Dear Neighbors,

Starting at 5:30pm on Tuesday, January 16, the City Council will meet for the first time in 2024. The meeting may be attended in-person at City Hall or online via Zoom at: https://zoom.us/j/95467806511.

Public forum will take place at 7:30pm. You can sign-up for public forum in-person at City Hall or online here: https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/citycouncil/publicforum.

At the beginning of the meeting, from 5:30pm to 6:15pm, we will hear from the Burlington School District on their proposed budget for the Town Meeting Day ballot. The impact of the high school bond will start to be felt in this year's budget and this should be an informative discussion.

After this discussion with BSD, there will be an expected executive session on various contractual agreements between the City and Cambrian Rise, the City Place development partners, and the UVM Medical Center. Once these draft agreements are finalized, they will be made available to the public for feedback prior to any vote.

There are three items on our deliberative agenda:

--> PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENTS - the City Council will hold a first public hearing on two proposed charter changes. One proposed charter change would allow the Burlington Electric Department greater borrowing capacity, which may improve the utility's credit rating and benefit ratepayers. The second proposed charter change includes provisions on a new police oversight model. This second proposal still requires additional feedback from our Police Commission and other vital stakeholders, and it may be postponed for consideration on a later date.

--> ARPA FUNDING FOR HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS - during the COVID-19 pandemic, the City received a significant amount of federal funds through the America Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The City is asking that the Council approve our dedicating nearly $2 million in ARPA funds for permanently affordable housing units at the Post Apartments to be constructed at the corner of Main & South Winooski, and at Cambrian Rise along North Avenue.

--> BURLINGTON/WINOOSKI BRIDGE - the City Council will receive an update from the State and its project manager on early efforts to redesign and construct a new bridge between Burlington and Winooski.

As always, I welcome your feedback or questions on any of the above, or any other City issues.

Best regards,
Ben Traverse
Ward 5 City Councilor
btraverse@burlingtonvt.gov
(802) 357-2055

Event Info

Nov 10, 2024, 10 to 11 AM

Nov 15, 2024, 6:15 to 8:30 PM

Nov 16, 2024, 9 AM to 2 PM