Appropriations committee hears Finance Department outline of FY26 general fund plan

The House Appropriations Committee on Jan. 28 heard a wide-ranging Fiscal Year 2026 general fund overview from Adam Greshen, Commissioner of Finance and Management, and Arty Merrill, deputy commissioner, who outlined revenue sources, cost pressures and both 1-time and base spending proposals.

Greshen said the budget begins with the Emergency Board's current-law revenue forecast and several supplemental sources, including additional property transfer tax receipts and a larger-than-typical unclaimed property estimate. He told the committee the administration's base revenue assumption is about $2.493 billion, supplemented by roughly $131.3 million in one-time revenues for a total resource pool in the mid-$2.6 billion range.

Why it matters: committee members pressed on several items that drive long-term affordability for households and the state's capacity to meet growing employee and health-care costs. The presentation emphasized that much of the budget increase reflects "current services" pressures'the cost of doing the same work next year'rather than broad new program expansions.

Key revenue and formula changes

Greshen described changes to the property transfer tax distribution formula used this year, noting Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB) will "get their full allotment this year." He said the administration projects roughly $3 million of additional property transfer tax available after required set-asides (including a $2.5 million session-law allocation to service a housing bond and a 1.5% set-aside for the current-use program). Greshen summarized how the current-use administration budget (estimated this year at just under $600,000) is netted against…