After months of very public disagreement about crime and disorder in Burlington, Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak and Gov. Phil Scott have finally found a way to work together.
The governor, in conjunction with the mayor, unveiled a 14-point plan last week that takes on some challenging items. The state will offer additional police patrols; take part in a community clean-up event; and start a program that aims to keep offenders from committing more crimes while awaiting trial.
“This response plan is a good step forward,” Mulvaney-Stanak said in a statement. “In order for our communities to be safer for everyone, we must identify myriad responses to address harm and improve well-being.”
Given the recent resignations of the mayor’s top advisers on public safety and homelessness, the offer of additional help was timely and well received by city officials. But questions remain about how some of Scott’s ideas will be put into practice — and who foots the bill. Some local officials are looking for more help, particularly on homelessness, than the initiative provides.
“At the moment, the plan is presented in a high-level way,” City Council President Ben Traverse (D-Ward 5) said. “In the weeks and months to come, we’re going to have to sort of fill in the blanks.”
About halfway through her first three-year term, Mulvaney-Stanak has faced unrelenting pressure to stem pervasive public drug use and unsheltered homelessness. The Progressive mayor, though, has pointed the finger at Scott, a Republican, for some of the city’s problems as continued rollbacks of the state’s motel housing program have put hundreds of people on the streets. Scott’s administration has described Burlington’s challenges as those of its own making.
The public tit for tat eased in September when the governor announced that he would meet with residents, business leaders and elected officials to craft a public safety plan for the city.
The result is a mix of tougher-on-crime policies and an expansion of social services. On the accountability front, the plan directs service providers to call police when their clients are violent or disruptive and promises new strategies to reduce syringe litter. It starts a new pretrial supervision program for defendants, who could face more charges if they violate court-ordered conditions of release.
Created by the legislature in 2024, the program is already running in Essex and Orleans counties, according to Haley Sommer, a spokesperson for the Vermont Department of Corrections. It will be open to offenders who have five or more pending cases or who have previously violated court conditions. Depending on the person’s risk of reoffending, a pretrial supervisor may check in anywhere from once a week to twice a month, Sommer said.
More compassionate responses include plans to expand drug treatment both in prison and the community, the latter with a “mobile addiction treatment van” through the University of Vermont Medical Center.
Emergency medicine physician Matthew Siket, who is organizing the street medicine team, said the van will be staffed by a paramedic and another provider who will visit designated locations daily to treat wounds, counsel patients, and refer them to drug treatment and other programs. Treating people on the street can help them avoid frequent trips to the emergency room and longer hospital stays, Siket said. He aims to have the van up and running before spring.
“The momentum has been really impressive, and we’ve had a lot of support,” he said. “I’ve been telling folks that we’ll be putting consistent miles on this vehicle before the snow melts.”
One part of Scott’s plan is already under way. Earlier this month, the governor appointed Zach Weight, a deputy state’s attorney in Washington County, to serve as special prosecutor on an “accountability court” docket meant to reduce a backlog of criminal cases. Judge Martin Maley, who has retired, will preside. The court officially opened last week and is slated to run for 90 days. The governor’s office has said it will cover the cost, according to state court administrator Teri Corsones.
Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George said defendants with five or more pending cases are automatically being referred to the special docket, with some exceptions, such as those who are due to be sentenced or are facing homicide charges.
“So far it appears to be going as smooth as possible given the very quick transition and change in the scheduling of cases,” George wrote in an email.
But the plan doesn’t say how much that program, or any of the others on the list, will cost — and Scott’s press secretary, Amanda Wheeler, didn’t answer questions seeking details. The full 14-point proposal can be “operationalized” within three to four months, the press release says, but it’s unclear how long each effort will last once it’s up and running.
Perhaps the vaguest item on the list is an offer of “law enforcement assets,” presumably Vermont State Police, to bolster the short-staffed Burlington department. Both Mulvaney-Stanak and interim Burlington Police Chief Shawn Burke have said such services wouldn’t be necessary, particularly when the state agency is facing staffing shortages of its own.
In an interview last week, the mayor said Burlington’s own officers, who are trained to city standards and know the repeat offenders, are best suited for patrols. But she said city officials and the governor discussed the possibility of having other agencies, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles or Fish & Wildlife, lend a hand. The plan also suggests that Burke will have a role in determining what his department needs, meaning Scott is unlikely to deploy state troopers without the chief’s say-so.
“I’m glad that the governor has acknowledged, finally, that he has a responsibility to be a partner in solving issues.”
Councilor Carter Neubieser
City councilors on both sides of the aisle welcomed the idea of additional help. Council President Traverse said state troopers may not be invited to conduct patrols but suggested they could transport arrestees to prison, which would free up Burlington officers. As for potential DMV patrols, Traverse said, drug traffickers might think twice about driving through town if they knew officers were tracking suspicious vehicles. Councilor Gene Bergman (P-Ward 2) suggested DMV officers could enforce serious infractions, such as excessive speeding and running red lights.
“I’ve heard enough complaints about traffic safety issues to think this is meaningful for improving the quality of life in the city of Burlington,” Bergman said.
It’s unclear who would pay for the additional patrols. Between 2022 and 2023, the city shelled out more than $100,000 to station state troopers downtown following a rash of gun-related crimes, WCAX-TV reported at the time. But after contending with a multimillion-dollar budget hole, city officials aren’t sure they can scrounge up that kind of money this year.
The mayor has also been reluctant to commit funds to getting rid of graffiti, which could complicate Scott’s plan to coordinate a “mass volunteer clean-up and beautification effort” with city officials. Mulvaney-Stanak said she and Scott have not yet discussed how to cover costs for that project or the police patrols.
“We both expressed solidarity to each other around our challenging budget situations,” she said. “The state is facing the same limited resources that the city does.”
Still, some local leaders are hoping for more state help. Kelly Devine, executive director of the Burlington Business Association, said many businesses’ concerns were reflected in Scott’s plan, but she hopes future discussions could be about bringing more people downtown, using perks such as a sales tax holiday.
Ways to address the crisis of homelessness were also absent from Scott’s plan. It doesn’t acknowledge the lack of shelter capacity, nor does it provide any strategies to manage encampments. In Burlington, several have popped up along the waterfront.
Mulvaney-Stanak said she and the governor discussed shelter space but couldn’t agree on an approach before Scott released his proposals. As it stands, the city has no plan to operate a low-barrier warming shelter this winter.
Mulvaney-Stanak said the city will continue to advocate for more shelter space, knowing it could alleviate some of the city’s public safety challenges. Data show that of the 20 people with the highest number of police interactions downtown, only one of them is not listed as homeless or living in a shelter.
“You can’t really solve any of these problems if you don’t address that,” Councilor Bergman said. “There’s got to be a commitment to work with us to deal with that, with this problem.”
Councilor Carter Neubieser (P-Ward 1) said substantial state funding is needed to fully address Burlington’s challenges, including more housing and inpatient mental health beds. But he said Scott’s short-term plan is a good start.
“I’m glad that the governor has acknowledged, finally, that he has a responsibility to be a partner in solving issues,” he said. “This is, by far, the most hope I’ve had that we can find some common ground.”
The original print version of this article was headlined “To the Rescue? | Gov. Phil Scott’s public safety proposals for Burlington have potential to help, city officials say”
This article appears in Oct 29 – Nov 4, 2008.
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!