Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Rep. Jason Lorber, D-Burlington. He is serving his 4th term in the Vermont House of Representatives.
Burlington is one of the world’s great cities. But we urgently need change. We must restore trust, return to fiscal prudence, and revitalize all that makes Burlington the amazing, sustainable place we love.
The first order of business is to restore trust. Saying that Burlington’s government had a few missteps over the past several years is a severe understatement. It’s time to clean house and infuse city government with fresh, hard-working, innovative public servants, including point people from the business community. We need to create a new team of leaders who bring a clean perspective on fixing our problems, while reaching a new level of government transparency and accountability.
The basic approach? Returning to stability and predictability, including paying attention to our bottom-line financial fundamentals. Job No. 1 is addressing Burlington Telecom, which has been a disaster, frankly. Key decisions were made out of the public eye. Building costs were bloated. Oversight was lax. Trust frayed. The reverberations of the BT scandal extend throughout the city, hurting our bond rating, threatening our airport and schools, and undermining our finances. But we can fix this. There is a path out of this mess. That approach should be honest and open, and involve more than just one corner of City Hall. It must involve private partners, a continued stake from the city, and increased usage by Burlington residents. My household is a Burlington Telecom family, and we must bring in more families to reap its benefits. Doing so will strengthen the BT network as well as our community network. It will take a studied, smart approach.
As we restore trust, we must also restore pride in Burlington as a sustainable destination city, filled with art and entrepreneurial culture. Sustainability includes not just our focus on the environment, the green economy and buying local. It also means looking at our pension funds, and planning long-term to create an economic zone of vitality that expands our tax base, and celebrates what makes Burlington unique.
My family and I love Burlington. I refuse to stand by and see Burlington lose its financial footing and golden reputation. We have to learn from the last several years, and continually set our sights higher. The goal should never be to just squeak by. Rather, we can and should be an example to the rest of the world of just how extraordinary a city can be.
