please note that all Council meetings are televised live on BT Channel 317 and streamed live to your computer or phone. Please go to youtube and type in "Burlington City Council meetings" and the live stream will come up.
As always, I welcome your questions and concerns. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
My best,
Karen
Oct 26 to 27, 2024
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