Senate panel updates county-regional governance study and reviews bond-bank proposals to bolster municipal resiliency

The Senate Government Operations Committee on Feb. 4, 2025 received an update on the county and regional governance study and heard municipal-resiliency financing proposals from Michael Gaughn, executive director of the Vermont Bond Bank, and Nicole Lee, senior financial analyst.

Senator Hardy, who helped create the county/regional governance study committee last session, said the study grew out of recurring testimony that many Vermont municipalities lack capacity to manage complex functions such as FEMA grant administration, dispatch and EMS, public-safety coordination and certain infrastructure projects. “We passed a bill unanimously last session to create the county regional governance study committee,” Hardy said. She told the committee that stakeholders reported widespread capacity constraints after the 2023–24 flooding and that a technical advisory group — convened alongside legislators —…