The administration is on track to deliver a balanced budget proposal to the City Council, while also making intentional investments in community health & safety, and bolstering capacity for housing work.
Vermont Business Magazine Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak and Chief Administrative Officer Katherine Schad held a press conference today to outline the City’s progress in closing an $8 million gap and balancing the FY26 budget.
The Mayor and CAO presented details on a range of solutions, including modest tax increases, savings from program, service, and staff reductions, and more.
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Budget Solutions to close $8 million gap |
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|
Category |
Total Dollar Amount |
Components |
|
Additional Revenue |
$2.6M |
$1.7M growth in Grand List; additional $0.01 public safety tax; additional $0.005 on Parks tax, and $0.005 on Highway tax; $300k |
|
ModGov Efficiencies |
$2.0M |
Projecting $750k in additional revenue collected, merging departments |
|
Service Inventory Reductions |
$2.6M |
Winding down certain programs and services |
|
Smaller cuts |
$0.8M |
|
|
Total |
$8M |
Combination of Reductions and Additional Revenue |
Summary of Program and Service Reductions, & ModGov Efficiencies in FY26 Budget
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Ending CORE Program and lease of ONE Community Center second floor – wind down 9/30, includes senior center programming
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Reducing middle management positions in Parks, CEDO
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Reducing BCA art gallery adult education programming
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Eliminating redundant administrative assistant positions due to department mergers and duplicative financial work
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Ending granting for REIB Empowerment Funds and use of general funds for BCA grants
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Centralizing General Fund IT services (BPD and Library)
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Centralizing financial services and reducing 3 positions
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Winding down ELI program and scholarships for third shift families due to state policy changes within CCFAP
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25 positions eliminated across seven general fund departments reduction in staff in BCA, CEDO, BWD, DPI, BPD, BPRW, Library. Of these 25 positions,
7 were vacant, 12 were union and 13 non-union. 4 are PT and 21 are FT positions.
Impacted employees are receiving 60 days paid at their normal salaries, accrual of sick/vacation and retirement during that period, pay out of accrued leave time after 60 days, health insurance through the end of July, career counseling, and unemployment information.
During the press conference, the Mayor acknowledged that the current City charter and past budgeting practices have created a compressed budget development timeline every spring. This summer, the Mayor will again convene staff to continue the review of City budgeting policies and procedures, building off of work started in August 2024. This will include the initiation of a new effort to modernize the City charter, which has not had a comprehensive review or rewrite since 1949. For example, the City’s numerous splinter taxes are inconsistent in their design and application, which has resulted in challenges over many budget cycles.
Relevant recommendations from the Mayor’s Tax Fairness Working Group will be incorporated into the Charter work this summer.
The work outlined above will allow for more predictability around anticipated changes to the municipal tax rate, earlier engagement and stronger partnership with the City Council in developing future budgets, and continuing to build on the equity-based budgeting practices started this year.
Budget Presentations will continue throughout the month of May, including tonight at the BoF and Council, and on Wednesdays, May 14, 21, 28 – agendas for these meetings can be found on CivicClerk.
The following supporting documents are attached:
- 5.12.25 Budget Update Presentation
- 05.12.25 List of eliminated positions
5.12.2025. Burlington, Vt – Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak
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