Vermont ethics commission warns staffing shortfall is stalling municipal advice, asks Senate to back two new positions

The Vermont State Ethics Commission told the Senate Committee on Government Operations on Jan. 27 that it needs two additional staff positions and roughly $601,000 in total funding so the office can resume advising municipalities and prepare to implement enforcement powers added by recent legislation.

Paul Ermbaum, chair of the Vermont State Ethics Commission, said the commission is operating with "a half-time executive director and a half-time administrative assistant" and that "the continued existence of the commission is precarious." He told senators the commission has suspended advisory and complaint services to municipalities because it cannot keep up with demand after the municipal code went into effect.

The request stems from Act 171 and the 2022 state code of ethics, which expanded the commission's responsibilities to include municipalities and provided investigatory and hearing powers for state public servants. Ermbaum and other witnesses said the investigatory/enforcement authority has been postponed to allow time to hire staff; witnesses cited an implementation target in the statute that has been pushed back to September 2027 because the commission lacks capacity.

"Our core budget for this year is about $250,000," Ermbaum said, and he confirmed that the commission's proposed total budget is $601,000 to support additional personnel. "We hope we urge this committee to recommend to the appropriations committee funding for two positions," he said.

Will Stevens, a member of the ethics commission and former state representative, told the committee that Act 171 effectively imposed an "unfunded mandate" by expanding duties without providing the resources to meet them. "The ethics commission needs to actually perform the job it's been tasked with and not be a performative body with no actual capacity," Stevens said.

TJ Jones, an instructor and consultant on government ethics and a former executive director of California's Fair Political Practices Commission, presented comparative charts showing that Vermont has far fewer staff per capita at the commission than many peer states. Jones recommended a longer-term staffing model that could include 4.5 positions (a full-time executive director, full-time legal counsel, a municipal counsel, and support staff) and said additional enforcement staff (an enforcement attorney and investigator) would likely be needed when enforcement begins.

Senators pressed witnesses for metrics to support a budget increase. Senator White asked for data not only on formal cases but also on informal contacts and incoming requests from municipalities — a measure witnesses agreed would better demonstrate demand. Jones said he would provide comparative figures and annual-report data when available.

Pat McDonald, president of Campaign for Vermont and a former state official, emphasized the importance of confidentiality in the commission's work, saying private and confidential intake encourages people to come forward and can allow issues to be resolved before becoming public. She urged the committee to fund the commission so it can provide training, confidential advice, and consistent municipal support.

Committee members and witnesses discussed circulating the state code of ethics to members and scheduling ethics training for the full Senate. No formal vote was taken; the committee recessed for a brief break and will consider whether to recommend the funding request to the Appropriations Committee.

The committee did not take final action on the request during the Jan. 27 session; the next procedural step would be a formal recommendation to the Appropriations Committee, if the Government Operations Committee elects to make one.