Ward 3 NPA

Ward 3 Neighborhood Planning Assembly Wednesday, February 4, 2026, 6:30 PM Join in person: City Hall, Sharon Bushor Conference Room, 149 Church St. Join virtually: https://zoom.us/j/98644635243 Facilitator: Zach Cummings 6:30 pm Call to Order | 5 min Adopt the agenda and review meeting ground rules. 6:35 pm CDBG Advisory Board Update | 10 min An update on the work of the CDBG Advisory Board. • Brooks Cummings, Ward 3 Representative 6:45 pm City Budget Presentation | 30 min An update on the current status of the city’s proposed FY27 budget. • Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, Mayor • Katherine Schad, Chief Administrative Officer 7:15 pm Town Meeting Day Ballot Questions | 30 min A presentation on the Town Meeting Day ballot questions. 1) Public Safety Tax Question Katherine Schad, CAO, Department of Finance and Administration 2) REIB Charter Change Kelli Perkins, Director, Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging 7:45 pm Candidate Forum | 30 min An opportunity to connect with School Commission and City Council candidates. • Heather Amato, School Commissioner • Laura Sánchez-Parkinson, City Council 8:15 pm Public Forum | 15 min An opportunity to share opinions, news, and events. 8:30 pm Adjourn Our next meeting is Wednesday, March 4. Use the QR code to go to any of these links: Email us • Go to our website • Watch meeting recordings on CCTV's website • Connect with us on Facebook or Instagram • Request a time slot with the NPA Request Form • Links from this agenda Page 1 of 20 Appendix to the Agenda Ward 3 NPA Ground Rules • Meetings should have clearly defined agenda and roles. • Honor Time limits: A best effort must be made to start on time, follow the agenda, and finish on time. • Wait to be recognized: Members may not speak until recognized by the moderator. • Listen to others: Make efforts to be an open-minded member of the group. • Respect the agenda and the process: Try to remain focused on the issue at hand. • Share your opinion respectfully: Speak out, but not over, others’ comments. • Treat people how you would like to be treated: Be respectful of everyone, including guests. Public Forum Protocol • Community members will be required to sign up for the Public Forum before the start of the meeting consistent with the process used by the City Council. • Participants will have up to two (2) minutes to share their thoughts and will speak based upon the order in which the requests were received. • Participants may speak only for themselves and individual speakers will not be permitted to yield their time to other speakers. • Personal attacks will not be tolerated and the moderator reserves the right to limit comments that are disruptive and/or obscene. • Ward 3 residents will be given priority and, if there is still time, persons who live outside the ward will be provided an opportunity to speak. Question-and-Answer Protocol • Please state your full name prior to asking your question. • Each participant will have thirty (30) seconds to ask one and only one question. • There will be no follow up questions so everyone has a chance to participate. • Ward 3 residents will be given priority. Discussion and Debate Rules • Members may not speak until recognized by the moderator. • Each member will have a maximum of two (2) minutes to speak on questions before the NPA. • No member will be permitted to speak a second time until every member has had an opportunity to speak once. • No member will be permitted to speak a third time until every member has had an opportunity to speak twice. Appendix to agenda | Wards 3 NPA - Page 2 Page 2 of 20  FY27 General Fund Budget & Police and Fire Tax Rate Increase NPA Presentation January-February 2026 Page 3 of 20  FY27 Budget: Big Picture • Estimated $10-12M budget gap at this time - Approx. 10% of City's $107M budget • Current FY27 general fund personnel estimate is $78.5M (increase of 7.5%) • This is in line with expectations - Still includes estimates for health insurance & worker’s comp based on timing of the current fiscal year and self-insured nature of our insurance plan Page 4 of 20  FY27 Budget: Personnel • Started with FY26 personnel budget of $73M - Departments recently provided updated information • New police and fire union contract provisions unanimously supported by City Council and Mayor: - Add 2 new firefighters per BFFA contract FY27 - Cost of living adjustments of 7% (fire) and 4.75% (police). In line with regional salaries for first responders. - AFSCME negotiations start in February for FY27 so used a conservative figures for salary/benefits - Non-union – used AFSCME estimate as is our recent practice Page 5 of 20  FY27 Budget: Personnel • Add required annual step increases for all eligible employees • Increase employer healthcare costs by 10% - Based on initial estimate and subject to change based on current usage • Increase employer retirement costs by 5% - Initial estimate • Increase worker’s compensation insurance costs by 5% - Initial estimate Page 6 of 20  FY27 Budget: Operating • Add 3% for inflation on most other non-personnel operating costs • Added money to have cash available to purchase 9 new vehicles on the urgent/dire need list: 6 are for Police & Fire, remaining are for Parks - Since 2013, City has constrained replacement of vehicles and equipment for budget reasons - In 2020, fleet committee estimated City needs $2.7M/year for sustainable replacement of fleet - City has not yet been able to find sustainable fleet money in budget - Situation is no longer sustainable for first responders Page 7 of 20  Why Ongoing Structural Budget Gap? • Grand List is foundation of our revenue: property taxes. • Property taxes represent approximately half of City’s General Fund revenue - Other revenue comes from grants, other types of taxes (ex: gross receipts), and fees. • Our Grand List grows at a lower rate than our operating costs. • Average annual grand list growth of 1.05% since 2016 • Note: In FY27, we no longer collect $1M of business personal property tax revenue, and there is no replacement source of revenue. Page 8 of 20  Why Ongoing Structural Budget Gap? • The City has overly relied on one-time funds. We are changing this practice and removing historically unachievable revenues from our budget. • FY26 Included $1.2M of ARPA funding for police and fire salaries that is no longer available. • FY26 included $650k of one-time increased collection of delinquent property taxes and gross receipts – removing for further discussion. • Some revenues overbudgeted in recent years, and budget not met – revising downward to make realistic creates an additional expected gap of $1.3M Page 9 of 20  Why Ongoing Structural Budget Gap? • The City has grown the size of our workforce, services and programming over the past decade. • The City added 98 FTEs positions with salaries funded by the General Fund between FY14 – FY24. - This is an ongoing operational expense we added with one-time revenue sources in many cases. Page 10 of 20  Balanced Budget: 3-Part Approach • A gap of $10-12M in City budget of $107M is approximately 10% and will require a balanced, three-part approach: – Raise Revenue – Rightsize Government – Realize Strategic Opportunities Page 11 of 20  Raise Revenue: Raise Police & Fire Tax • One option to raise revenue is $0.05 increase to police & fire tax • Would raise about $3M toward projected gap • Overall expected increase to FY27 compensation and benefits for police & fire is $3.05M - Excluding retirement, which is covered by dedicated tax • Current police & fire tax projected to raise $6.4M this year - In contrast, budgets for those departments are $39.1M - Police & fire tax only raises 16% of costs for the services • Bipartisan City Council vote (9-3) to place tax rate increase on TMD March ballot Page 12 of 20  Municipal Tax Effect Note: $353K is current median assessed value for home or condo in Burlington​ Fiscal Muni Tax Rate Total Muni Tax on $ Increase % Increase Year $353K Property FY22 $.6704 $2,367 FY23 $.7085 $2,501 $134 5.7% FY24 $.7523 $2,655 $154 6.2% FY25 $.8326 $2,939 $284 10.7% FY26 $.8556 $3,020 $81 2.8% FY27 $.9363 * $3,305 $285 9.4% * Proposed rate for FY27 including $.05 police and tax increase + other increases required by Charter.​ Page 13 of 20  Preliminary Early Balanced Solution Category Solution Amount Notes Raise Revenue Increase Police & Fire Property Tax $ 3M Council approved question to be placed $.05 on Town Meeting Day ballot. Raise Revenue Utilize One-Time Revenues $ 2M Exploring use of dedicated tax balances from many years previous in appropriate, budget-relieving ways. Raise Revenue Enhance Collections $ 1M Examples include parking tickets, ambulance fees and building permits. Refine amount. Rightsize Reduce Government Expenses 5-= $ 3M Department Heads made Government 10% recommendations for further discussion. Rightsize Create Voluntary Furlough Program $ 0.2M HR moving forward to create voluntary Government program. Realize Strategic Sale of City Property $ 1M Vacant properties or used for parking. Opportunities Would create one-time money and add to ongoing property tax revenue. Total $ 10.2M Numbers are preliminary, and this is just an initial look at one way we could choose to structure the solution. Page 14 of 20  Summary • $10-12M current gap • Will utilize a three-part approach to handle – raising revenue, rightsizing government, and realizing strategic opportunities • $0.05 increase to police and fire tax will raise $3M, which pays for increases City is obligated to contract to pay to those employees • Vote happens on Town Meeting Day, March 3 • Each department will present budget to Board of Finance in early April • Budget drafted by Mayor and must be approved by June 30 by City Council Page 15 of 20  REIB CHARTER CHANGE OFFICE OF RACIAL EQUITY, INCLUSION, & BELONGING (REIB) January 15, 2026 REIB CHARTER CHANGE MARCH 3, 3026 BALLOT Page 16 of 20  REIB Charter Change January 15, 2026 REIB Charter Change: What Voters Are Being Asked to Decide •On March 3, Burlington voters will decide whether to add the Office of Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (REIB) to the City Charter •The City Charter defines which parts of City government are permanent •This change would make the REIB a stable, ongoing part of City government. •Placing the REIB in the Charter helps ensure this work continues consistently over time, regardless of changes in leadership. NPA MEETINGS: REIB CHARTER CHANGE Page 17 of 20  REIB Charter Change January 15, 2026 NPA MEETINGS: REIB CHARTER CHANGE Page 18 of 20  REIB Charter Change January 15, 2026 REIB Charter Change: What the REIB Does and Why it Matters for Burlington What the REIB Does in Burlington Why This Matters for Burlington •Supports city departments in the • Helps the City and community respond to development, implementation, and diverse and community-identified needs coordination for programs and services to ensure consistency and accessibility • Supports a strong local economy and community resilience. •Provides training and guidance for City staff, boards, and commissions • Brings diverse perspectives into City decision-making and builds trust. •Creates ways for community members to engage directly with City government NPA MEETINGS: REIB CHARTER CHANGE Page 19 of 20  REIB Charter Change Insert Date REIB Charter Change: Budget Clarity Budget clarity: • The REIB already exists • It represents about 0.7% of the City’s General Fund • At its highest funding level, it has never exceeded 1% of the General Fund NPA MEETINGS: REIB CHARTER CHANGE Page 20 of 20