MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Can Vermont lawmakers and the governor agree on a plan to avoid a massive spike in property taxes?
As lawmakers return to Montpelier next week to consider an override of Governor Phil Scott’s veto of the yield bill — which sets statewide property taxes — both sides agreed to a Wednesday meeting. They discussed what administration officials are calling a menu of options to buy down the tax rate from a projected 13.8% down to about 4 to 6%.
They would do that through a combination of taking about $20 million in surplus tax revenues and one-time funds, removing a one-time property tax credit, eliminating the $20 million free school meal program, and borrowing about $47 million from the Education Fund Reserve.
Meanwhile, local school districts and state lawmakers would begin longer-term discussions about cost containment and funding reform.
Vermont Administration Secretary Sarah Clark acknowledges the plan is risky but echoes the governor in saying that something needs to be done. “If you don’t do it all as a package, I agree the fiscal cliff it establishes will be extremely challenging to overcome. We recognize that even with our proposal, it’s still challenging. But doing nothing, from our perspective, is worse,” she said. Clark says allowing a 13.8% hike would be extremely damaging to Vermonters by raising rents, exacerbating homelessness, and even forcing people out of the state.
Democratic leaders blasted Governor Scott for not showing up to Wednesday’s meeting. House Speaker Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, in a statement called the administration proposals some of the most fiscally irresponsible she’s seen. “It is impossible to see this as nothing more than election-year politics rather than a true commitment to collaboration,” she said.
Senate President Phil Baruth, D-Chittenden County, said in a statement that the plan would empty reserves and weaken the state’s credit rating, “It never ceases to amaze me how quickly and completely Governor Scott and Republicans will throw fiduciary responsibility out the window in service of lowering taxes in the short-term,” he said.
The harsh words dial up tensions ahead of Monday’s veto session, where lawmakers will attempt to override the governor’s veto on the property tax bill.