Burlington City Councilors discussed the mayor’s FY2027 Budget and rejected accepting the Chief Greylock statue during Monday’s meeting.With less than a month until the budget is due, councilors are split on whether Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak’s budget has cutbacks that are too much or too little.Burlington city leaders are proposing a $112 million for the fiscal year 2027. Mulvaney-Stanak announced last week that the city filled a nearly $12 million budget gap by making several moves, including cutting 13 unfilled jobs and delaying hiring for another 14 positions.The president of the city council, Ben Traverse, said some councilors have concerns that cuts in the budget aren’t big enough, while others are concerned that cutbacks are too big, especially on downtown Burlington events and activities.”Preparing a transparent budget that’s not only balanced, but an incredibly fiscally responsible budget that includes strategic investments in what we need as a community,” Mulvaney-Stanak said. “While continuing to bravely right-size the kinds of services that are not critical in core in order to provide a balanced budget to our city that does not spike taxes in a way that makes them unaffordable for folks.”Another key item people are concerned about is the tax on meals and alcohol, formally known as the gross receipts tax. Meals and alcohol currently have a 2.5% tax in Burlington. The tax was set to expire at the end of June, but the proposed budget includes another renewal.Mulvaney-Stanak must submit the budget by June 15. City councilors need to approve it by June 30.City councilors also voted to accept a statue from the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi Tribal Council as a gift on Monday night. In an 11-1 vote, councilors rejected it after many Vermonters showed up to the meeting with pushback on it.The project has been in discussion since 2022, when Burlington got a grant to engage in Vermont Abenaki education.It was supposed to replace the former Abenaki war leader, Chief Greylock, statue that was removed from Battery Park last summer for public health concerns.It’s already constructed, but many people at Monday’s city council meeting were not happy with it. They said the statue is a stereotypical image of an indigenous person, not correctly portraying Chief Greylock.City councilors who voted against it said it would harm the chief’s descendants.
Burlington City Councilors discussed the mayor’s FY2027 Budget and rejected accepting the Chief Greylock statue during Monday’s meeting.
With less than a month until the budget is due, councilors are split on whether Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak’s budget has cutbacks that are too much or too little.
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Burlington city leaders are proposing a $112 million for the fiscal year 2027. Mulvaney-Stanak announced last week that the city filled a nearly $12 million budget gap by making several moves, including cutting 13 unfilled jobs and delaying hiring for another 14 positions.
The president of the city council, Ben Traverse, said some councilors have concerns that cuts in the budget aren’t big enough, while others are concerned that cutbacks are too big, especially on downtown Burlington events and activities.
“Preparing a transparent budget that’s not only balanced, but an incredibly fiscally responsible budget that includes strategic investments in what we need as a community,” Mulvaney-Stanak said. “While continuing to bravely right-size the kinds of services that are not critical in core in order to provide a balanced budget to our city that does not spike taxes in a way that makes them unaffordable for folks.”
Another key item people are concerned about is the tax on meals and alcohol, formally known as the gross receipts tax.
Meals and alcohol currently have a 2.5% tax in Burlington. The tax was set to expire at the end of June, but the proposed budget includes another renewal.
Mulvaney-Stanak must submit the budget by June 15. City councilors need to approve it by June 30.
City councilors also voted to accept a statue from the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi Tribal Council as a gift on Monday night. In an 11-1 vote, councilors rejected it after many Vermonters showed up to the meeting with pushback on it.
The project has been in discussion since 2022, when Burlington got a grant to engage in Vermont Abenaki education.
It was supposed to replace the former Abenaki war leader, Chief Greylock, statue that was removed from Battery Park last summer for public health concerns.
It’s already constructed, but many people at Monday’s city council meeting were not happy with it. They said the statue is a stereotypical image of an indigenous person, not correctly portraying Chief Greylock.
City councilors who voted against it said it would harm the chief’s descendants.
