Burlington, Vermont advisers are considering strengthening the funding of the Housing Fund – WAMC

Burlington, Vermont City Council, met on Monday night. Among their work was to report the increase in funding of the Housing Fund in the city.

Burlington, Vermont’s vacancy is less than 1 %. The average sale price for a home is over half a million dollars. About 60 percent of residents are tenants, and about one -third spend more than half of their rental income. Ward 1 Progressive Carter Neobizer cites these statistics as he has made a resolution calling for the increase in special resources for the residential trust fund in the city.

“This resolution asks the city’s employees to prepare a report outlining various ways in which we can increase the funding of the housing fund by at least $ 1 million, which would be equal to double the amount of money we invest in affordable housing” Neubieser said. “We have an incredibly successful model created at the Housing Fund for financing and maintaining permanently accessible units in our city. And let’s say we give approximately $ 1 million a year to the housing fund, which is equal to less than 1 % of our annual city budget. Even when we double it, we will still not do even 2 percent equivalent. And so I think this is a very first step in the right direction. “

During the more public comments, most residents insist on approval of the resolution of the Trust Fund. Champlain Housing Trust Chief Operations Officer Amy Demetrovitz told councilors that the fund has been a critical tool that has supported home development at affordable prices in the city for more than three decades.

“This is a great impact program that helped us build or update over 600 apartments in Burlington. There is no way to move forward with the construction of these affordable homes for sale without the trusted fund, “Demetrovitz said. “We applaud this resolution and commitment to explore new ways to expand this important resource.”

The resolution was unanimously approved.

The municipal councilors also held a working session at the reparation group created by the city in 2020. It aimed to explore the history of slavery in Burlington and to study the possibility of reparations. President Pablo Bose announced that the group was mostly in a dream in and after the pandemic.

“What is not completed includes the following: a historical analysis of how the city of Burlington, including business and individuals, may have participated in the institution of slavery, including by economic means. Review of cases and incidents with discrimination in the period after the abolition of slavery to the present in the city of Burlington, applicable to the descendants of enslaved persons. A set of recommendations on specific mechanisms and strategies that the city of Burlington should consider. We didn’t do it again, “Bose reported.

Bose recommended that the Council restore the working group with clear guidance and a more close range.

The councilors also held a working session to restore the city police station using data based methods. Following the presentation, the Chairman of the City Council Democrat Ben Travers warned that public contribution was also crucial.

“I know the data tell us a certain important picture here. But I think if you go to most people in Burlington to ask is the picture of public safety today according to the picture of the public safety we saw ten years ago, they would tell you “no”, Travers said. “So, yes, numbers are one thing. But there is a lot of evidence to win from our owners of companies in the city center, from our residents here, from our visitors to the city center, and this does not necessarily have to be captured in numbers. “

The Burlington Municipal Council will hold a public information on Wednesday at 5:30 for the day of the March 4th meeting, reviewing the school budget, revenue bonds and charter changes.