E-Newsletter from your Windsor District Senate Delegation – Town Meeting Week Update

E-Newsletter from your Windsor District Senate Delegation – Town Meeting Week Update

Whether you are from Andover or Windsor, Springfield or Thetford, Hartford or Bethel, or anywhere in between it is time to show up for local democracy! The first week in March is a week off from the legislative session for state elected leaders. We go back to our respective hometowns and participate in our annual Town Meeting traditions.

Wondering where your town meeting is or looking for a preview of what will be discussed? Check out this Valley News guide.

Additionally, go to your town website for details. Many towns now have informational meetings (Monday March 3rd for example has multiple evening meetings for towns in our area) and the majority of communities then have an Australian ballot day on Tuesday March 4th or and in-person floor meeting.

Here is the VTDigger’s Town Meeting run down too. You may also be hopefully looking at local election results for Select Board races, School Board races, or perhaps you want to know who won town moderator. Our understanding is there is not one compiled location for those results, but you would be able to find that information online in most communities the following day on town websites or in local papers.

Happy citizen engagement, and thank you for voting, showing up and/or running for office yourself. Democracy takes participation, and if there was ever a year to participate, it’s now!

Best,

Sen. Becca White

The major body of work this legislative session is educational reform and property tax reduction. Our Governor Phil Scott promised a roll out of a plan to reduce costs and improve education in our state, and we have been hopeful and anticipating information on his proposal.

Unfortunately, details on the plan have been limited and it was not until this last week the full language (also considered a starting point) was introduced on the House side.

So we need your help, we need you to weigh in on the start of the proposal, what you have heard and what you want us to know. This is a once in a generation opportunity to improve our educational outcomes and secure a bright future for our state, and we need your input to help guide us.

Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey we created to solicit your feedback. Share to anyone who you think would like to weigh in!

The rounded blue buttons above and below this text, and throughout email, will also take you to the survey.

On Friday, February 28th the Vermont Senate passed the Budget Adjustment Act (BAA) via voice vote. On second reading earlier in the week the vote was 18-12-0 with two Republicans joining the Democratic majority in support of the BAA passage. Here are three key housing takeaways from the bill:

1. Funding for Affordable Housing Development – $8.6 million for affordable housing (via VHCB)

• Vermont faces a severe shortage of affordable homes. Without this funding, new construction and preservation projects will be delayed or canceled.
• VHCB has already received $50 million in project requests for FY25. Without this investment, fewer affordable homes will be built at a time when Vermonters need them the most.
• Investing in housing creates jobs, supports economic growth, and stabilizes communities.

2. Extending Emergency Winter Housing – $1.84 million to extend emergency winter housing through June 30, 2025

• The General Assistance Emergency Housing Program provides shelter to Vermonters the Legislature has defined as vulnerable.
• Under current law, 456 households—including 594 adults and 155 children—will lose shelter when the program expires on March 31, 2025.
• Vermont does not have the shelter capacity to absorb this loss. The statewide shelter capacity is 618 households, and all are already full.
• Without shelter, more Vermonters will end up in emergency rooms, police stations, and public spaces. The University of Vermont Medical Center has already seen 80-100 unhoused residents in its ER due to a lack of available shelter.
• We saw what happened last year in Burlington, where ending emergency housing led to a dramatic increase in unsheltered homelessness. We cannot let this crisis grow.

3. Funding for the Developmental Disabilities Housing Initiative- $2.8 million to complete the Developmental Disabilities Housing Initiative

• In 2022, Vermont committed to building supportive housing for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Two projects are already underway, but the third is short $2.8 million. Without this funding, the project cannot move forward this summer, leaving Vermonters without the housing they were promised.
• We must follow through on our commitments to vulnerable Vermonters.

Finally, at the same time, Vermont is be prepared to push back against unconstitutional federal overreach and attacks on our social safety net. The Trump movement is actively working to gut federal funding for housing, food programs, and education—programs that Vermonters rely on every day. That’s why the BAA also includes a position within the Solicitor General’s office to defend Vermont against Trump-led federal actions that strip away critical funding and violate constitutional rights.

• applying for a property tax credit to help you pay your property taxes, click here.

• applying for grants that help you add an ADU to your home, click here.
• rebates/help for energy efficiency and electrification projects, click here.
• subsidies and resources to help you keep warm this winter, click here.
• funding and incentives to expand our supply of housing, click here.
• supporting business launches and economic development, click here.
• emergency rental assistance, click here.
• child care financial assistance. click here.
• help putting healthy food on your table, click here.
•  information on tax breaks/incentives around EVs or fuel efficient vehicles listed at the Drive Electric website: https://www.driveelectricvt.com/  with incentives here: https://www.driveelectricvt.com/incentives