Ward 6 NPA

Ward 6 NPA Meeting Agenda Thursday, February 5, 2026 Location: Department of Public Works, 645 Pine Street Or on zoom: https://zoom.us/j/81027856568 6:00 Community Dinner – join us for great (free!) food and a chance to connect with your neighbors 6:30 Call to Order, • Introductions • Announcements • Nomination of Hannah Riley to the Steering Committee and vote • Call for additional Steering Committee members 6:45: Shall the Ward 6 NPA express its support for the sentiments expressed in the Open Letter to City Council that was presented to us at our December 4, 2025 meeting? (Text of Letter is below the agenda.). Brief comments, consideration of any proposed amendments, and a vote. 7:15 School Budget Presentation and Candidate introduction: Clare Wool (candidate for re-election) and Jeff Wick 7:30 City Ballot items • Tax Fairness Advisory Question and Public Safety Tax Increase: Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak and CAO Katherine Schad • Proposed Racial Equity Inclusion and Belonging Charter Change: REIB Director Kelli Perkins and REIB Communications and Community Engagement Manager Christian Berry 8:15 Adjourn Open Letter to City Council (referenced above) Dear Burlington City Council & Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak, Democrats on the City Council blocked the AFC pledge advisory question from going to voters two years in a row, despite thousands of Burlington residents signing petitions to put the pledge on the ballot. In April 2025, the Council unanimously approved a resolution for protecting free speech on Palestine, and it is time to rectify the fact that our free speech rights have been repeatedly denied. There should be a democratic vote on adopting the pledge. THE APARTHEID-FREE COMMUNITY PLEDGE: WE AFFIRM our commitment to freedom, justice, and equality for the Palestinian people and all people; and WE OPPOSE all forms of racism, bigotry, discrimination, and oppression; and WE DECLARE ourselves an Apartheid-free community and to that end, Page 1 of 20 WE PLEDGE to join others in working to end all support to Israel’s Apartheid regime, settler colonialism, and military occupation. We, the undersigned, SUPPORT the Apartheid-Free Community (AFC) pledge, and DEMAND that the Burlington City Council place the AFC advisory referendum question on the town meeting day 2026 ballot. [end of open letter] What is the NPA? Neighborhood Planning Assemblies (NPAs) are grassroots, neighborhood organizations that were established in each of Burlington's wards to encourage resident participation in City government. Working as neighborhood advocacy groups, Neighborhood Planning Assemblies help improve communication between the residents of Burlington and City government through regular meetings scheduled in each Ward. For more information, click here. What is involved in being on the Ward 6 NPA Steering Committee? The Steering Committee is responsible for managing the affairs of the NPA, which includes organizing, publicizing, and overseeing regular and special NPA meetings; sharing information about the NPA with neighbors and the wider community; monitoring community developments and City policy to identify issues relevant to the neighborhood and inviting speakers to present at the NPA; and overseeing the NPA’s budget from the City. We typically meet once each month to plan the following month’s meeting, and then have various tasks to follow up on (such as contacting speakers, arranging for food, etc.). Page 2 of 20  REIB CHARTER CHANGE OFFICE OF RACIAL EQUITY, INCLUSION, & BELONGING (REIB) January 15, 2026 REIB CHARTER CHANGE MARCH 3, 3026 BALLOT Page 3 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 4 of 20  REIB Charter Change January 15, 2026 NPA MEETINGS: REIB CHARTER CHANGE Page 5 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 6 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 7 of 20  FY27 General Fund Budget & Police and Fire Tax Rate Increase NPA Presentation January-February 2026 Page 8 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 9 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 10 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 11 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 12 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 13 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 14 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 15 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 16 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 17 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 18 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 19 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 20 of 20