Dear Neighbors,

This coming Monday, the City Council will convene its first of two regular meetings for the month of December.

Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82197077517
or by phone 1 929 205 6099 Webinar ID: 821 9707 7517

You can also join us via Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLljLFn4BZd2PwCge7lNoKug676jIf_iUA

To participate in Public Forum in person you can sign up at the meeting or participate via ZOOM via this link: https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/citycouncil/publicforum

Following a work session on the great work of the Burlington Community Justice Center from 6:15 to 7pm, the Council meeting will begin at 7pm.

Our meeting will begin with any climate emergency reports and then move to our deliberative agenda which includes:

• A communication on the Pupil Weighting Factors Report. We will be signing on to a letter that will be sent to the Vermont House and Senate leadership along with our Burlington, Winooski representatives and Chittenden County senators, regarding this report. The Pupil Weighting Factors Report of 2019 determined unequivocally that Vermont currently and substantially undercounts students who live in poverty and multi-language learners for the purpose of allocating education funds. A task force was formed to work on this issue. While we understand this issue is highly charged, for too long, communities like Burlington have not received our equitable share of education funds. The letter calls on our leaders in the legislature to pivot back to their charge and to create a plan to implement the Report's recommendations. The legislature is the body who commissioned this Report published in 2019 and it is long past time that a path for implementation is created.

• We will be voting on two resolutions Monday evening. They are both regarding Charter changes. The first is concerning Councilor compensation. The Charter change would mean that Councilor compensation, currently at $5,000 a year, would no longer be decided by Charter. It would be voted on by the Council just as the mayor's compensation is voted on in the annual budget by the Council. The voters would be voting on this Charter change on Town Meeting Day, March 1, 2022.

• The second Charter change concerns sex workers. As per the current Charter language, the Council has the power to restrain and suppress 'houses of ill fame and disorderly houses' nd to punish prostitutes and persons consorting therewith. The Charter change would remove this language from our Charter. This change is to address the health and safety of sex workers, and allow workers to feel more safe in reporting violence, as well as increasing safety for LGBTQ workers who are disproportionately stigmatized and less likely to seek police protection and healthcare. Again, the voters would be voting on this Charter change on the Town Meeting Day ballot. This Monday is the last day to present any Charter changes for consideration on the March ballot.

I encourage you to use the following link to finding all these agenda items and supporting documents:

http://www.boarddocs.com/vt/burlingtonvt/Board.nsf/Public

As always, I welcome your questions, concerns, and comments, so please be in touch. Your voice matters and I am grateful for your input.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

My best,
Karen

Coffee with a City Councilor at Chamberlin School

Oct 5, 2024, 9 to 10 AM

Arch – Flynn Main Stage

Oct 6, 2024, 5 PM

Arch — Mount Philo State Park

Oct 11, 2024, 5 PM