Photo: Art on Park in Stowe.Courtesy photo.
The town’s economy has received a boost from more people moving to town. Yet, the extra people have also added extra demands on town staff
by Olga Peters, Vermont Business Magazine All of a sudden, everyone is talking about adding traffic lights in Stowe, explained Town Manager Charles Safford.
“I said to my wife, it's gonna take me a little longer to get home at night because I’ve got to go around taking a bunch of rights instead of taking any lefts,” he joked.
Lighthearted comments about traffic aside, since the pandemic started in 2020, Stowe has seen its population increase. Last September, the Stowe Reporter published an article outlining an increase in Stowe’s year-round population of 4,314 in 2010 to 5,223 in 2020.
Safford added in an email that the town has seen its water usage and meals and rooms taxes shift with the pandemic.
“Historically, two-thirds of Stowe’s housing stock has been second homes,” he wrote. “During the initial wave of the pandemic, we saw residential water use go up which we surmised was people occupying their second homes, but commercial use was down.”
“Now both residential and commercial water use is up,” he continued. “Zoning permit activity and land use recordings are up, which indicate that people are continuing to look to relocate to Stowe. Rooms, meals, and alcohol taxes have also rebounded and shown a significant increase for the first quarter of FY'22 (7/1/22-10-31/22).”
Safford shared an email from Finance Director Cindy Fuller outlining the increase in water usage.
As a whole, revenue from water usage was up $80,010 as of November 2021.
Commercial water usage was up 51.9 percent compared to November 2020. Residential usage was also up 14.5 percent. Water connection fees were up $61,929 as well. Connection fees were not included in the overall revenue numbers. Similar trends are reflected in the town’s wastewater revenues.
In a second email sent to Safford, Fuller documented a 105 percent increase in the town’s 1 percent local option sales tax revenue for Q1 fiscal year 2022.
“It was so large that I contacted [the] Vermont Treasurer Office to confirm the numbers,” Fuller wrote.
In Safford’s opinion, folks are moving to the area — or at least purchasing second homes — to avoid the pandemic and leave behind natural disasters, such as wildfires, affecting other areas of the country.
Photo: Traffic in Stowe. Photo: Google Maps.
“Stowe has a tranquil feeling,” he said. “About 30 percent of the land is conserved, and so people have a feeling of being in the outdoors while having amenities that are only offered in typically more urban settings.”
To be sure, more people have meant more tax revenue for the town. But, it has also meant more demand on town services and staff, and this has left the town’s 60 full-time equivalent employees feeling a little wrung out.
“All of a sudden, everybody's knocking on our door, they want more kids in summer camp, they want more permit review, they may or may not be familiar with our zoning regs, you know, and we're trying to handle this additional crush of service demand,” he said.
“This has been particularly challenging for our historically volunteer emergency medical services and fire departments, leading us to increase our paid staff to help provide surety of service,” he added.
The Stowe Fire Department’s calls for service has increased over the years. In 1998, the department received 139 service calls. In 2018, the department responded to 364 calls. This year the town estimates the department will have approximately 400 calls.
The municipality is also investigating ways to increase the capacity of its roadways while maintaining Stowe’s character.
Safford said the town will likely hire more staff to keep up with residents’ needs. Yet, hiring may prove a tricky dance between remaining nimble and building a municipal budget.
Photo: Truck stuck in Smugglers' Notch. Photo courtesy of Vermont State Police.
“We get our budgets and the amount to be raised in taxes once a year, then all of a sudden we see an influx of demand,” Safford said. “We're not necessarily readily positioned to adjust as a private sector supply-and-demand model where you can adjust your prices and labor force.”
Safford pointed out that one of the challenges for municipalities is the amount of fiscal and regulatory power that resides at the state level.
Part of the Vermont ethos is an emphasis on local control.
Yet, at a policy level, Vermont is a Dillon’s Rule State, meaning towns only have the authority that the state specifically grants them. This paradox can create conundrums for municipalities.
“One of the challenges in Vermont is a lot of things have been done at the state level, yet people expect us to do more and more things at the local level,” Safford said.
Safford noted that the state’s control over fiscal capacity and taxing ability, limits how towns can raise funds.
For example, Safford has fielded many calls from new residents asking why they’re paying so much in property taxes and don’t get curbside trash pickup as one of their services.
“Historically, we've provided basic level services, plowing the roads and public safety, and those sorts of things,” he said. “But people's expectations and demands are starting to evolve as well.”
Despite his concerns around the potential for municipal staff burning out, Safford said he is happy more people have moved to town.
“People are our greatest asset,” he said. “This is an influx of new energy, ideas, and investments. So I think those are all positive.”
Olga Peters is a freelance writer from Windham County.
