BURLINGTON — City councilors voted Monday night to enlist a recruitment firm in the city’s two-year search for a permanent police chief, acquiescing to one of five recommendations made by Mayor Miro Weinberger in a bid to bolster the position’s applicant pool.
Yet Weinberger himself condemned the resolution, arguing it should have incorporated at least two of his other requests: raising the position’s salary and hiring a public information officer for the department.
Councilors declined to incorporate those recommendations and approved the original resolution in a 6-5 vote. Councilor Ali Dieng, I-Ward 7, joined the five Progressives who were present for the vote. Councilor Perri Freeman, P-Central District, left the meeting early.
Since the search for a permanent police chief reopened in May, just a handful of candidates who met the job’s stated qualifications have applied, according to the mayor’s office. Only two — both men — were offered interviews.
But before their interviews could be scheduled, Weinberger suspended the search, citing a dearth of qualified candidates. He later issued a memo to councilors with his recommendations.
The Progressive-sponsored resolution sets aside up to $75,000 to pay the recruitment firm, and calls on the mayor to issue “clear and specific guidance” to round up candidates from policing backgrounds that emphasize “support, resource allocation, and prevention, rather than punishment.”
To Weinberger and his allies, though, the resolution did not address what they see as the top obstacle in finding a suitable police chief: an insufficient salary.
“This is, from my perspective, disrespectful to the men and women of the Burlington Police Department, who we should be supporting right now, not continuing to waste their time,” Weinberger told councilors.
While Weinberger and his council allies supported the move to hire a search firm, they asserted its work would be useless if it could not attract candidates with a competitive salary.
Three Progressive councilors — Zoraya Hightower of Ward 1, Joe Magee of Ward 3 and Jane Stromberg of Ward 8 — expressed an openness to raising the police chief salary.
But no councilor on either side introduced an amendment that would have tacked a salary increase on to the existing resolution. Progressives told Democratic councilors and the mayor that they should have introduced the recommendations they wanted in their own resolution.
“It’s just bizarre to me that we would be expected to put forth a resolution that other people support. If you want to do that, bring forward your own resolution,” said Councilor Jack Hanson, P-East District.
Also during the debate, Councilors Joan Shannon, D-South District, and Mark Barlow, I-North District, warned against searching for a “perfect” candidate, and praised the work of acting Police Chief Jon Murad, who is one of the two candidates that was granted an interview.
Short-term rental regulations
Also on Monday night, councilors advanced a two-year effort to regulate short-term rentals, the lodging option facilitated by sites such as Airbnb and Vrbo where guests stay at a private residence for fewer than 30 consecutive nights.
The proposed ordinance, which is part of the city’s bid to increase residential units in the housing-strapped city, is set to be discussed at a public hearing in the future, before returning to councilors for a final vote.
In addition to establishing guardrails around an industry that is largely opaque to city officials, the regulations would significantly limit who can own a short-term rental. If the ordinance passes, only those who operate short-term rentals in their primary residence would be allowed to continue doing so.
The proposal — which was stricter than previous versions floated by councilors — was sponsored by Shannon and endorsed by Progressive councilors. Democratic Councilors Chip Mason of Ward 5 and Sarah Carpenter of Ward 4 dissented.
In comments during the debate, Mason expressed concern that the restrictions would too severely limit the number of short-term rentals in the city, driving up hotel prices and making it less of a tourist destination.
Mask mandate renewed
Also on Monday night, councilors voted unanimously to renew the city’s indoor mask mandate.
The mandate — which exempts some businesses from requiring masks if they verify that everyone in the establishment is fully vaccinated — must be renewed every month, according to state law. Since Monday was the last time the council is scheduled to convene before Jan. 1, Weinberger put the renewal on the meeting’s agenda.
The councilors amended the order they first enacted Dec. 1 to allow partially vaccinated 5-to-11-year-olds and 2-to-4-year-olds to enter establishments where vaccination is required, provided they wear a mask.
While a raucous crowd protested the council’s decision to initially enact the mandate, only one attendee spoke out against its renewal during the public forum period at Monday’s meeting.
‘Overdose prevention sites’
City councilors were also briefed by city staff on a proposal for Burlington to open facilities where people can consume illegal drugs while being observed by health workers who can help prevent overdoses and offer recovery resources.
Known as “overdose prevention sites,” the concept has garnered a warm reception among councilors, though its path forward in Burlington would hinge on the sites’ legalization at the state level, according to a report given to councilors.
The report — which outlined what the budget for a site would look like — was commissioned via a resolution that councilors passed unanimously in September 2020. It’s unclear whether a site in Burlington would be managed by the city or a nonprofit organization.
While Canada has allowed such sites since 2003, their uptake in the United States has been limited. But a dramatic rise in drug overdoses during the pandemic has spurred some governments to adopt the sites as a way to reverse that trend. New York City opened the country’s first site last month, and Rhode Island became the first state to approve the sites by law in July.
Other business
In other business Monday night, councilors:
- Allocated $750,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to help cushion the blow felt by some homeowners after the city’s reappraisal earlier this year. The funds — which can be doled out only to homeowners whose property was assessed at less than $500,000 — are meant to supplement the state property tax credit since that payment won’t reflect the steep hike some homeowners faced after the reappraisal.
The program is a one-time expense since the state’s tax credit system will catch up by next year, officials said.
The $750,000 is a replenishment of the $250,000 councilors initially earmarked for property tax relief in September. - Signed on to two national settlements that seek to recompense governments for the fallout of the opioid epidemic. Fifteen percent of the cash Vermont rakes in from the $12 billion and $21 billion settlements will go to municipalities such as Burlington, according to the terms of the agreements. If all the cities and towns around the state with more than 10,000 residents sign on to the settlement, Vermont will get a bigger proportion of the money.
Correction: A previous version of this article understated the amount of American Rescue Plan Act funds allocated to help homeowners with increased property taxes following the city’s reappraisal process earlier this year.
