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Keeping your community covered. We're committed to producing high-quality, fact-based news and information that gives you the facts in this community we call home. If our work has helped you stay informed, take action, or feel more connected to Windham County – please give now to help us reach our goal of raising $150,000 by December 31st.
Gov. Peter Shumlin's first State of the State address on Thursday was a homily on the lessons of Tropical Storm Irene.
One year into his first term as governor, Shumlin celebrated the state's triumph over the many adversities posed by the natural disaster, which destroyed 500 miles of state highways, dozens of bridges, 700 homes and the state office complex in Waterbury. Under his leadership, the ship of state has righted itself in just four months after the storm dealt a devastating blow to hundreds of families, crucial highway infrastructure, local businesses and municipal resources.
About two-thirds of the governor's speech, which he read from teleprompters at the podium in the House Chamber at the Statehouse, was dedicated to the Irene recovery effort. Shumlin praised Vermonters' ingenuity, pluck and fiscal prudence, and he declared that “the state of our state is strong. Vermont strong!”
Members of his administration packed the balcony, and lobbyists, advocates and officials filled the downstairs gallery. Outside the Statehouse, about 20 protestors representing Occupy Vermont handed out fliers calling for fair taxation. Shumlin's speech, which lasted about 37 minutes, was punctuated by at least 10 standing ovations from House and Senate members.
The verdict is in for Acts 60 and 68, Vermont's statewide education finance system. Lawrence Picus, a nationally respected consultant, told lawmakers last week that the state's school funding mechanism is doing what it was designed to do – it is ensuring that school districts are equitably financed. Widening...
The state's budget shortfall has been nearly cut in half, according to new information from the Joint Fiscal Office (JFO), the Legislature's nonpartisan fiscal research arm. Steve Klein, the chief fiscal officer for JFO, told the House Ways and Means Committee on Jan. 3 that the budget gap, which...
On Tuesday, 180 lawmakers converged on the Statehouse after a seven-month hiatus for Round 2 of the 2011-2012 biennium. Judging from interviews with committee chairs, the upcoming session will be fast and furious. Lawmakers have an impressive array of complicated issues to address in four short months, and there is little expectation that the session will drag past the first week in May (this is an election year, after all). Long-term recovery plans post-Irene will figure prominently on the docket.
Shumlin administration officials say they want to work with lawmakers to expedite plans for the flood-damaged Vermont State Hospital and the Waterbury State Office Complex during the coming legislative session. About 50 severely mentally ill patients and 1,500 office workers were displaced when Tropical Storm Irene flooded the Waterbury complex on Aug. 28. The state has been scrambling since to relocate state workers. Patients at the hospital have been farmed out to regional hospitals that are ill-equipped to handle patients...
School boards across the state have had level-funded budgets over the last two years, and Gov. Peter Shumlin is asking them for a “zero percent” increase again. If budget writers across the state can keep spending in check as they prepare for fiscal year 2013, Shumlin says there would be no need to increase the statewide property tax. The governor also proposes to lift the freeze on the base formula for per pupil spending by 2.1 percent. The Legislature must...
Tropical Storm Irene caused $7 million worth of damage to roads in the town of Halifax. The town, population 800, has an annual budget of $700,000. State Rep. Ann Manwaring, D-Wilmington, represents Halifax. As she put it: “That's a cash flow problem.” Since September, town officials had no choice but to rob Peter to pay Paul - that is to say, they've been using some property tax money slated for the state property tax education fund to pay $2 million...
Lawmakers came back to the Statehouse in force last Thursday for a daylong legislative “briefing.” The seats in the House Chamber were nearly full and a number of senators sat in the gallery to hear the Shumlin administration's updates on the state's recovery from Tropical Storm Irene, a summary of the revenue forecast, the budget gap analysis and an overview of the status of the governor's two main objectives – health care reform and the development of a comprehensive energy...
