Witnesses tell House General & Housing committee to maintain VHCB base funding of $37.6 million

Witnesses before the House General & Housing Committee on Feb. 13 urged lawmakers to preserve full base funding for the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB) at $37,600,000, highlighting conservation projects, shared-equity homeownership and youth programs that rely on the board's support.

Linda Martin, speaking for the town of Wolcott, told the committee VHCB funding is “a critical partner” for small rural towns and asked legislators to “support VHCB's full funding of $37,600,000” as included in the governor's recommended fiscal year 2027 budget. Martin detailed a 2024 community-forest project in Wolcott that permanently protected 735 acres and said VHCB co-holds the conservation easement that ensures long-term protection; she also said a small lot is being donated to Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity to build a permanently affordable single-family home.

The testimony underscored VHCB's role across conservation and housing. Martin said VHCB approved up to $100,000 in 2025 to rehabilitate the historic Wolcott Schoolhouse, a local landmark planned to house the community library and historical society. “Without VHCB's partnership, projects like these would simply not be possible,” she said.

Anna Mejia, a homeownership specialist at Windsor Housing Trust, described VHCB-funded shared-equity programs that provide income-eligible buyers with down-payment assistance and resale restrictions to preserve permanent affordability. Mejia said the program sometimes offers up to $80,000 in assistance. She cited a Springfield new-construction, zero-energy three-bedroom home with a $300,000 market value that was sold through the program to a buyer for about $224,000, and said Windsor completed five shared-equity purchases in 2025 and had two closings so far in 2026 with one pending.

Committee members pressed Mejia on lender participation and the implications of foreclosure. Mejia said roughly 10 lenders currently participate and that underwriting complexity can discourage some banks from taking part. When asked whether a foreclosure would leave a home subject to the shared-equity easement, Mejia replied, “It is not,” explaining that VHCB's program structures positions so that the VHCB-backed position is subordinate in loan arrangements; she added the program also leverages development subsidies, including partnerships with Vermont's housing finance agencies, to cover gaps between market and program sale prices.

Mike Foote, executive director of the Dream Program (Camp Dream), described a VHCB-supported acquisition of a 54-acre parcel used for year-round outdoor programming for low-income youth. Foote said Camp Dream has raised and invested more than $2 million in facilities since acquisition, brings in outside federal and private funding, hires local contractors, employs about 150 young people seasonally, and provides many opportunities for children at no cost to families. He urged the committee to maintain VHCB's full base funding, calling VHCB's investment “a catalyst” for the organization’s services and regional economic activity.

No formal vote or motion was taken during the testimony. The committee chair noted the panel would break at 11:45 a.m. and planned to hear a witness on the landlord-tenant bill and, after lunch, a presentation from the Vermont Housing Improvement Program and budget staff.

The committee's consideration of VHCB funding will be part of its broader review of the governor's FY27 recommended budget.