Mayor's Update February 2018
By the time you read this, Town Meeting Day will have come and gone, and Burlingtonians will have weighed in on a number of important projects and initiatives. I am grateful to Burlington residents for their support of this Administration in our efforts to ensure this city remains a wonderful place to live, work, and visit.
Road Repair Effort Expands
Last month I provided an update about our Department of Public Works’ (DPW) response to the unanticipated damage to major roadways from this winter’s unusual freeze-thaw cycle. The current state of our major roadways, like North Ave, Pine Street, and Colchester Ave, is unacceptable. In response, DPW has expanded its 2018 paving list to repair road damage to sections of North Avenue, Pine Street, Colchester Avenue and other weather-degraded roadways. The new paving plan will accommodate this increase in road sections without any additional impact on taxpayers. The work will begin as soon as the weather conditions allow the asphalt plants to re-open (typically in April or May).
In the meantime, Public Works has maintenance teams on daily patrols throughout the city to improve what can be fixed now, working on regular work hours or over the weekends whenever warmer weather presents an opportunity. Planned work includes:
- North Ave: Segments with substantial deterioration will be added to the paving schedule this spring, and other segments will now receive extensive linear patching during the construction season.
- Plattsburg Ave: A key section will be paved this spring as part of the original paving schedule.
- Pine Street: In coordination with previously planned subsurface drinking water infrastructure upgrades, key sections of Pine Street will now also be repaved, and others will receive extensive linear patching.
- Colchester Ave: In addition to already planned paving of the stretch of Colchester Ave as it reaches Winooski, additional segments will be repaved or extensively patched to improve road conditions.
Read more details here: https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/Press/City-Expands-Paving-Program-to-Include-Repaving-of-North-Avenue-Pine-Street-and-Other-Major.
Commonsense Gun Reform
The announcements at the end of February from the Governor and Democratic leaders in the Legislature represent a breakthrough on commonsense gun reforms after years of stalemate.
This progress is a testament to the power of the many young Vermonters who marched through the Statehouse, making their voices heard loud and clear in the wake of another awful mass shooting in Parkland, Florida. It also required the willingness of our State leaders to listen and to act. I welcome and appreciate the Governor and legislative leaders’ new support for background checks and other reforms, and I look forward to working with them to implement these and other measures to ensure the safety of our children, and all Vermonters.
BED and Credit Union Partners Offer New EV Incentive
Burlington Electric Department and three local credit unions announced in February the launch of a first-in-Vermont, new financing program to help make electric vehicles (EVs) more affordable for customers. Green Mountain Credit Union, Vermont Federal Credit Union, and VSECU are now offering low- and, under certain circumstances, no-interest loans and allowing Burlington Electric customers to apply their $600, $1,200, or $1,800 Burlington Electric EV incentives toward the purchase of EVs.
This new financing program will lower the cost of an EV at the point of sale, ensuring more Burlingtonians have an opportunity to switch to EVs – a shift that can save households money on gas and car repairs, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping Burlington reach its net zero energy goal. Instead of having to wait for a rebate check, Burlington Electric customers will now have the opportunity to finance through BED’s credit union partners and have the full BED rebate available up-front to help “buy down” interest rates for their EV loans. And, while receiving a federal tax credit does not happen more quickly, once a customer does receive a tax credit, BED’s credit union partners will allow BED customers to re-amortize their loans by applying any federal EV tax credits, which may total as much as $7,500, toward paying down the loan and making monthly payments even more affordable.
These incentives are not handouts – they make financial sense for BED and all of its customers. When a BED customer stops buying gasoline and instead buys more electricity, our utility has more revenues and that helps us keep electric rates low for everyone (we have not had a rate increase since 2009!). I look forward to seeing more Burlingtonians take advantage of these and other great BED programs in the coming months. For questions about EV eligibility or BED’s EV rebate and financing programs, contact BED’s Energy Services team at efficiency@burlingtonelectric.com.
As always, I encourage you to join me at the Bagel Café on Wednesday mornings from 8-9am to share any thoughts or questions. You can also visit my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MiroBTV/, or follow me on Twitter at @BTVMayor for information on the work of the Mayor’s Office and our City Departments. I look forward to seeing you soon.