Self-proclaimed municipal government nerd Jessie Baker just finished her first month on the job as South Burlington’s city manager. VTDigger sat down with Baker to learn about her and her goals for the city.
Important city government positions aren’t new to Baker. She was the city manager for Winooski before replacing SoBu’s previous manager Kevin Dorn, who led the city for almost a decade. Baker said there are new challenges that come with the move to South Burlington, including the need to address a new phase of the pandemic.
This Q&A with Baker was edited for clarity and brevity.
Why did you decide to apply for this position?
I really love the community in Winooski and actually still live there, and I value the diversity and communities there. I was approached to apply for the South Burlington position because Kevin Dorn, the city manager, was retiring. South Burlington presents many interesting opportunities and challenges.
What do you think the biggest challenges will be for the City of South Burlington over the next four years?
South Burlington, like many communities, is facing challenges around housing, climate change and quality of life. How do we strategically grow in order to accommodate residents across all income levels? With so many folks retiring, we are thinking about how to maintain a strong economic base that provides good quality and interesting employment opportunities for our residents. How do we do that in a way that is environmentally sustainable, fiscally sustainable and meeting the community’s needs and wants?
South Burlington, along with the rest of Vermont, is figuring out how to get back to normal. For example there was an uptick at public meetings because of the opportunity to participate virtually. How do we hold on to that?
We also need to anticipate how revenues will bounce back and plan for that. That is something we are talking about on a daily basis.
What is your favorite thing about South Burlington?
I still have so much to learn. In my initial months here my favorite thing is our staff team that is working hard to further the community’s vision and providing good services. The residents of South Burlington are well served by the professionals and I’m excited to work with them for the years to come.
In terms of the community, I’m really appreciating that there is so much diversity of place and experience in South Burlington. There’s the city center where we are developing a new downtown, a dense population and nice parks, a brand new library, Wheeler park and Red Rocks park and others. There are tight knit neighborhoods — for example at Cider Mill and Mayfield. It’s great that South Burlington has those spaces for people to come together and connect.
Why did you decide to go into local government?
I started my career in child welfare and was very interested in how families were created and what made up healthy families. So I worked in child welfare in New York City and Boston for many years. When I was living in Somerville, north of Boston, I had the opportunity to work for the city doing program operation. That’s when I realized municipal government is where my heart is.
If we can create healthy communities with good municipal services — with good parks and housing operations and well maintained streets and sidewalks — the people that live there will be healthier. How are we serving our residents and how are we creating a good environment for children and families to flourish?
What does it mean to you personally, and what do you think it means for the community, that you are the first female city manager in South Burlington?
So I was a female city manager before South Burlington. While it’s special to be the first, it doesn’t change my focus on supporting residents and city counselors. Nationally, only about 18% of city managers are women across the country. And it was less when I was growing up. As women, people of color, disenfranchised people across the board are thinking about what to do, it’s harder to think broadly if there are no leaders that reflect you. I hope I provide visual cue that working on your own communities in municipal government is an employment opportunity that is available to all.
What do you do in your free time?
My family is all here in Vermont — my brother, his children, my parents — so I spend a lot of time with them. I have a really cute garden in Winooski that I try not to kill. I inherited it from the previous owner and she did a great job.
Where is your favorite creemee spot and what flavor do you usually order?
My favorite creemee spot is Dairy Creme in Montpelier and I usually get a small vanilla creemee with chocolate sprinkles.
What is your favorite hike or walk?
Elmore State Park. I like to go up the fire tower there.
You grew up in Waterbury, and now you work in the local government in Vermont, so I’m going to assume you like it here. What is your favorite thing about Vermont?
I grew up in Waterbury Center and moved away for 15 years and moved back in 2011. Vermont is such a close-knit community and by that I mean, in different sectors of your life you run into folks from other sectors. You may be at the grocery and run into an old teacher, a friend’s parents. Because we are so connected in Vermont it ups everyone’s game. We take care of each other because we know each other. We saw that in the pandemic. My favorite thing about Vermont is that we show up for each other.
