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Annual
City Meeting March 7, 2006 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM City Hall Auditorium, 39 Main Street Mayor's Message
Message from the Mayor: Dear Friends, Much of the Council’s work this year was focused on our budget. We knew it would be a tough year financially and we wanted to get a jump on understanding the budget and looking for opportunities to reduce spending. Beginning in July, we had extra meetings on the budget. Harold, Riley, Nancy S. Tom, and Nancy W. gave many hours of their time, meeting with senior staff, touring departments, asking penetrating questions, gaining depth and perception into the operations of City government. As part of the budget development process we asked members of the community to participate in our analysis. Rick Rizza accepted our invitation, joining us on tours and offering thoughtful, insightful comments. I am convinced that the only way to significantly reduce our spending requires a structural change in the delivery of municipal services. We have discussed the wisdom of reducing or eliminating police, fire or public works services and can not justify what we would lose for the financial savings. We have top quality municipal service and proved it on December 26th with the response to the rock slide. Virtually all of the fire, police and public works departments were deployed to quickly move people to safety, to protect property, to eliminate dangerous conditions. Volunteer fire fighters, the Red Cross and Green Mountain Power were also part of the team making sure that the people of Montpelier were safe. It was an extraordinary effort done with skill and professionalism. The people of Montpelier expect this. I write this before our final budget hearing so I do not know what the final budget will be. I know that we will see a municipal tax increase, and I regret that. I also know that we are presenting you with the most prudent budget possible. The other side of the budget is revenue. The City Council has discussed alternatives for raising revenue; unfortunately there are virtually no options which will generate significant revenues, unless we revisit local option taxes. We are working to increase the payment in lieu of taxes the City receives from the State. We have formed a coalition of towns, met with the governor, briefed our legislative delegation, and hope to make a change in the funding we receive. I am very pleased that the City will begin a new city wide re-aappraisal in the spring. This will not generate new revenue, but will be significant in assuring people that properties are fairly and equitably assessed. This year the Central Vermont Community Land Trust recognized me for leadership on affordable housing. This community, and in particular the Montpelier Housing Task Force, has shown leadership in affordable housing. I am only a small part of an effort to make sure that people of all income levels have a place in Montpelier. Ten percent of our housing stock is affordable. This year we have made strides in building more housing. Thirty-six units will open on Barre Street this summer, with eighteen more to follow. We created a Housing Trust Fund, the second in the state, to help people purchase homes. We received a community development block grant to support the One More Home campaign which will assist property owners n creating dditional living paces in heir omes. We are changing portions of the zoning by-llaws to remove some impediments to development or renovation of housing. The City Council and I are very interested in developing an energy policy. We have challenged the city staff to continue looking for opportunities to reduce our $5550,000 in energy consumption. We began the process of having an energy conservation fund. We will be receiving a proposal from the Montpelier Energy Team (aa group many of you met on Town Meeting Day last year) for steps the community can take to save energy. In the late summer our volunteer town service officers, Cheryl and Bob Gowans, expressed their concern that people would be cold this winter. Fuel prices were through the roof and the funding for fuel assistance was not looking good. A team of volunteers worked over the next months to raise money for the Montpelier Emergency Fuel Fund - we held a dance, put out donation cans, asked for support. We exceeded our goal of having $110,000 in the fund thanks to the generosity of the people and businesses of this community. Municipal work is all about people - it is people who plow our streets, fight fires, and manage our vital records. This year we saw three retirements - Glenn French, Jana Bagwell and Steve Gray. Glenn worked every day to give his best to the people of Montpelier. Jana brought innovation and order to our financial world, leaving us with a remarkable record of clean audit reports. Steve is legendary in the Public Works world; I will miss his common sense and wisdom. Thank you all for your work. In Montpelier, municipal work is also about people volunteering to make this a better community. I can not list, or thank adequately, the hundreds of people it has been my privilege to work with this year. Folks like Patty Ribolini, Susan Reid and Nina Thompson who are interested in building a stronger community on Barre Street. Theresa Murray Clasen and Clarie Benedict along with many, many people at the school, the library and throughout the community who brought us Seedfolks, a community reading project. Chris Canavan who is a playground builder extraordinaire. Stephen Syz has worked tenaciously to create park space and improve Berlin Pond conservation efforts. The cast of hundreds who bring us our 3rd of July and First Night celebrations. These are just a few of the people who work every day as volunteers to make Montpelier a great place. In Montpelier we are also supported by businesses committed to a strong and viable community. First Night and the 3rd of July celebrations happen annually because of the financial support of these companies. First Night exists because of the partnership of the Times Argus, the Montpelier Downtown Community Association and the City. This year we celebrated our 200th anniversary as the capital of the state and we asked National Life, Vermont Mutual and Union Mutual to underwrite this celebration - in addition to all of their other community work - and they did. We were delighted with the bunting on the State House thanks to DuBois Construction and Lamberton Electric. Even though it rained on our parade, we are proud of the month long events celebrating being the capital. We had two bond votes last Town Meeting Day: (1) Housing Trust Fund. Voters dedicated $552,000 to this fund. Following the vote, the City Council asked the Montpelier Housing Task Force to develop a proposal for administering the fund. The Task Force recommended a process and the Council established a committee to carry out the work. Requests for proposals have been made and the committee will be making a recommendation to the City Council for the use of the fund in February. (2) Acquisition of Sabin's Pasture. Voters authorized $188,000 for "...the City Council to contribute to the acquisition of some or all of Sabin's Pasture for publicly accessible open space...." To say this is a complicated issue is an understatement. As a report on the status of the bond vote, suffice it to say the City Council is relying on a coalition of interested parties to develop a proposal for moving this issue forward. We have not issued the bond. As all volunteers know, your family makes it possible to do the work. Thank you Jim for your patience and support! We have a great team of municipal workers. My thanks to them and to their families - for when we have long meetings or emergencies it is the families who are missing their moms or dads, sons or daughters. A former employee with extensive experience in the work place described Bill Fraser as "simply the best boss I’ve ever had". My thanks to Bill and the senior staff for the truly excellent work we have come to regard as common place and to expect every day. Finally, I'd like to thank the City Council for their hard work his year. Each and every member of he Council worked hard to represent the best interests of the community. They brought a diversity of expertise and backgrounds to our work which ensured that many points of view were understood and addressed. I am proud to have worked with all of these people. I thank the people of Montpelier for the privilege and honor of working for the community. Mary S. Hooper Mayor For More Information
Updated May 12, 2006 |
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