08-04-2025
Burlington Mayor delivers State of the City Address
BURLINGTON, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak stole the show at Monday night's City Council Organization Day meeting, beginning her State of the City Address by directing everyone's attention to new portraits of Burlington children hung up around Contois Auditorium, which she hopes will serve as a reminder to city councilors every meeting of why they're serving and who they're serving.
'It is my hope that these portraits will remind us why we are all here – to lead this city forward, to set an example for our young people and lay the foundation for a Burlington that they can be proud to call home,' Mulvaney-Stanak said.
In the rest of her speech, the mayor did lay that foundation for the next year, informing everyone there likely won't be a general tax rate increase this coming year, but regrettably saying she'll have to make some cuts to city programs, services and staffing to keep the next city budget balanced.
'This has been difficult work,' Mulvaney-Stanak said. 'Yet, it is the responsible approach to our fiscal challenges. Over the next few months, we will continue to thoughtfully engage the four City unions, employees, and the City Council as we develop the FY26 budget.'
On top of that, she noted new efforts to improve and support Burlington's police and fire departments, including plans for a new public safety building downtown. She also discussed numerous housing projects nearing conclusion, including CityPlace Phase 1, which is expected to open with 53 housing units and 161 hotel rooms sometime in July.
Other highlights of the night included the swearing in of new city councilors: Democrats Allie Schachter and Ranjit 'Buddy' Singh. The two took photos with family, and took part in their first official vote moments later, helping pick the next City Council President.
Progressive Carter Neubieser from Ward 1 took on the current president, Democrat Ben Traverse from Ward 5. With all five council Progressives supporting Neubieser and all seven council Democrats supporting Traverse, Traverse was appointed Council President for the second year in a row.
'I'm deeply humbled by the support of those who believe I can continue to play a role in supporting good, responsive and responsible governance, so that as a Council in collaboration with the Mayor we can meet our obligation to defend our residents, especially our vulnerable communities, and ensure Burlington's resilience through turbulent times,' Traverse said.
When mentioning turbulent times in his speech, Traverse was in part referring to the Trump Administration. Both he and Mulvaney-Stanak mentioned President Trump multiple times, denouncing some of his decision making, especially cuts to federal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs.
Mulvaney-Stanak doubled down on Burlington's support for programs like that on the local level, noting the city's Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (REIB) Office will continue being funded in the general fund budget, after it was previously given uncertain one-time funding.
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