Money - 1/25/26

Hello,

This week the Governor presented his budget for next year. Money will be the main topic of the session as Covid era funds are gone and there are significant pressures on the Education, Transportation and General Funds, in addition to uncertainty and diminished support coming from Washington. On Thursday our President announced an audit of 14 blue states, including VT, to assess their use of federal funds – this does not bode well for Vermont as 36% of our budget is Federal money.

The Appropriations Committee is hard at work sorting through the Governor’s proposed budget. It has been made clear that there is no money for any new legislative projects or programs to be included in the budget. Which is as it should be. I have not had time to dig into the numbers, but one curious piece was no request for money from the Department of Children and Families to upgrade their 46 year old DOS based computer system. We heard testimony on Friday about the recent three-day system wide shut down that alarmed the public advocate enough for him to go to the press about it. The Department is reviewing IT upgrade options, but not asking for money to implement modernization? This is a decades overdue project that needs to be prioritized. It will likely cost $30-50 million.

I have been digging into permitting reform, best practices and case studies as part of the Caucus for Vermont’s Economy’s efforts to improve state government. To be fair to the Governor, whom I do not hesitate to criticize, as part of the effort to implement his executive order on housing from the fall, there is some good work starting on permitting reform at the cross agency level and within the worst offender, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which oversees wetlands, wastewater and other tension filled areas. This is long overdue and I will do all I can to support the DEC and administration in their reform efforts so Vermonters have a predictable, transparent, streamlined and affordable permitting process, regardless of the type of permit they are after.

While most of us have frustrations with state government on some level, I have to say that the vast majority of state employees who we interact with in the legislature are competent, dedicated and committed to Vermont. It is up to the legislature and the Governor to create systems where they can flourish and which Vermonters can afford. We need to break down silos, diminish turf wars, leverage IT, and strengthen the mindset of government as customer service for Vermonters. This all comes down to leadership.  

I am tempted to comment on national and international issues, given the extreme policies of the administration – from executing American citizens in our streets to advocating invading sovereign nations – but there is little I can say that would be constructive. I simply pray that saner heads will prevail and a modicum of kindness will infuse the White House.

Enjoy the snow!