[B]URLINGTON — Mayor Miro Weinberger says that city government must do more to ensure the prosperity of its residents in a time of “federal retreat” by the administration of President Donald Trump.
“Our local policies and initiatives — not fleeting federal edicts — will ultimately have the greatest impact on whether or not Burlington continues its historic role as Vermont’s city of opportunity for all,” Weinberger said in his State of the City address Monday.
The mayor said that Trump’s executive order aimed at curbing travel from several Muslim majority countries, and pausing America’s refugee program, will hurt Burlington.
For the last 30 years, nearly 300 refugees have been resettled in Burlington each year. Weinberger said immigration “has made us much more diverse and culturally rich, and has been part of Chittenden County’s economic success.”
In the coming six months, officials say only 15 new arrivals are expected because of the uncertainty created by the executive order, which is currently being litigated. Typically 175 new residents would move to Burlington over the same period, according to Weinberger.
“This is morally wrong. If allowed to continue, we will undermine all that has made this nation great,” Weinberger said.
The federal government is also “abandoning its role” in cleaning up Lake Champlain, addressing climate change, funding arts and improving policing, Weinberger said.
To counterbalance those reversals, the mayor pledged to invest in civic spaces, expand alternative transportation options and reduce the city’s energy footprint.
Weinberger announced he will hire five new Burlington police officers to aid a department that has found itself responding to the “dual crises of an opioid epidemic and a failing mental health system.”
Weinberger said the city would continue its efforts to address the overdose crisis, which is now the leading cause of accidental death in the state, with urgency through regional partnerships.
His budget proposal includes money for “specialized equipment and the professional education” to create a team of officers who will respond to “complex and dangerous” mental health calls, Weinberger said.
Burlington Police were criticized for killing a mentally ill elderly man armed with knives in his bathroom after a protracted standoff last year. Police say the number of mental health calls continue to grow at an alarming rate, and people can’t get help when they need it.
Weinberger said the city is investing in police because the way government is structured in Vermont, social services for the mentally ill are provided by the state. It’s not a role the city is equipped to take on, he said.
Weinberger said he would make the hires without raising municipal taxes in his upcoming budget proposal. It will be the fifth time in six years that Weinberger has kept taxes flat.
That’s possible, in part, because the new police officers are largely paid for by a federal grant the city has already received, and much of the infrastructure improvements Weinberger promised will be paid for with proceeds from the sale of bonds approved by voters in November.
The mayor touted Burlington’s success courting “major new investments in downtown homes and our innovative economy,” saying that when local government creates “barriers to opportunity and investment” that increases inequality.
With the help of the City Council and voters, Burlington has begun to reverse trends that led to unaffordable rents and sprawl in the suburbs. “When we resist growth…we force the middle class, the poor, the young, and minorities out of Burlington,” the mayor said.
Weinberger offered an olive branch to his critics who have said he is too focused on developments he’s supported — namely the Town Center project — that they say will disproportionately benefit the wealthy.
“It is important that we listen carefully to these voices of concern,” the mayor said.
In remarks to reporters after the speech, Weinberger could not say, specifically, how he would make sure those voices are heard going forward. A majority of voters supported his vision for downtown.
The mayor also said he would take steps to improve the quality of emergency response while reducing response times, he said.
He said he would bring a proposal to the City Council later this month to hire three new firefighters, increasing their ranks for the first time in 15 years. He said that two-thirds of the cost for the new hires will come from savings on overtime pay for current firefighters.
Burlington is moving forward with a regional dispatch system. Weinberger pledged to have an item on the next Town Meeting Day ballot requesting voter approval. He urged neighboring towns to follow suit.
After the mayor’s speech, the City Council unanimously elected Councilor Jane Knodell, P-Central District, to another term as council president. Newly elected councilor Richard Deane, D-East District, was sworn in alongside returning incumbents from the other district seats.
Deane replaces outgoing City Councilor Selene Colburn, a Progressive, who now serves in the Vermont House of Representatives.
