Appropriations staff outlines one-time appropriations and $20 million shortfall
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Summary
Staff reviewed one-time appropriations in the Vermont package — from homelessness and recovery centers to Meals on Wheels and a $104.9 million transfer for property-tax relief — and warned the current construct is roughly $20 million off-balance, requiring cuts or additional revenue before Friday.
Staff member said the meeting reviewed the omnibus one-time appropriations sheet line by line, identifying reversions from prior-year appropriations, new onetime grants, and alterations to 2026 base appropriations.
“The top line…this is the reversions from prior year appropriations,” Staff member said, explaining the construct now reduces 2026 appropriations rather than strictly reverting them and calls out a $30 million set-aside from last year intended for property-tax relief that could be used onetime. The presentation also noted a plan to use half of the technology modernization fund transfer that had previously been contemplated.
Why it matters: the package mixes base restorations and one-time adds across many human-services, housing and conservation programs. Staff listed dozens of targeted one-time items: funding for supervised visitation at the Department for Children and Families; a $4 million allocation to cover temporary secure treatment capacity for youth; an additional half-million general-fund add (matched with federal funds) to Meals on Wheels totaling about $1.1 million; a one-time $0.5 million for BOREC recreation grants; $0.5 million for a PropCash/farm-share food program; and an $800,000 recovery-centers allotment from opioid-settlement or prevention funds.
The budget also carries larger transfers and programmatic choices. Staff described a proposal to transfer $104.9 million to the education fund for property-tax relief and noted the house proposal would transfer the full amount and then allocate how that funding is used. House changes and several bill-specific appropriations (H.211, H.559, H.577 and others referenced in the briefing) were described as items that would be folded into the omnibus where appropriate.
Committee members sought clarifications on several technical and timing matters. Members asked how some one-time backfills differ from base funding (for example, the nurturing-parenting and parent-child centers items), how triggers would operate if federal funds are reduced for youth or youth-council programs, and whether recurring services should be restored to base rather than maintained as onetime. Staff confirmed some items are newly added one-time money meant to augment existing base services, while other additions restore reductions made in the governor’s proposed base.
On the bottom line, participants repeatedly returned to overall balance. Staff and members estimated the current combined set of additions and changes leaves the construct roughly $20 million short of their budget target. As one member summarized, the committee would need to cut about $20 million from the two working sheets or identify revenues to close the gap prior to decision deadlines this week.
Next steps: Staff said they will refine the fiscal notes and proposed language, circulate a memo with the detailed bill list and line items, and meet with fiscal staff to bring recommendations back to the group before the Friday deadline. No formal vote or motion was recorded during this briefing.
