by Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First, Vermont Business Magazine
Burlington Public Works Director Chapin Spencer was busy recently pushing for more than a $16,100 a year pay raise for the wife of Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak as the city’s CEO was contemplating laying off about two dozen municipal employees due to a projected $8 million budget shortfall.
Spencer, in a memo to the Burlington Board of Finance and City Council on April 14, argued to give Megan Moir, the director of water resources, an annual pay increase from $124,681 to $140,843.
Spencer, who was appointed by Mulvaney-Stanak of the Progressive Party, also asked that the raise for the mayor’s wife be made retroactive to Dec. 9, 2024 because of the delay in getting the pay increase pushed through.
Both the Board of Finance and the full City Council approved the pay hike in separate meetings on the same day the memo was dated by Spencer.
Less than four weeks later Vermont News First broke the story about the proposed layoffs by Mulvaney-Stanak, believed to be the first mass firings in the history of Burlington City Hall.
The meeting minutes for both the Board of Finance and the City Council on April 14 give no indication of any discussion or debate on the issue. Vermont law requires minutes of government meetings to give a true indication of what happened at the sessions.
The Board of Finance approved the pay raise on a 4-1 vote with Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak, recusing herself from the vote, according to the meeting minutes.
Those minutes mention a “COI,” which is likely referring to an apparent conflict of interest for the mayor -- voting about a possible pay raise for her wife. Progressive City Councilor Carter Neubieser voted against the pay increase.
The motion to approve the consent agenda items at the Finance Board was made by Independent Mark Barlow and seconded by City Council President Ben Traverse, a Democrat, the minutes said.
Later that evening at the City Council meeting, Councilor Gene Bergman, a Progressive, moved to approve the consent agenda, which had the pay raise listed among various action items to be authorized. Barlow second the motion and it was approved unanimously by the City Council, the minutes note.
It was earlier this month that Vermont News First reported the expected city layoffs and Mulvaney-Stanak responded later with a statement confirming 25 municipal employees, including seven vacant positions, would be eliminated. Layoffs included long-serving CEDO director, and Progressive, Brian Pine, who was appointed by former Democratic Mayor Miro Weinberger.
The reductions are being done in an effort to try to balance a $103 million budget for 2025-26, she said. The gap was $8 million.
Mulvaney-Stanak, a former labor union organizer from Barre, eliminated 12 union jobs and 13 non-union posts.
The 25 layoffs cut across seven city departments. They range from the head of the Community and Economic Development office to the public information officer at the Burlington Police. They also include eight employees in the Burlington, Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Department as the city prepares to keep children to seniors busy with activities for the summer.
Little to no notice for the layoffs were given to the impacted city employees, who said they were escorted out of their work areas. The mayor confirmed the sudden removal of the employees.
It was last summer that Mulvaney-Stanak and Moir took considerable heat from the public after a special food drive was started by friends to provide free weekly dinners to them to help reduce the burden of being public servants.
Mulvaney-Stanak, who took office as Mayor on April 1, 2024 and her spouse, Moir, were making about a combined $250,000 a year in their city jobs, but some friends had started a food drive for the two women and their two children.
The sign-up was through a website known as Mealtrain.com and featured a picture of Mulvaney-Stanak, Moir and their two children.
Mealtrain advertises itself as helping provide meals after a birth, surgery or illness, according to the homepage of its website. The free meals also can be used during deployments, a loss, a new neighbor or common life events, the website notes.
The computer link for Mulvaney-Stanak’s account on MealTrain.com, which was extended to more than 300 people, came down several hours after Vermont News First reported the request for free food.
Mulvaney-Stanak, a former state legislator, said the time and stress of the new job as the CEO of the city was too much. Mulvaney-Stanak got some support from other Progressive Party members and a few friends, but the requested meal handout did not fly well with most -- especially among women -- as it soon became a nation-wide story.
Moir has worked for Burlington since 2009, records show. She is a former Winooski City Council member (2011-2013).
“If you are able to support them to make the job of Mayor more manageable, please consider bringing them a meal,” said a pitch letter sent at the time by Rachel Siegel of Toward Liberation.
Some Burlington city employees and departments, including the police, are prohibited by regulations from accepting free items, including meals.
Mulvaney-Stanak eventually issued a statement that said in part:
"I am proud to be the first woman and first mom with small children to serve as the Mayor of Burlington," Mulvaney-Stanak said.
"Serving as an elected leader significantly impacts families given how much time it takes to do the important work of leading a city. This has been especially true for my family with the complex challenges facing our City in my first two months," the mayor said.
Mulvaney-Stanak gave no comparison to how her predecessor, Mayor Miro Weinberger, his wife, who worked fulltime, and their two young children were able to apparently survive without community meals being donated.
Mulvaney-Stanak continued to double down and triple down on accepting the free meals and offered no apologies.
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