Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Committee hears testimony on bill to ratify Barrie charter change raising rainy-day fund cap to 10%
Loading...
Summary
The House Government Operations & Military Affairs committee heard testimony on H902, which would approve a City of Barrie charter amendment allowing the city to retain up to 10% of unencumbered funds as a reserve. City officials said the cap helped avoid borrowing after 2023 floods and would not raise taxes; no committee vote was recorded.
The House Government Operations & Military Affairs committee on Thursday took testimony on H902, a bill to approve amendments to the charter of the City of Barrie that would increase the city’s cap on unencumbered fund balance from 5% to 10%.
City Manager told committee members the change is intended to strengthen the city’s ability to respond to emergencies after the 2023 floods. “We didn’t have to borrow anything to recover from those floods in ’23,” the City Manager said, describing how the existing reserve — built in part through long-running vacancies — allowed the city to cover upfront costs that FEMA later reimbursed.
The City Manager said the proposed 10% limit would not require new taxes. “This is all money that would be created by…lack of spending,” he said, adding that the council would only set aside the reserve from funds left unspent at year-end. He told the committee that the 10% figure was taken to city voters last year and was “overwhelmingly approved,” which he characterized as roughly a three-to-one margin.
Committee members pressed for details on how money above the 10% cap would be used. The City Manager said any funds in excess of the cap would remain under the city council’s authority and could be applied to tax-rate reductions, the capital improvement fund, or expanded paving and other infrastructure needs; he cited a $255,000 assumption in the upcoming budget for a tax-rate reduction.
A committee member asked whether the charter would establish a minimum reserve as well as a cap. The City Manager said the proposed language contains no floor; the 10% would function only as a ceiling. He also told the committee that municipal approaches vary — some Vermont municipalities set no cap while others set targets or ranges — and said Barrie’s change reflects lessons learned during disaster response.
The committee did not take a vote on H902 during the session. The City Manager concluded his remarks and the chair thanked him; the committee moved on to schedule other business and planned to reconvene later in the morning.
Next steps: No committee vote was recorded during the hearing. The committee announced it would return at 11:15 to consider additional items on the agenda.
