The Burlington City Council has unanimously approved the city’s $107.8 million fiscal year 2025 budget, which marks a 7% increase over the current year’s budget and will bring a nearly 11% increase to the municipal tax rate.
The budget, passed Monday night, closes a significant gap that ballooned from $9 million to $14.2 million. New revenue is being brought in through tax and fee increases, while 18 unfilled positions in City Hall are being left vacant.
But the spending plan also relies on $3.4 million in one-time funds — a practice that Progressive Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak said will need to end as the administration works to “right-size” the city’s services.
“This budget is a budget that begins very important multi-year work ahead of us to right-size this government so we can sustain the city services in an affordable and strategic way for Burlington,” Mulvaney-Stanak said Monday night.
While the city faced a challenge in crafting a budget that closed the multi-million dollar gap, the administration avoided making layoffs and made additional investments into community service and safety.
The budget allocates money for 10 new police officers as well as five new community service officers within the police department to respond to quality of life issues. And the city’s fire department will see $1.4 million in extra funds to continue its community response team.
City leaders also earmarked $150,000 for added security and an in-house social worker at the Fletcher Free Library, and $50,000 to provide support and services to people experiencing homelessness in tents and encampments throughout the city.
“I’m particularly proud of working with all my department heads, city councilors, and the community to close this gap, while we also found additional resources to increase investments in community safety, all within the first three months of my administration,” Mulvaney-Stanak said.
Residents will see a 10.7% increase to the tax rate, set at $0.83. That means owners of a $500,000 home would see a $33.46 monthly increase, or a roughly $400 annual increase, to their municipal property tax bill.
The same homeowner could also see as much as a roughly $58 monthly, or a roughly $700 annual, increase in their state property tax bill for school spending, depending on whether income-based tax credits are applied.
Upon entering office, Mulvaney-Stanak’s administration learned in April that what was originally a $9 million budget gap had swelled to $13 million due to a miscalculation of employee benefit costs and other increasing expenses.
Then, during a June 10 council meeting, officials revealed the gap had grown by another $1.1 million. Staff had erred in calculating the city’s grand list by accidentally including the value of tax-increment financing districts in the city.
“It has certainly been one of the most challenging budget years that I have been a part of,” Katherine Schad, Burlington’s chief administrative officer, said during Monday’s council meeting.
To generate revenue, the city is increasing the city’s public safety tax by two cents — though not the full three cents approved by voters on Town Meeting Day. That will generate $1.35 million, according to Schad.
The city’s gross receipts tax, which covers meals, alcohol, amusements and admissions, will also increase from 2 to 2.5%. That will take effect on Aug. 1, but will sunset after a year.
The city’s hotel tax, meanwhile, would increase from 2% to 4%, while the short-term rental tax rate would remain unchanged.
Together, the tax rate hikes will generate about $1.7 million for the next fiscal year.
The budget — the Progressive mayor’s first challenge of her three month tenure — was unanimously approved by the Democrat-controlled council. Progressive and Democratic councilors engaged in some back-and-forth on public safety in the city and on the sunsetting of the gross receipts taxes, but otherwise lauded the process.
Councilor Evan Litwin, D-Ward-7, thanked the mayor, “who walked into a difficult budgeting situation,” and said she “attended our caucus and spoke to us and worked with us and listened to our concerns about the initial proposal.”
“I think our priorities have been supported in this budget,” Burlington City Councilor Joan Shannon, D-South District, said Monday.
“While it’s easy to nitpick the budget, and I am guilty of that… when you zoom out at all, the budget is very thoughtfully crafted,” Councilor Joe Kane, P-Ward-3, said.
While the work on the 2025 budget is over, Mulvaney-Stanak has said she’s prioritizing addressing the city’s finances and to that end is beginning the fiscal year 2026 budgeting process in July.
Municipal budget conversations typically begin in the fall or winter.
The mayor, in a memo to councilors, noted that the city was moving in the right direction. This budget year’s 7% increase was smaller than in past years — fiscal years 2023 and 2024 included a 7.3% and a 9.1% increase, respectively. But, she added, the city’s financial challenges will not be solved by the passage of this year’s budget.
“I am confident that by starting work on the FY26 budget this summer and by implementing long-range budgeting practices, we will be better prepared for what lies ahead while also making further strides toward improving community health and safety, making our city more affordable, and right-sizing our city government,” she said.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Burlington council gives unanimous approval to mayor’s $107.8 million budget.