FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 3, 2016
Contact:  Diana Wood
                 BPRW Marketing & Outreach Manager
                 802.865.7089

Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Releases
System-Wide Master Plan

Plan Identifies Seven Areas for Continued Investment and Strategic Initiatives
to Continue Revitalizing and Enhancing the City’s Parks System

Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger and Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront (BPRW) Director Jesse Bridges today celebrated the release of the City’s first system-wide Parks Master Plan.  The plan seeks to honor and enhance the role of Burlington’s park spaces and recreation opportunities within the City and the region, and brings together community and staff visions for the continued revitalization of our parks, recreation, and waterfront assets.

“Our Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Master Plan builds on the hard work of generations of Burlingtonians to establish a robust system of parks, public spaces, programs, and connections,” said Mayor Weinberger. “The careful planning identifies elements of the parks system that could be improved upon and showcases the renaissance underway in our treasured park system.”

Director Bridges added, “The examination and team workshops immensely benefited the Department by giving us the opportunity to take a critical look at our assets in their entirety; this process served to unify our collective mission by defining a shared vision and values. The BPRW Master Plan is an incredibly useful tool that will help us plan for the resources we need to better serve the public."

The BPRW Master Plan ultimately produced a comprehensive checklist identifying major strategic initiatives across the Department, including operations, planning, recreation, parks, and the waterfront. Stemming from this master plan, more targeted management plans will be developed for BPRW facilities and parks in the future. The Parks Commission has supported the development of the BPRW Master Plan and endorsed the final product; the plan will go before the Planning Commission in March, then to the City Council for adoption in the City’s Municipal Development Plan.

This master planning effort began in 2013 and is intended to guide the Department through the next ten years and beyond. The process involved staff workshops, focus groups, community surveys, and open forums, combined with extensive research and assessment from consultants Sasaki Associates and Heller & Heller Consulting. The efforts culminated in a 140-page document, as well as the Department’s new branded identity, that articulates seven system themes representing key areas of focus:  People; Wellness; Connection; Stewardship; Service; Community; and Impact. It is upon these seven system themes that the Department’s strategic initiatives for the next ten years are based.

With several strategic initiatives already completed, remaining recommendations have been defined as short-, medium-, and long-term initiatives that will be implemented over the next several years. And even as the master plan was still being refined, BPRW has put many action items into motion, including Department rebranding, restructuring of staff roles, relaunching the enjoyburlington.com website, developing a system of consistent wayfinding signage for the parks system and multi-use paths, and defining new standards for the renovation and replacement of park equipment and restroom facilities.  Other examples of the implemented BPRW Master Plan projects are already visible in the renovated bathrooms in the upper shelter at Oakledge Park, in the new playground equipment and expansion at Starr Farm Park, and in recent improvements to the Burlington Bike Path.

*Please see attached Parks Master Plan Summary
*Recent blog post from Sasaki Associates: http://www.sasaki.com/blog/view/705/
*The Parks Master Plan is available online: http://enjoyburlington.com/?p=1943

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 28, 2016
Contact:  Jennifer Kaulius
                 802.324.2505

Mayor Miro Weinberger Testimony on Burlington Charter Changes

Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger today testified before the State House of Representatives Government Operations Committee on the three charter changes passed overwhelmingly by Burlington voters on Town Meeting Day in 2014.  Mayor Weinberger's testimony focused on three facts:

1)     The charter changes are responses to serious public safety concerns in Burlington;
2)     State law and the legislatively-approved Burlington charter generally delegate responsibility for public safety matters to municipal government; and
3)     The Burlington charter changes are not pioneering or novel – all are based on policies that are laws in many other communities.

* * *

“Good morning and thank you for the opportunity to speak with you.  I want to thank committee chair Donna Sweaney for the decision to revisit Burlington’s proposed charter changes and to take considerable additional testimony on these items today.

I believe today’s testimony will add important information to this debate.  As we engage in today’s discussion, we should not forget that many have already testified in favor of these charter changes in significant ways. 

The duly elected 12-member Burlington City Council – made up of Democrats, Progressives, Independents, and a Republican – voted unanimously three weeks ago to urge “the State Legislature to pass the changes to Burlington’s charter approved by Burlington voters on Town Meeting Day 2014, thereby allowing the City of Burlington to help protect citizens within the City’s boundaries from gun violence.”  As the Mayor, I signed that resolution, and submit it into your record here this morning.

And on Town Meeting Day in March of 2014, Burlingtonians went to the polls and cast what they hoped to be binding votes on the matters before you.  They went to the polls amid a sea of yellow and black signs urging them to vote “no” on the charger changes, and after weeks of vocal opposition from a well-financed “no” campaign.  5,194 (68%) voted yes to prohibit guns in bars.  5,597 (73%) voted yes to give the police the ability to remove guns from Burlington residences where domestic abuse was suspected.  4,651 (61%) voted yes to protect Burlington children from irresponsibly stored firearms.  For just a moment, I ask you to envision those thousands of Burlington voters who have already acted on these issues being with us in the room this morning and to remember that those voters are also witnesses to today’s deliberations.  I submit into your record the official City Clerk’s record of those votes.

I know and respect that you sit before me as representatives of other communities with many constituents who may not agree with Burlingtonians on these issues.  As you consider the matters before you I respectfully ask you to weigh your Constitutional responsibility, codified in your oath of office, to be a “guardian for the people.” From my reading, that is a responsibility to all the people, including the more than 42,000 people of Burlington.

Next, I would like to review the events that caused Burlington voters and City Councilors to act.  In December of 2012, twenty first-graders and six of their educators were horrifically murdered in Newtown, Connecticut, just a short drive away from where we sit.  This event rightly caused a broad and deep reassessment of all of our public policies that could have in some way precluded such a terrible event.

Over the next year, Burlingtonians watched in concern as the federal government debated and then took no action to protect Americans from a repeat of such a tragedy. 

Throughout 2013, a City Council committee, staffed by the City Attorney, worked diligently to consider what kind of action could be taken at the local level to protect Burlingtonians.  The charter change committee worked for many months on the issue, and the City held multiple public meetings and hearings and took extensive public comment before charter changes were placed on the Town Meeting Day 2014 ballot.  Many options were considered and discarded because of constitutional or operational concerns.  Eventually, three separate provisions were put forward to the voters.

For over a year after the decisive Town Meeting Day 2014 votes, through the better part of two legislative sessions, Burlington representatives waited to advocate for the Burlington charter changes as the legislature debated a variety of statewide actions to curb gun violence.  We waited because we agree with the idea that it is generally preferable to take action on these issues at a statewide level instead of the municipal level.  However, once it became clear that the important bill, S.141, would not address directly the issues Burlington voters had weighed in on, it became incumbent on those of us who represent the City to advocate more forcefully for their review and passage, bringing us to today.

There are three points I am hoping you will remember and consider from my testimony:

1. The charter changes before you are responses to serious public safety concerns in Burlington.
2. State law and the legislatively-approved Burlington charter generally delegate responsibility for public safety matters to municipal government.
3. The Burlington charter changes are not pioneering or novel – all are based on policies that are laws in many other communities.
    

I will expand a bit on each of these points.

1. The charter changes before you are responses to serious public safety concerns in Burlington.

We are fortunate to live in a state with very low levels of violence, and I understand how that fact has shaped state policy.  Burlington, while also an exceedingly safe place, is a City that faces many of the same challenges that larger cities do, including those associated with poverty, drug trafficking, and gang activity.

In recent months we have had incidents of violence or near violence on the streets of Burlington by bar patrons carrying guns, continuing patterns that have been an active concern for the police and bar workers for many years.  As you will hear more from our police chief, we have a domestic violence problem in Burlington.  And while fortunately there have been no accidental deaths stemming from Burlington children finding unsecured guns in recent memory, the reports that across the country hundreds of deaths occur annually from children wielding improperly stored guns is a concern in a city with a large and growing number of children.

You will hear more about these public safety threats from me and others this morning.  Now I will simply say that today is one of those relatively rare times as a state or local public servant when the matters before you for decision are clearly issues of life and death.  By approving these charter changes it is very likely that you will save future lives in Burlington.
 

2. State law and the legislatively-approved Burlington charter substantially delegate responsibility for public safety matters to municipal government.

As someone who has worked now for local and federal government, and long been a student of government, I am very aware that the debate about the allocation of powers and responsibilities between different levels of government is an important and long-standing one. 

Moreover, I think it is a debate that Vermont generally treats carefully and that Vermonters get right.  While I believe deeply in the value of local government and decision-making, in part because the needs of a City like Burlington are far different from many of our other towns and villages, I respect the need for state government to play a unifying and decisive role on many matters.

As you decide this issue I respectfully ask you to consider that in Vermont public safety is substantially recognized as a local responsibility, particularly in towns and cities with their own 24-hour police forces like Burlington.  In Burlington we spend a large percentage of our time and governmental resources focused on the opiate challenge, stopping property crime, preventing domestic abuse, and other public safety work.  In Burlington this responsibility for public safety is codified in the municipal charter granted to the City by the state legislature that declares, among other powers, that the “Mayor shall also be the Chief Conservator of the Peace and Safety of the City.”

With respect to the important public safety issues at stake in the proposed charter changes, this solemn responsibility assigned to local government by the charter is contradicted by other areas of state statute that preclude Burlington from taking any action – whether through liquor licensing, business licensing, or other locally regulated matters – that would impact the possession and use of firearms.  Sitting here today as Burlington’s Chief Conservator of Peace and Safety, I call on you and the rest of the legislature to resolve this contradiction so that I am able to act to protect the safety of Burlington domestic abuse victims, police officers, restaurant workers, and children as the responsibilities of my office demand.
 

3) The Burlington charter changes are not pioneering or novel – all are based on policies that are laws in many other communities.

Burlington has a well-earned reputation as a City that is often a pioneer and an advocate for progressive causes.  That is not the case with the proposed charter changes before you.  Gun safety is not an area where Burlington is trying to chart some new path – today, we are trying to catch up with laws in Texas, Montana, and Alaska.

You are receiving memos today from the Burlington City Attorney that include state-by-state reviews of existing policy with respect to guns in bars, domestic violence, and the safe storage of firearms.  In each case you will see that the proposed Burlington charter changes are based on policies that are well within what is existing law for millions of Americans.  A striking finding of these memos is that there are numerous examples of state laws prohibiting guns in bars and giving police powers to remove guns from the scenes of domestic abuse incidents in rural states like Vermont that have longstanding traditions of responsible gun ownership.

Before closing, I would also like to address three of the objections to Burlington’s proposed charter changes that I believe you are likely to hear today.

First, during the discussion with the committee last spring serious objections about the constitutionality of Burlington’s proposals were raised.  As a mayor who has been very focused on avoiding unnecessary liabilities, I respect the committee’s caution in this area.  At the same time, I think it is important to put the constitutional risk in perspective.  Our City Attorney will do that in her testimony, however I would like to stress a couple of points.

As I emphasized earlier, the Burlington charter changes are not novel, pioneering policies that invite legal challenge and great uncertainty – they are policies rooted in long-standing state and municipal law in many other states.  While there are no guarantees in matters of judicial review, if the proposed charter changes were unconstitutional they would likely have been challenged and struck down elsewhere already. 

I have heard some concern that because we are proposing to institute these changes at the local level that would open them to constitutional challenges that state laws are not prone to.  As the City Attorney will explain, this is not the case.

Second, I know that there is considerable concern that the proposed charter changes would undermine what is often referred to as the Vermont Sportsmen’s Bill of Rights.  Unlike the Bill of Rights enshrined in the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the Vermont Sportsmen’s Bill of Rights is state statute created by previous occupants of your offices.  You have the express authority – and I would argue responsibility – to amend statute if necessary to meet today’s public challenges.  The charter changes before you are proposed to be exactly that – legislatively-enacted amendments of state statute designed to meet today’s public safety challenge.

Also, from my perspective, the Burlington charter changes address public safety matters that have no substantive bearing on the important rights of Vermonters to hunt, fish, trap, and enjoy the state’s rural areas.  I want to be clear that I grew up on a dirt road in Hartland, Vermont and have a deep respect for those rights and the importance of them to Vermont.  If, as I do, you believe that Vermonters have a right to continue to hunt, fish, and trap in this state as they have for generations, the legislature can continue to consistently protect those rights from any form of local pre-emption without any logical or substantive contradiction with taking action on the public safety proposals before you.

Third, I understand the concerns that have been raised about allowing patchwork legislation on issues that face all of Vermont.  I have several reactions to this concern.

One, the proposed charter changes have been designed in a way that minimizes these concerns.  These charter changes would apply narrowly to Burlington establishments and residences only and would be administered by Burlington police.  I see little reason for concern that confusion or lack of understanding of Burlington’s rules would have a negative impact on the broad Vermont public. 

Second, I understand that some legislators point out that guns in bars and the protection of domestic violence victims are issues statewide and thus should only be the subject of statewide action.  This makes some sense and was the reason that for most of two legislative sessions after Newtown Burlingtonians deferred to the legislature.  However, the legislature chose not to address these issues statewide and has no pending plans to do so.  In the absence of active state efforts to address these issues it is, from my perspective, no longer appropriate to block local action on these public safety matters of life and death.

Finally, on this point, I offer for consideration the idea that there is a logic to taking a step towards statewide action by allowing the largest City, with its own unique law enforcement capacity, to be the first to move forward with these new public safety steps.

I would like to close with the words of President Barack Obama, who was elected by Vermonters twice with over 65% of the vote in the state. “We know we can’t stop every act of violence, every act of evil in the world.  But maybe we could try to stop one act of evil, one act of violence.”

In the face of the unwillingness of Congress to act in any way to stop the relentless violence we have seen in this country in recent years and months, the President issued several weeks ago a long list of executive orders to save lives and called upon state and local governments to do the same.  Together, with the charter changes before you, we have an opportunity to do just that in a manner consistent with extensive precedent, the Vermont traditions we all hold sacred, and the clear will of Burlington voters.

Thank you.”

* * *

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 27, 2016
Contact:  Jennifer Kaulius
                 802.324.2505

FY15 Audit Documents Further Financial Progress
Administration Will Not Seek FY17 Property Tax Rate Increase;
City’s Internal Controls and Financial Management Improve;
Healthy Operating Surplus and Growth of Important Unassigned Fund Balance

Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger today released the following statement regarding the Fiscal Year 2015 (FY15) audit, which was unanimously approved and accepted by the Board of Finance and City Council on Monday night, January 25, 2016:

“The FY15 audit confirms further progress towards the financial goals that the City Council, Department Heads, and Burlington voters have worked hard to achieve over the past four years,” said Mayor Weinberger. “I am optimistic the strong results will allow us to meet our infrastructure investment and reserve funding goals for the current year, and accomplish important initiatives next year without a property tax increase.”

The FY15 audit, conducted by the auditing firm Melanson & Heath, documents an over $2.8 million dollar operating surplus (actual revenues against actual expenses in the City’s main General Fund account).  The General Fund surplus comes from systematic efforts across the City to control costs and identify new potential revenue sources, a strong local economy, as well as the sale of City assets.  For instance, the City’s FY15 gross receipts tax raised over $350,000 more than budgeted, and actual revenues are up over $600,000 in the last two years.  In all four of the General Fund accounts, the City’s revenues finished for the year more than $800,000 above budget projections, while expenses in all General Fund accounts were lower than budget by over $2.5 million for a total surplus in all four accounts of over $3.3 million. Positive developments with other committed and non-spendable items raised the critical metric of the unassigned fund balance to $4.2 million in FY15.  

The audit also documents continued improvement of financial management and internal controls in the City. Over the past four fiscal years, the City has reduced the number of findings in the Management Letter from 27 to four and the number of material weaknesses from 12 to two. Further, for the second year in a row, the auditor has issued a “clean” audit without the qualifications that clouded the City’s audit from 2009 through 2014.

No decisions were made at the January 25, 2016 City Council meeting regarding how the $4.2 million fund balance will be managed. In the weeks ahead, the Administration intends to work with the City Council to allocate the fund balance to:

• Fully fund the FY16 Capital Plan. The FY16 budget made $1.3 million of investments planned for the first six months of 2016 contingent on available fund balance surplus and further City Council approval.
• Maintain significant unassigned funds consistent with the new fund balance policy approved by the City Council in 2015. This fund balance policy serves as a “rainy day” reserve that is available in the event of an emergency or substantial economic downturn. The additional liquidity such a reserve provides the City has been specifically identified by Moody’s Investors Service, the City’s credit rating agency, as an important factor in the agency’s consideration of future credit rating upgrades. Improvements in the credit rating allow the City to borrow money at lower interest rates and save taxpayers substantial dollars over time.
• New FY16 emerging initiatives or FY17 reserves. For example, the Administration is considering proposing new investment in strategies to address the growing opiate challenge. These initiatives remain under review and will be the subject of future City Council action and approval if they proceed. 

As a result of the strength of the City’s financial position, the Administration will not be putting forward any property tax increases for FY17 (Monday night was the final regularly scheduled City Council meeting in which ballot items could be approved in time for inclusion on the Town Meeting Day ballot).

*Please see attached draft FY15 audit, draft FY15 management letter, and associated memo from the Clerk/Treasurer’s Office. These documents, marked draft, were approved and accepted by the Board of Finance and City Council on Monday evening and will be updated without the draft watermark in the coming days.

# # #

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 21, 2016
Contact:  Jennifer Kaulius
                 802.324.2505

Mayor Miro Weinberger Announces New Burlington Skatepark
Selected for Community Development Achievement Award
 

Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger today announced that the new skatepark, a project feature of Waterfront Access North (WAN) that was opened in November 2015, has been selected for a 2016 Audrey Nelson Community Development Achievement Award from the National Community Development Association (NCDA). The City of Burlington is pleased to join other communities selected to receive this award.

“The new skatepark is an exciting part of the rebirth of the northern waterfront and – as the crowds at the park even in the late fall months demonstrated – a great addition to the region’s recreational offerings,” said Mayor Weinberger. “On behalf of the hundreds of people who worked to see the new skatepark become reality over many years, I am pleased to accept this award, and am grateful to the National Community Development Association for their recognition of this important work.”

Project background
The new skatepark replaced an older, aging facility and was relocated amidst a backdrop of Lake Champlain to enhance the redevelopment of the entire WAN project. The City leveraged its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Section 108/Brownfield Economic Development Initiative (BEDI) funds with other federal, state, local, and private dollars for this project.

The project involved the remediation of a significant brownfield and has resulted in a new public facility to benefit community members with a low-barrier entry to a non-team sport for different generations. The project’s process was a model for civic engagement and advocacy for a public facility. Young community volunteers, the next generation of our civic leaders, participated in the development of the skatepark and learned that government can be responsive to their needs.

Award details
Audrey Nelson was the first Deputy Executive Secretary of NCDA, and she grew up in an inner city Chicago neighborhood. Audrey’s intense commitment to her neighborhood, her local program efforts, and her drive to serve low-income people was cut short by her death from cancer at the young age of 29. NCDA is proud to honor the memory of Audrey through these awards. In 1987, NCDA established the Audrey Nelson Community Development Achievement Award to recognize exemplary uses of the CDBG program and the partnerships between local governments and non-profit organizations to assist low- and moderate-income people. 

The City of Burlington provides CDBG funding to address critical and unmet community needs including those for housing, public facilities, infrastructure, economic development, public services, and more. The City continues to ensure that the waterfront remains a part of the public domain where people of all ages, socio-economic status, and race can enjoy the waterfront activities. This skatepark is the first recreational waterfront activity to be open throughout the year and is located in the City’s Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area, where the U.S. Census concludes the highest percentage of low- and moderate-income people in Burlington live.

The City made every effort to engage the community in all facets of the project’s development process. The local skateboard community volunteers learned about the government process and how to raise money through events, contacting businesses, and grant-writing. The City stressed the importance of civic engagement to ensure public input in the project, including the design of the skatepark itself. The WAN project, including skatepark construction, was made possible through City collaboration of Burlington’s Community & Economic Development Office, the Department of Public Works, and the Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Department.

# # #

• Reliable funding for waterway protection from stormwater run-off;
• Implementing 21^st century policing in Vermont;
• Tax exemption of municipal parking utilities; and
• Public safety reforms, including increased local control.

• Tax Increment Financing (TIF) reforms and downtown tax credit expansion that have strengthened Vermont’s economy.
• School governance and financing reform (Act 46) that will improve education outcomes and control property taxes.
• Mental health reform that has increased the capacity of the State’s mental health system and makes it harder for seriously mentally ill individuals to buy guns.
• Elimination of non-medical exemptions for vaccinations.
• Legislation intended to save taxpayer dollars and promote downtown investment through common sense reform of urban soils regulation.

• Bill Benton, Vergennes;
• Liz Gamache, St. Albans;
• John Hollar, Montpelier;
• Thom Lauzon, Barre;
• Seth Leonard, Winooski;
• Chris Louras, Rutland;
• Paul Monette, Newport; and
• Miro Weinberger, Burlington.

• Per the legislative intent, the Clean Water Fund should be used primarily to support municipal initiatives during FY16, FY17, and FY18 since the new financial burdens on municipalities are high, and there are no other substantial sources available for municipalities facing substantial new required investments.
• The State should update its estimate of the cost of new municipal investment that will be required by the new TMDL plan. A 2013 study projected a need for an additional $100 million of annual investment by municipalities to implement the TMDL plan. This estimate should be updated to reconcile with the final TMDL plan and a long term funding strategy developed using this updated estimate.
• As the State explores new permanent, reliable funding sources for the Clean Water Fund, it should target paying for 80 percent of the costs required by the new State regulation. Until last year the State was committed to paying for 100 percent of all required wastewater upgrades to remove phosphorus from wastewater facility discharges. In order to both align the interests of the State and its municipalities and support municipalities with limited revenue streams, the State should commit to sharing the new costs related to the water clean-up effort. The VMC looks forward to working with State Agencies and Departments on this important issue.
• Create local tax options for Vermont cities and towns for purposes of funding the local share of stormwater run-off improvements now mandated by the State. Local governments are heavily reliant on property taxes, and many are not in the position to raise those taxes to generate substantial new funds for the new investments required by the Clean Water Act. Local governments should be granted the ability to consider assessing local tax options to pay for new stormwater improvements that have been mandated by the State.
• Vermont combined sewer overflow (CSO) regulations must reflect the reality that combined sewer elimination through sewer separation is not the only solution for addressing this water quality challenge. In many cases, CSO frequency reduction using green infrastructure strategies that infiltrate or detain stormwater runoff at the source can be as or more cost effective than constructing an entirely new pipe network to separate the combined sewer.
• The State must allow for Integrated Plans and Financial Capability Assessments to inform compliance schedules for meeting long term Clean Water Act obligations. Many communities are facing multiple water quality challenges and should be allowed to address these issues in a manner which reflects local water quality priorities. Some communities may need longer than the presumed 20 years depending on the breadth of their water quality challenges and the local socio-economic conditions.

• To this end, the Legislature and the Administration should exercise their best efforts to review mandates for training and the curriculum of the Criminal Justice Training Council (Vermont Police Academy) to ensure that training requirements comport with the recommendations of the White House Task Force on 21st Century Policing. An example by way of question: are the required hours for practical use of force training (hands on) properly balanced with appropriate levels of training in de-escalation techniques? We must ensure that the officers who put their lives on the line for us are given the most up-to-date training models and best practices available, as this will both keep them safer and provide a greater level of service to those they serve.

• The report on 21st Century Policing recognizes that measuring public trust and identifying where improvements need to be made in the area of procedural justice are the first steps in establishing high levels of police legitimacy. Vermont should embrace this opportunity to be the first in the nation to conduct state-wide, scientific, data-driven surveys and analyses to measure the legitimacy of its largest police organizations. Benchmarks would be established for which metrics could be identified to evaluate outcomes and measure success in building public trust.
   

• It creates a budgetary imbalance for municipalities, while offering little in the way of tax revenue: Parking utilities balance serving residential, commercial, and tourism needs for our communities as a service – similar to water/wastewater systems and roads. Municipally owned parking is a utility service provided by towns and cities to serve our communities. They are not viewed as sources of net revenue, and any additional taxation makes financing and management of parking untenable.

• It inhibits economic development: Taxation of parking utilities not only makes current management and maintenance of parking utilities difficult, but also it creates an additional cost barrier to future parking development. Development of parking is cost prohibitive, especially in towns and cities, and businesses rely on municipalities to provide parking as a service. Municipalities need flexibility to ensure parking utilities meet the needs of residents, commercial tenants, and visitors.

• It creates an impediment to smart and sustainable growth: Cities and towns are further challenged in providing parking infrastructure that serves smart growth principles and efficient land use. This challenges our more urban environments where economic growth is strong, and also may inspire a challenge to the character of surrounding communities through undesired sprawl.

• Support of a bill that will restore the exemption for municipal parking utilities, regardless of whether commercial tenant leases are held in entirety or a portion of the parking spaces.
• During bill approval, request confirmation from the State Tax Department that the steps taken in the legislation clarify the exemption.

• The VMC is calling for notification when a prohibited person attempts to purchase a firearm. Given the vast knowledge that local police officers have regarding their respective communities (such as pending arrests, investigations, and points of contact), this information could prove invaluable as a preventative tool. Such was the case in Waterbury this fall. Acting on information provided by Sheriff Sam Hill, who had been forwarded information regarding a threat allegedly made against a DCF employee and an alleged attempt to purchase a firearm by State’s Attorney Scott Williams, Barre City law enforcement took the lead on the investigation, and working with Waterbury law enforcement and ATF, were able to determine that a purchase of a firearm had, in fact, been made. The accused (who is prohibited from possessing a firearm) was arrested without incident and held without bail. The accused has since been released to a drug treatment program.
• The VMC will also continue to advocate for the sharing of failed NICS check information with local law enforcement, and looks forward to additional details regarding the President’s recent Executive Order. 

• The VMC requests that the legislature commission a detailed report regarding the implementation and effectiveness of S.141 The VMC requests that the report include detailed comparative data, as well as interviews with the court administrators, regarding how well the implementation has gone and how the reporting system could be improved or altered going forward.

• While the VMC has no position on Burlington’s proposed gun violence charter changes, the Coalition strongly supports Burlington’s right to take the steps the City feels are necessary to protect public safety. After a popular vote by the residents of a municipality, charter changes should only be denied when they are in clear conflict with a vital and irreconcilable state interest.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 12, 2016
Contact:  Jennifer Kaulius
                 802.324.2505

Mayor Miro Weinberger Invites Burlington Community
to Jan. 13 Form-Based Codes Panel Discussion
Event Will Focus on Growing Use of Form-Based Codes to Secure
Desired Land Use Outcomes Locally, in Vermont, and Nationally

Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger, the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC), and other partners invite the greater Burlington community to attend a panel discussion on January 13, 2016 from 6:30-8:00 pm in City Hall’s Contois Auditorium on form-based codes. The panel discussion aims to share information and perspective regarding the creation and use of form-based code development standards in local land use regulations. This conversation will feature Lee Einsweiler, a national expert on the creation of City land development codes who will speak about the rise and use of building form elements within zoning codes from a national context. Regina Mahony, Planning and Program Manager at the CCRPC; David White, Director of the Burlington Department of Planning & Zoning; and Andy Montroll, Planning Commissioner and Chair of the City’s Joint Form Based Code Committee, will also participate on Wednesday evening as part of a panel discussion.

“Across the country and the state, local governments are increasingly using form-based codes to achieve important community goals,” said Mayor Weinberger. “Wednesday night is an opportunity for Burlingtonians to learn more about this evolution in city planning as we move towards implementation of a form-based code for the downtown and waterfront.”

Background
The City of Burlington has considered a new form-based code for the downtown and the waterfront since the planBTV: Downtown and Waterfront Master Plan was unanimously adopted by the City Council on June 10, 2013. On October 20, 2014 the City Council unanimously approved a resolution supporting “the proposed form-based code to promote and advance new infill development and adaptive re-use in the Downtown and Waterfront areas that reflects Burlington’s character and sense of place while taking advantage of limited opportunities for new development at modestly larger scales and densities where appropriate.” The resolution also created a joint committee of the Planning Commission and City Council to “inform and engage the public; to review and revise as necessary the proposed Downtown and Waterfront Form-Based Code; and to bring a final joint recommendation to [the City Council and the Planning Commission] for formal adoption.” 

The joint committee has conducted more than thirty public meetings on the draft form-based code and led a first work session with the full City Council and Planning Commission on January 4, 2016. The committee is expected to complete its work and submit the new code for adoption this spring.

More information about form-based code and the City’s work thus far can be found on the City’s website at https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/planBTV/FBC. Please contact the Department of Planning & Zoning at 802.865.7188 for more information.
 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 11, 2016
Contact:  Jennifer Kaulius
                 802.324.2505

City, Region’s Leaders Act to Reverse Opiate Challenge
Police Chief’s Report Documents Rise in Overdoses, Related Crime and Proposes New Approaches;
UVM Medical Center & Howard Center Note Progress Improving Treatment Options;
Commissioner Chen Offers Resources & Guidance for Parents

Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger and Police Chief Brandon del Pozo today presented the community with a report on law enforcement efforts to reduce opiate trafficking and use in Burlington. They were joined by University of Vermont Medical Center President Dr. John Brumsted and Vermont Department of Health (VDH) Commissioner Dr. Harry Chen, who along with many community partners, have taken a number of steps recently to improve treatment options for those struggling with addiction in Burlington.  

“Our City faces a serious and growing but manageable opiate challenge,” said Mayor Weinberger. “Through sustained commitment to on-the-ground community policing and better coordination among all law enforcement and public health agencies engaged in addressing opiate abuse, we will turn back this trend.”

Key findings of tonight’s update included:

• Opiate overdoses and related crime have been incrementally building for over three years:
  
  • Overdoses in 2015 were up 103 percent over the 2012 – 2014 three-year average.
  • Robbery, Larceny from Buildings, and Retail Theft rose 31 percent, 11 percent, and 15 percent respectively over the three year average in 2015.
• Chief del Pozo announced a series of new BPD initiatives, in collaboration with State and community partners, to reverse this trend including:
  
  • Increased foot patrols sustained by staffing levels maintained at 100 officers (in prior years the total number of police has fluctuated five to ten officers below this threshold).
  • Stepped up coordination between law enforcement and other agencies, including structured collaboration models like VDH’s “HealthStat” or Project Vision in Rutland.
• Dr. John Brumsted, President of UVM Medical Center, reviewed recent progress the region has made in providing improved treatment options:
  
  • UVM Medical Center opened “Day One” last week to increase the flow of patients to primary care settings.
  • UVM Medical Center also has supported training more primary care physicians to prescribe treatment to those struggling with addiction, and has worked with community partners to improve coordination managing patient flow.
• Commissioner Chen reported on the perspective of the State, advice to parents, and efforts to reduce prescription opiate abuse:         
  
  • The Vermont Department of Health’s creation of ParentUp (http://ParentUpvt.org), which offers resources to parents to help prevent children from using opiates and other drugs.
  • Proper guidelines for handling prescription medications.
  • Protocol for identifying and treating overdose patients.
  • Since October 2015, the waiting list for opiate treatment has been reduced from 284 individuals to 234 last week, as reported by the Howard Center.

Background on tonight’s report
The impetus for tonight’s community update comes from three separate but related events in recent months:

• On September 1, 2015, Mayor Weinberger announced at Chief del Pozo’s swearing-in ceremony that he had directed Chief del Pozo to review Burlington’s response to the opiate challenge and to report back with recommendations. 
• On September 8, 2015, the City Council passed a resolution on drug trafficking calling for the exploration of a police sub-station on North Avenue and the potential application of a common nuisance ordinance.
• Since October, at the initiation of State’s Attorney T.J. Donovan and with the support of Governor Peter Shumlin, a group has been meeting regularly in the Mayor’s Office to reduce the size of the opiate treatment waiting list. That group has included:
  
  • State’s Attorney T.J. Donovan
  • UVM Medical Center President and CEO Dr. John Brumsted
  • UVM Medical Center President and COO Eileen Whalen, RN
  • Howard Center CEO Bob Bick
  • Governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff Sue Allen
  • Green Mountain Care Board Chair Al Gobeille
  • U.S. Attorney Eric Miller
  • Department of Children and Families Commissioner Ken Schatz
  • Department of Corrections Commissioner Lisa Menard
  • Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo

*Please see attached Opiate Report.

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BURLINGTON POLICE DEPARTMENT
PRESS RELEASE

January 8, 2016

BURLINGTON OFFICERS TO CARRY OPIATE OVERDOSE ANTIDOTE NALOXONE

Last December, the Burlington Police Department began training its officers in the administration of naloxone as a lifesaving antidote to opiate overdoses. Along with this training, the department purchased enough naloxone to equip its entire force. Now, effective immediately, officers will deploy nasally-administered naloxone to the field. Within Burlington, the BPD joins the Burlington Fire Department, the Howard Center, and the UVM Medical Center in the realm of providers capable of saving lives using this overdose-reversing drug.

“As we work hard on many fronts to reverse the serious opiate challenge faced by this community, this new capacity of our police officers to administer naloxone will help save the lives of Burlingtonians struggling with addiction,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger. “I commend the Burlington Police Department for embracing and quickly operationalizing this new role, joining the state police and numerous other municipal police departments across the country working to reduce opiate deaths.”

“We’re pleased as a department to join the team of first responders equipped with this lifesaving measure,” said Chief of Police Brandon del Pozo. “Law enforcement officers are held to the highest standards of performance in our community, so every officer had to be thoroughly trained and properly equipped to confidently carry and administer this antidote. Since coming here to lead the Burlington Police Department in September, I’ve seen firsthand that opiate addiction is, without question, the most serious threat facing Vermonters. Its harmful effects are everywhere and touch everyone. The struggle to fully reclaim our state from addiction takes many forms, and first responders carrying naloxone is one of them. I’d like to thank the Burlington Police Officers’ Association, the union of our rank and file, for their support in this evolution of our first responder capabilities.”

City Councilor Selene Colburn, who has advocated for this measure, offered praise: “Burlington joins a long list of municipalities whose police can respond to the tenacity of opiate addiction with opportunities for second chances. Police officers around the country have talked about how naloxone use has changed community relations and expanded their abilities to protect and serve. I am deeply grateful to BPD and the Mayor’s Office for their efforts to make this a reality and to the Howard Center’s Safe Recovery program for their daily work demonstrating the life-saving capacities of naloxone and the value of meeting addiction with compassion.”

Chief del Pozo reaffirms the Burlington Police Department’s commitment to Vermont’s 2013 Good Samaritan law, which protects individuals seeking medical help in response to a drug or alcohol overdose from arrest for crimes such as drug possession or probation violation in order to ensure that individuals can connect with the help they need.

Now that the BPD fields naloxone along with the Vermont State Police, the two largest law enforcement agencies in the state are capable of providing immediate lifesaving care in the event of a looming fatal overdose. The BPD will collect and publish data both on the number of overdose calls officers are dispatched to, and whether or not officers administered naloxone.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 6, 2016
Contact:  Brian Lowe
                 802.735.3983

Mayor Miro Weinberger Statement on Trump Campaign Event

Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger released the following statement on the Trump Campaign event scheduled for January 7.

“Vermonters value the First Amendment and robust political debate. In that spirit, I welcome Donald Trump and his presidential campaign to Burlington tomorrow.

“I am concerned, however, that the dramatic over-ticketing of the rally could mar Mr. Trump's visit.  Since learning the facts of the ticketing situation late Tuesday, we have repeatedly expressed concern and encouraged the campaign to take steps to better manage the event.   There is still time for the campaign to communicate with the thousands of ticket holders to reduce the possibility of inconvenience or a public safety risk for attendees tomorrow night. I urge the Trump Campaign to take responsible steps to ensure the event proceeds smoothly and without incident."
 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 30, 2015
Contact:  Jennifer Kaulius
                 802.324.2505

Mayor Miro Weinberger Invites Burlington Community to Jan. 5
Burlington Town Center Mall Presentation
Event Represents Significant Milestone in Redevelopment Process

Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger and project partners invite the greater Burlington community to attend a presentation on January 5, 2016 at 5:30 pm on the Burlington Town Center Mall’s redevelopment progress and the City’s work on this transformative public-private redevelopment effort. This public presentation is a significant step in the multi-year public process from adoption of planBTV Downtown & Waterfront to the redevelopment of this important downtown Burlington site. This event will take place in the lower level of the Burlington Town Center Mall, just past L.L. Bean.

“The public meeting on January 5 represents an important milestone in the redevelopment of two central blocks of our vibrant and welcoming downtown,” said Mayor Weinberger. “The BTC redevelopment project has evolved substantially since last May as the owner has refined his vision for the property, and in response to the public’s input and the City’s advocacy for greater connectivity through the mall, improved streetscapes, a range of housing opportunities, and a vibrant mix of uses that create an attractive destination for all Burlingtonians.”

The event will highlight the ways in which public input, technical team review, and financial feasibility have impacted the major elements of the project and will provide the conceptual framework for a development agreement between the City of Burlington and Devonwood Investors, LLC, the mall’s owner and redeveloper. Following a presentation and Q&A session, attendees will have the opportunity to talk with members of the Development Agreement Public Advisory Committee (DAPAC), City staff, and mall representatives about the major project elements, including parking, circulation, program of uses, urban design, and the prospective development agreement.

More information about the project can be found on the City’s website at https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/BTVMall. Please contact the Community & Economic Development Office (CEDO) at 802.865.7144 for more information.
 

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