2007 ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT 1 Year Ending June 30, 2007 City Government Electric Department . .38 City Organizational Chart . .2 Fire Department . .40 Mayor’s Message . .3 Housing Authority . .42 City Officials Appointed by Mayor . .6 Human Resources Department . .43 Vermont Legislators . .7 Fletcher Free Library . .45 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Mayors of Burlington . .7 Parks & Recreation Department . .48 Design: City Council . .8 Planning & Zoning Department . .52 Futura Design City Council Committees . .9 Police Department . .54 Printing: City Departments . .10 Public Works Department . .56 Villanti & Sons Office Hours . .10 School Department . .60 Cover Photo: Important Dates . .11 Telecom, Burlington . .62 Karen Pike©2007 City Holidays 2008 . .11 Regional Organizations’ Printed on 100% Board of School Commissioners . .12 Annual Reports Recycled Paper City Commissioners . .13 Chittenden County This material can Regularly Scheduled Transportation Authority . .63 be made available in alternate formats Commission Meetings . .18 Chittenden Solid Waste District . .65 for persons with Winooski Valley Park District . .67 disabilities. Department Annual Reports This report is also Burlington Legacy Project . .19 Miscellaneous available online at Airport, Burlington International . .21 Annual Town Meeting Day Results . .68 www.ci.burlington.vt.us Arts, Burlington City . .22 Salaries . .69 Assessor’s Office . .24 General Obligation Debt . .96 Attorney, Office of the City . .25 Appraised Valuation . .96 Church Street Marketplace . .28 Summary of Tax-Exempt Properties . .96 Clerk & Treasurer, Office of the City . .30 Code Enforcement . .33 Financial Report . .97 Community & Economic Development Office . .34 2 CITY OF BURLINGTON, VERMONT City Organizational Chart THE VOTERS WARD CLERKS & SCHOOL INSPECTORS OF COMMISSIONERS4 ELECTION4 MAYOR CITY COUNCIL4 AUTHORITY TO: AUTHORITY TO: • carry out laws and ordinances • set City Policy with Mayor • appoint department heads • pass Legislation through passage of • assure performance of jobs by ordinances subject to Mayor’s veto* subordinate officers • pass resolutions with Mayor* • recommend measures • approve Mayor’s budget • act as Chief Peace Officer • approve supplementary • prepare annual budget interbudgetary transfers • act as Chairman of Board • with Mayor, set annual tax rate of Finance • establish rules for conduct of City Council meetings CITY OFFICERS KEY & DEPARTMENT COMMISSIONERS! Elected at large HEADS (for list, see page 13) 4 (for list, see page 6) Elected at large by ward Appointed by the Mayor subject to the approval of City Council ! Appointed by the City Council or City Council SUPERINTENDENTL BOARD OF FINANCEM with Mayor presiding AUTHORITY TO: L Appointed by the Board • act as trustees of public money of School Commissioners • establish accounting system * Ordinances relate to • provide monthly reports and external matters while Resolutions relate to annual audit PRINCIPALS internal matters • select official depository M Mayor, Chief • authorize budget line item Administrative Officer, changes President of City • be responsible for care and Council, and two control of public buildings Councilors elected by the City Council 2007 ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT 3 Mayor’s Message iscal Year 2007 was the first complete fis- For those without access to housing, we F cal year I served as Mayor of Burlington. helped over 1,500 homeless people find a Over the course of this year the City contin- safe, warm place to sleep, consistent with ued to deliver on the core values of govern- our 10 year plan to end homelessness. The ment that Burlington has come to expect: City also helped over 2,100 people keep putting people first, building a sustainable their heat on. community, and supporting democracy, civic Building and Supporting a participation, and a high quality of life. Thriving Local Economy Over the course of FY07 the City devel- Burlington continued to be a good place to oped a municipal budget for FY08 that kept do business. The local economy was recog- property tax rates level. In FY08 we'll continue nized once again by Moody’s Investor’s serv- to work on building an efficient budget that ices, one of the factors leading to the City’s Bob Kiss maintains a high level of services in the City. Mayor retention of its high AA3 Bond rating. Viewing the City’s work and responsibili- Economic development activities supported ties, I have even more appreciation for the the start-up of 32 new businesses, helped efforts of City staff, the contributions of to retain or expand 19 businesses, and led Burlington's for profit and non-profit busi- to the creation of 412 permanent FTE jobs, ness community, residents, the City Council 1,156 construction jobs, and the retention and numerous City commissions. We can all of 149 permanent FTE jobs. be proud of the community we've created. While there are always challenges, Burlington has the ability to address them. Let’s move forward in our hopes for building a better City. What follows are some highlights of the past year: Building Safe, Affordable Housing The City continued its support for affordable housing by providing funding and technical assistance, leading to 60 new affordable housing units while helping 23 people move toward home ownership. The City also advocated for a stronger inclusionary zoning requirement in the new Zoning Ordinance, including a $100,000 per unit Mayor Kiss with U.S. Fed Cup Team and youth tennis payment for developers to “build” afford- players on Church Street. able units off-site. We continued to pay attention to the The Church Street Marketplace maintained safety and quality of our housing stock. its status as one of the most successful Federal funding for the Burlington Lead pedestrian malls in the country, continuing Program – an award-winning national to attract new businesses and throngs of model – was threatened in the past year shoppers. And, the Burlington International but, in concert with our Congressional dele- Airport continues to be an important gation, the City was successful in the search regional hub, serving the needs of residents, to find new grant money to continue the tourists, and business travelers. The impor- program. The City’s Code Enforcement tance and impact of the Airport on our local Office continued to pursue high standards and regional economy cannot be overstated. for completing minimum housing code We continue to look for opportunities inspections and investigating zoning violations. for appropriate commercial development in 4 CITY OF BURLINGTON, VERMONT Mayor’s Message continued the downtown and Waterfront. This included Burlington Telecom expanded its “triple- a focused effort on plans to redevelop the play” roll-out of internet, television and decommissioned Moran Power Plant into a telephone services in the city. We should year-round, multi-use park and recreation appreciate the growing importance and site which will enhance the local economy value of Burlington Telecom services in the while bringing substantial benefits to the community and local economy. entire community. Building a More Livable and Building and Supporting Sustainable City Community This past year we strengthened the City’s The City supports citizen participation Legacy Project by hiring two co-directors, through the Neighborhood Planning focusing on social equity and environmental Assemblies (NPAs) and AmeriCorps VISTA sustainability. The Legacy Project brings efforts in countless neighborhood associa- together City departments, non-profit and tions and community meetings. One VISTA business partners to develop and implement effort of special note was developing a a vision of economic, environmental and multi-faceted approach to attack the prob- social sustainability for Burlington. lem of uninvited graffiti in the community. The City completed its sale of 179 acres Our schools continue to become more of land to the Intervale Center to support diverse and adaptable to meet the ever- local food production and land conservation changing needs of public education in our in the Intervale forever. The Intervale contin- community. This past year the School District ues to be a unique place among urban cen- grappled with the issue of socio-economic ters as an expanse of floodplain and agri- integration in a series of public meetings cultural land in the heart of the City. and a comprehensive parent survey. The Burlington Electric Department draws The Fletcher Free Library is a tremendous over 66% of its energy from renewable asset, not just with its expanded resources, energy sources, exceeding national bench- but as a community center for all ages. marks, and with a goal of achieving 100% Providing Essential Services of City power from renewable energy sources. The Waterfront continues to be a treasure This year the City made a concerted effort for residents and a draw both regionally to keep the streets paved, plowed and and nationally. We continued to improve our clean, replace sidewalks, remove trash from bike paths around the city and make better neighborhoods, provide clean tap water, connections with the Waterfront bikeway. run the “Blue Box” recycling program, and The City completed a draft City-wide provide wastewater services. The Public Transportation Plan. Progress was made Works Department with support of other toward a transportation vision that accom- City departments should be applauded for modates and encourages alternative forms its hard work during the historic of transportation, such as walking, biking