04/23/2026
It was a pleasure to join my colleagues from across Vermont for the Vermont League of Cities and Towns Municipal Advocacy Day at the State House.
I'm grateful for the opportunity to testify at a joint session of the House and Senate Transportation Committees and to advocate for Barre City.
A few years ago, Vermont's growing transportation funding gap wasn't getting much attention. With thanks to Governor Phil Scott, Senator Rich Westman (Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee), Representative Matt Walker (Chair of the House Transportation Committee), Members of the House and Senate Transportation Committees and Vermont Agency of Transportation Secretary Joe Flynn, this growing fiscal crisis is finally getting the attention it deserves.
I began my remarks by acknowledging that as serious as this crisis is, it would be much worse absent the efforts of the Administration and these Committees' good work over the past few years.
And while I appreciate their good work, we all know there's much more to be done. This is a problem that is quantifiable. We know how many miles of roads we're responsible for, we know how many bridges we're responsible for, we know how long it takes our roads and bridges to go from good to poor condition and we know the cost of repair and replacement. Unlike many problems, this one has relatively few variables. It's simple math. So is the consequence of underfunding. If we underfund, the problem - roads and bridges in poor condition - grows exponentially year after year. That's our current reality.
The Administration and Transportation Committees are doing their jobs. They have presented thoughtful plans to bend the underfunding curve and put our Transportation Fund on a more sustainable path. Unfortunately, their plans have been met with resistance by some in both the House and Senate.
The logic behind the resistance escapes me. Safe and smooth roads are a core function of government.
If you have the opportunity, please contact your Senators and Representatives and demand that they support the recommendations of the Administration and Transportation Committees.
I also took the opportunity to talk to the Committees about our paving funding in Barre City. Like Vermont, we've chronically underfunded our paving budget. Around 10 years ago, our funding was adequate. Not excessive, but adequate. Unfortunately, we didn't maintain an adequate funding level and allowed competing programs to shift our focus away from what is a core function of government - safe and smooth roads.
To be clear, I was part of the early decision making progress. I thought surely that subsequent administrations would correct the course. Unfortunately - and casting no blame - that didn't happen.
That's why, during my first year returning as mayor, I requested a 33% increase in our paving budget. With the support of the council and voters, that request was approved. This year, I requested an additional 25% in the paving program budget. That request was also approved by the council and will be voted on by the voters on May 12th. Assuming voter passage, these two increases will come close to doubling our paving appropriation in just two short years.
As grateful as I am for the support of the council and voters, even two increases of this magnitude won't put us where we need to be.
On Tuesday, I presented the council with a plan to increase our paving appropriation to approximately 1.4 million dollars by 2030. The plan would place our paving program in a position to be proactive, rather than reactive. In the coming week, I'll be posting more detailed information about the plan.
Until then, I apologize for the length of this post and want to thank those who took the time to read it.
