Vermont Human Rights Commission warns staffing squeeze as HUD payments stall
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Summary
The Vermont Human Rights Commission told the Senate Judiciary committee that federal HUD cooperating payments have not arrived, leaving the agency to request a small budget adjustment for FY26 and a conservative three‑position increase for FY27 to sustain core enforcement work.
Big Hartman, executive director and general counsel of the Vermont Human Rights Commission, told the Senate Judiciary committee on Feb. 5 that the commission is operating with nine staff and continuing to face heavy caseload pressure even after two positions were added in fiscal 2026.
Hartman said the commission added an intake coordinator and a fourth staff attorney/investigator last year but that both new hires began with large backlogs: “I handed him a 100 open intake files,” Hartman said, describing an intake coordinator who started in August. The office continues to decline more investigations than it accepts each week because of capacity limits.
Hartman showed committee members that the commission’s average case age at completion dropped to 366 days in fiscal 2025 from 474 in fiscal 2024 and 649 the year before, crediting streamlined reporting and better case‑management use. She cautioned, however, that the 366‑day average does not include time spent waiting in intake—often another three to five months.
The commission expected cooperating payments from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) tied to fair‑housing case closures. Hartman said the agency had budgeted roughly $92,000 for fiscal 2026 and earned about $185,000 based on closures, “yet they paid us 0,” which left the commission seeking a modest budget adjustment of about $25,000 to cover operating needs for the year.
Hartman warned that HUD’s recent staff changes and new guidance could remove some jurisdictions from the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FAP) if a state’s protected categories exceed federal enumerations, making future federal payments uncertain. “They are planning to do a review of all the FAP agencies,” Hartman said, and jurisdictions with broader protections could be deemed no longer substantially equivalent.
Faced with that uncertainty, the commission recommended setting federal funds to zero in the FY27 budget and asked the committee to recommend adjusting vacancy turnover expectations tied to the governor’s proposal, which assumes $64,540 in savings. Hartman said realizing that level of savings without holding positions vacant or furloughing staff would be impossible for a nine‑person office.
For FY27, the commission is requesting three additional positions: a policy director to restore dedicated policy and community‑engagement capacity, a fifth staff attorney/investigator to handle investigations and litigation, and a paralegal to support about 15 cases currently in litigation.
Hartman urged the committee to view the three‑position request as a conservative, achievable minimum. Legislators questioned whether the smaller request (three this year, plus two received last year) would be sufficient given sustained demand; one senator noted Hartman had sought eight positions previously and expressed concern that the commission remains under‑resourced.
The committee session ended with Hartman offering follow‑up materials and the commission’s FY25 annual report for members’ review.
