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Council approves three bond questions for March ballot covering water, wastewater and general capital needs
Summary
The council voted unanimously to place a three-part bond package on the March 4 ballot: a $152 million revenue bond package for wastewater/stormwater, a $20 million revenue bond for drinking water projects, and a $20 million general obligation bond for city capital projects.
The Burlington City Council on Jan. 27 voted unanimously to place multiple bond questions on the March 4 town-meeting ballot, approving short-form resolutions for three funding measures:
- A $152,000,000 revenue bond package to finance wastewater and stormwater utility capital projects (stage 1: rightsizing and priority work at the main wastewater treatment plant; later stages remain planned for future consideration). The resolution requires staged reporting at design milestones and a third-party peer review before major procurements.
- A $20,000,000 revenue bond for drinking-water capital projects, focused on replacing and maintaining water infrastructure and expanding capacity to support city growth.
- A $20,000,000 general obligation (G.O.) bond for the city’s five-year capital plan to fund fleet replacement, sidewalk and street repairs, traffic calming, ADA upgrades and other prioritized capital needs.
Public Works Director Chapin Spencer and Water Resources Director Megan Moyer briefed councilors on a months-long engagement process and described steps the administration built into the resolution to limit rate impacts and increase transparency: phased design checkpoints (90% preliminary, 30/60/90% final design updates), a planned 60% third-party peer review, and an August check on the feasibility of a construction-manager-at-risk procurement to cap construction risk. Moyer presented a conservative five‑year projection showing water‑and‑wastewater rate pressure could rise over time if all phases proceed and if grant funding is not secured — the administration said it will aggressively pursue state and federal grants and lower-cost loan programs (including potential WIFIA or SRF options).
Councilors asked about the portion of the wastewater proposal driven by lake-protection requirements; Moyer said roughly $30 million of the wastewater proposal responds to phosphorus-reduction (tertiary treatment) required by the Lake Champlain TMDL for larger plants, and that about 20% of the package is attributable to added capacity tied to anticipated housing growth. Councilors also requested clearer tax-rate and utility-rate examples for household budgets; staff committed to additional public materials and a city hearing scheduled for Feb. 12.
Vote outcomes: all three bond questions were placed on the ballot by unanimous council voice votes.
