Dear Neighbors,
This coming Monday, the City Council will convene its second of two meetings for the month of June.
You are welcome to attend the Council meeting in person at Contois Auditorium OR Remotely via ZOOM at the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82699082970
or by phone 1 929 205 6099 Webinar ID: 826 9908 2970
You can also join us via Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLljLFn4BZd2PwCge7lNoKug676jIf_iUA
You can sign up for public forum via this link: https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/citycouncil/publicforum or in person by completing a sign up form inside Contois.
We will begin our meeting at 5:30pm with two executive sessions, one regarding collective bargaining and the other regarding the lease between the city and BETA Technologies. Each of these executive sessions will take approximately 30 minutes so we expect to be back in open session at 6:30pm.
Once out of executive session, we will have a presentation from the School Department and Board leadership regarding the BHS/BTC 2025 project. This project has been the subject of much discussion and planning by the Department and Board and there are plans to come forward with a financial plan that will include bonding on the November 2022 ballot. As a city, we want to collaborate on this important generational project that is critical to our community.
Following public forum which will begin immediately following the school presentation and discussion, and any climate emergency reports, we have a number of items on our deliberative agenda:
• We will be voting to ratify and authorize the mayor to execute a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the City and the IBEW for a four year period from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2026. The IBEW Local 300 represents the unionized workers at the Burlington Electric Department. This is the first of our four unions that we have reached agreement with.
• We will move on to commission and board appointments. The Boards and Commissions Committee of the Council who takes the lead on this task did their job and did it well, working in collaboration to develop a slate of candidates such that unless a councilor takes a candidate off the slate, there will be no votes on individual seats from the floor. We are grateful for the many community members who applied to serve on these committees, to all who serve and hope those who do not get appointed will re-apply in the future.
• Our next item will be a communication from the mayor regarding a market factor adjustment for the Director of Aviation position. We are currently managing a search for this position and want to be sure our salary range is in line with industry standards given the size and financial parameters of our airport.
• Perhaps the most important vote the Council takes all year is our vote on the mayor's recommended budget, setting the funding for city services and our community's priorities for the coming year. The Council has been meeting with the Administration since early May to discuss the budget, department heads and staff have met with the council to review their budget over 4 meetings in mid-May. We will be voting on the budget and the tax rate for the next year on Monday evening. Please check out the budget details at https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/CT/Budgets/Fiscal-Year-2023-Budget
• We have several resolutions authorizing short-term borrowing, capital borrowing, revenue anticipation borrowing and other annual borrowing following the approval of the budget.
• Our last item on our deliberative agenda is regarding Short-term Rentals. Under newly proposed regulations, hosts will be able to register one short-term rental. Most short-term rentals will have to be within the same building or lot as the host's primary residence. The new regulations will also dedicate new lodging tax revenues to the City's Housing Trust Fund, which will support affordable housing development. We have been talking about this issue for over two years; I am hopeful that the proposal before the Council will strike the right balance between the benefits of short-term rentals and the need to preserve and expand upon long-term housing options and can receive the Council's approval.
I would encourage you to check out our agenda on board docs at 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.
It's the wonderful month of June and summer is now officially upon us. Warm weather and sunny skies this weekend – perfect for just about anything outdoors.
I wish you a wonderful weekend.
My best,
Karen
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RunVermont Summer 6 PackJul 10, 4:45 PM to 6 PM, Jul 15, 2024
Save the Date: Brass Band Dance Party!Jul 11, 2024, 7 to 11 PM