Treasurer outlines '10% Vermont' housing investments, says program helped finance roughly 1,700 units

Treasurer Mike Picek testified to the House General & Housing Committee on Jan. 6 that the treasurer's "10% Vermont" program has been redirected toward housing since 2023 and has become a key source of below-market capital for housing projects across the state.

"We made about a $100,000,000 in housing related investments, and we supported about 1,300 units," Picek said, and added the office issued another roughly $30,000,000 in housing investments to support about 452 additional units — a combined total he put at about 1,700 units and roughly 100 permanent jobs. He framed housing as central to the state economy: "It's our number 1 economic issue," he said, and added that "we need housing as fast as we can get it."

Picek described program mechanics: rather than lending directly to builders, the treasurer's office lends to intermediaries such as the Vermont Housing Finance Authority, credit unions or banks, which underwrite projects and provide portfolio-level guarantees back to the treasurer's office. That structure, he said, reduces the state's direct risk while enabling lower interest rates to flow to developers.

He outlined loan terms and fee limits the office negotiates: short-term loans can run as low as 1 percent, and the office generally seeks to limit intermediary administrative add-on fees to no more than 2.5 percent, noting VHFA typically charges about 1.5 percent.

Picek told the committee the office used an RFP-based process and an investment policy vetted by a Local Investment Advisory Committee (LIAC) — chaired by the treasurer and including representatives from VEDA, Efficiency Vermont, the bond bank and VHFA — to set risk appetite, rate targets and a diversity/geographic strategy for investments.

On geographic coverage, Picek said some regions (for example Essex, Grand Isle and Lamoille counties) have seen fewer investments primarily because fewer viable projects or applications have been presented from those areas, rather than an explicit exclusion. He described efforts to weigh geographic diversity when reviewing applications and cited examples where the office invested to support senior housing, manufactured-home coops and downtown infill projects.

Picek also discussed the program's fiscal context: earlier averages for idle cash on hand were roughly $250 million, with recent intra-year peaks in the billions; he said leveraging up to 10 percent of that cash provided capacity for the housing commitments the office has made. He noted the office temporarily shifted capacity after major 2023 floods to provide about $20 million in municipal lending to help communities bridge recovery funds before FEMA allocations arrived.

Committee members asked about RFP cadence, local outreach and how land-use appeals under Act 250 have delayed projects and added costs. Picek described instances where land-use delays increased project costs — noting appeals and timing can make projects more expensive and harder to finance — and said the office would be willing to provide the committee with further analysis or memos on appeals and timing.

Picek introduced Peter Tremblay as the treasurer's policy director and the legislature's primary contact for follow-up. The committee scheduled additional witnesses for the next hearing day, including representatives from VIDA, the League and Champlain Housing Trust.

Next steps: the committee invited the treasurer's office to return with more detailed recommendations and memos on appeals, program flexibility and any statutory changes that might expand the office's ability to layer different risk types into housing finance.