Burlington mayor emphasizes community safety, housing and climate in first-year address

Mayor Mulvaney Stanek delivered a State of the City address at Contois Auditorium, laying out three core priorities — community safety, housing and climate — and detailing budget and staffing steps her administration says will support those goals.

In her speech, Stanek praised city staff and named recent appointments, said her administration delivered a balanced budget without raising the general tax rate for the coming fiscal year, and highlighted voter approval of three bonds to pay for infrastructure projects. "It is my hope that these portraits will remind us about why we are all here today to lead this city forward and to set an example for our young people and lay the foundation for Burlington that they could be proud to call home," Stanek said.

The mayor framed the year's work as focused on rebuilding public-safety capacity, expanding housing, and continuing climate initiatives. She reported steps taken on community safety including creation of a Burlington Police Department front-entrance position, a rapid-response pilot with the Community Justice Center, remodeling the city’s "comstat" program and plans to launch a "situation table" to coordinate intensive case management for people at highest risk.

Stanek said voters recently approved three bonds at town meeting day: a $20,000,000 general obligation bond ("75% support"), a $20,000,000 water bond, and a $152,000,000 lake bond (the two latter bonds she said earned "over 80% support"). She said the lake bond will fund generational investments in wastewater and stormwater infrastructure and that water-bond funds will help maintain resilient drinking water service, including to the UVM Medical Center.

On housing, Stanek cited a Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission draft estimate that Burlington will need roughly 11,000 new housing units by 2050 — a figure she said would represent “more than a 50% increase” in units if achieved. She said the city will focus on making a "significant portion" of new housing perpetually affordable, strengthen the inclusionary zoning ordinance this spring and continue using the Housing Trust Fund. The mayor referenced projects and near-term developments including City Place Phase 1 (53 housing units and a 61-room hotel), a project expected to yield 79 units on another downtown site, and a Champlain Housing Trust project that she said will deliver 38 perpetually affordable apartments.

Stanek described code-enforcement activity by the Department of Permitting and Inspections, saying the team completed 588 initial rental inspections, more than 1,000 follow-ups and handled 103 minimum-housing-standards complaints in the past year. She said the administration will press for stronger enforcement tools for long-standing blighted properties and recommended the council prioritize strengthening the vacant-building ordinance.

On government organization and fiscal stewardship, Stanek repeated plans to implement a "Modern Gov" reorganization and a pilot phase that will create a Department of Finance and Administration to centralize functions such as assessing, human resources and technology. She said the administration moved five REIB (Racial, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) positions from one-time to permanent funding in the general fund and said she will staff the REIB director position and follow with program hires.

Stanek also described energy and climate steps, including a $20,000,000 net-zero energy revenue bond to expand grid capacity and ongoing work with Burlington Electric Department on McNeil generating plant ownership negotiations and decarbonization possibilities. She noted the Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport has achieved a Level 1 airport carbon accreditation and will work toward Level 2.

The mayor highlighted homelessness response efforts, including an extreme cold weather shelter partnership with CVOEO and praise for Sarah Russell, the city’s special assistant to end homelessness, for leading that effort. She said the city has urged the governor to keep vulnerable Vermonters sheltered while a statewide policy solution is developed. Stanek also referenced Act 178 (state legislation) authorizing and funding creation of an overdose prevention center in Burlington and named Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform as the city's implementation partner.

Stanek closed by urging collaborative governance, reiterating support for BIPOC, immigrant, refugee and LGBTQ+ residents and thanking city staff and volunteers for the first-year work.