[Q]ueen City voters head to the polls for Tuesday’s Town Meeting Day with four competitive city council elections, a robust school budget and a handful of charter changes proposal.
In Winooski, voters will be selecting a new mayor, and South Burlington voters will be weighing an increased local option tax to fund several major projects and a new rental car tax to fund infrastructure repairs.
Here’s a rundown of the issues voters in Burlington, South Burlington and Winooski will be considering.
Burlington
City Council — Four of the 12 seats on the Burlington City Council are on the ballot Tuesday. The Progressive Party sees an opportunity to pick up seats, as three of the seats on the ballot are currently held by Democrats.
In the North District, Democrat Franklin Paulino is facing off with Kienan Christianson, who was endorsed by the Progressive Party but is running as an independent.
In the Central District, longtime incumbent Progressive Jane Knodell is running as an independent after losing the Progressive Party’s endorsement to community organizer Perri Freeman. Democrat Jared Carter is also running.
The East District race pits one-term incumbent Richard Deane against Progressive Jack Hanson.
Longtime Democratic incumbent Joan Shannon is facing Progressive Mohamed Jafar and independent Paco DeFrancis, the former chair of the Burlington Republican Party, in the South District.
School Budget – Burlington voters will be considering a $88.7 million school budget for the 2019-20 school year. This is a 4.3 percent increase over the current year, and residents will be voting on a 4.8 percent tax increase.
The budget includes new funding for English language teachers, kindergarten paraprofessionals and special education teachers. Superintendent Yaw Obeng told VTDigger that the district was prioritizing its efforts to close the achievement gap in this year’s budget.
School Board Elections — Four seats on the Burlington School Board are up for election, and none of the elections are contested.
Incumbent commissioners Jean Waltz in the Central District and Kathy Olwell in the East District are up for re-election. So is Jeff Wick, the vice chair of the School Board, in the South District.
In the North District, incumbent Mark Barlow is stepping aside, and Kendra Sowers is running unopposed to replace him.
Tax Changes — Questions 2 and 5 on Burlington’s ballot are about the city’s taxes.
Question 2 on the ballot would allow the city to increase its overall city tax rate by 1.5 percent for general city services. Question 5 eliminates the city’s personal business property tax.
Permit Reform –– The third question on the Burlington ballot aims to fix the city’s complicated permitting process by creating a Department of Permitting and Inspection.
The charter change will also give the mayor the power to appoint the zoning administrator and planning director. The volunteer citizen Planning Commission currently has appointment power of the director for the Department of Planning and Zoning.
While no councilors questioned the need for reform, two councilors voted against putting permit reform on the ballot. Councilors Sharon Bushor and Dave Hartnett argued that they did not see the need for the mayor to gain appointment power.
Other councilors argued that giving the mayor appointment power would make the position more accountable.
Downtown Improvement District — Ballot item 4, the Downtown Improvement District, has emerged as the most contentious ballot item.
Proponents believe the proposal will improve the area around Church Street and help the downtown stay competitive with online retail and emerging downtowns in Winooski and South Burlington.
Opponents fear that the DID will raise rents and exclude the city’s homeless population from the downtown. They also oppose the DID for privatizing services currently offered by a city department, the Church Street Marketplace Department.
Plastic Bag Ban — The final question on the ballot is an advisory question which asks voters if the city council should pursue an ordinance which would ban or reduce the use of single-use plastic bags, stirrers, straws and styrofoam.
As an advisory question, the item is non-binding and will simply inform the council moving forward.
Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. To find polling places, go to Burlington’s election page.
Winooski
Mayor — Winooski voters will be choosing a new mayor on Tuesday. City councilors Eric Covey and Kristine Lott are seeking to replace Seth Leonard, who resigned in January to avoid a conflict of interest with a new job.
Both candidates are highlighting their work experience in their campaigns. Covey is the chief of staff for Secretary of State Jim Condos, and Lott is a business analyst at a nonprofit.
Parking Garage — Voters are also considering whether to give a green light to a $9.7 million, 300-car parking garage on Abenaki Way. The garage would be fully paid for by its users, and would not come at an additional cost for Winooski taxpayers.
Winooski residents vote at the Winooski Senior Center, at 123 Barlow St., from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, go to the Winooski election page.
South Burlington
Local Option Tax — South Burlington voters will be considering asking the state Legislature to allow it to increase its local option tax from 1 percent to 2 percent to help pay for municipal projects.
The two projects currently under consideration are an indoor recreation center at Veterans Memorial Park and a 600-seat arts center.
Rental Car Tax — Voters will also be considering a 0.5 percent rental car tax to pay for infrastructure repairs. The funds would be used to pay for paving and repairing roads in the city.
The city council unanimously approved putting the rental car tax on the ballot, despite opposition from Burlington International Airport Director of Aviation Gene Richards.
Polls in South Burlington are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. For polling locations and other information, go to the South Burlington elections and voting page.
