Cityof Burlington,Vermont
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Table of Contents City Government Electric Department . 37 City Organizaonal Chart . 2 Fire Department . 39 Mayor’s Message. 3 Human Resources Department . 43 City Officials Appointed Fletcher Free Library . 45 by the Mayor . 6 Parks and Recreaon Department . 48 Vermont Legislators. 7 Planning and Zoning Department . 54 Mayors of Burlington. 7 Police Department. 57 City Council. 8 Public Works Department . 61 City Council Standing Commiees . 9 School District . 65 City Department Informaon . 10 Telecom, Burlington. 67 Important Dates. 11 City Holidays. 11 Regional Organizations Board of School Commissioners. 12 Annual Reports City Commissioners . 13 Burlington Housing Authority. 68 Regularly Scheduled Chienden County Commission Meengs. 18 Transportaon Authority . 69 Chienden Solid Waste District . 70 Department Annual Reports Winooski Valley Park District . 72 Airport, Burlington Internaonal . 19 Arts, Burlington City . 20 Miscellaneous Assessor, Office of the City . 22 Annual Town Meeng Day Results. 73 Aorney, Office of the City . 23 Salaries . 75 Church Street Marketplace. 26 General Obligaon Debt . 98 Clerk/Treasurer, Office of the City . 28 Appraised Valuaon . 98 Code Enforcement. 30 Tax Exempt Property Summary . 98 Community and Economic Financial Statements . 99 Development Office . 32 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Design/Production: Futura Design Printing: Queen City Printers Inc. Printed on PC Recycled Paper Photography: ©2015 Silver Images Vermont, Photos by Patricia Braine, Jedd Keler and Launie Keler SilverImagesVermont.com Available for purchase to support Burlington Parks & Recreaon Scholarship Program. Cover Photo: Jeff Herwood Project Management: Brian Lowe, Mayor’s Office This report also is available online at www.burlingtonvt.gov. This publicaon was printed on 100% PC Recycled FSC® cerfied paper. © 2015 Silver Images Vermont Images © 2015 Silver 1 Annual Financial Report City Organizational Chart WARD CLERKS & SCHOOL THE VOTERS INSPECTORS OF COMMISSIONERS✹ ELECTION✹ MAYOR ✣ CITY COUNCIL ✹ AUTHORITY TO: AUTHORITY TO: • Carry out laws and ordinances • Set City policy with Mayor • Pass legislation through passage • Appoint department heads of ordinances subject to Mayor’s • Assure performance of jobs by veto* subordinate officers • Pass resolutions with Mayor* • Recommend measures • Approve Mayor’s budget • Approve supplementary • Act as Chief Peace Officer interbudgetary transfers • Prepare annual budget • Set annual tax rate with Mayor • Act as Chair of Board of Finance • Establish rules for City Council meeting conduct CITY OFFICERS & COMMISSIONERS✦ KEY DEPARTMENT HEADS ✜ (for list, see pages 13-17) ✣ Elected at large (for list, see page 6) ✹ Elected at large by ward ✜ Appointed by the Mayor subject to City Council approval ✦ Appointed by the City SUPERINTENDENT ▲ BOARD OF Council or City Council FINANCE ▼ with Mayor presiding AUTHORITY TO: ▲ Appointed by the Board • Act as trustees of public money of School Commissioners • Establish accounting system * Ordinances relate to external matters while • Provide monthly reports and PRINCIPALS resolutions relate to annual audit internal matters • Select official depository ▼ Mayor, Chief Administrative • Authorize budget line item changes Officer (non-voting), President • Be responsible for care and of City Council, and three control of public buildings Councilors elected by the City Council CITY OF BURLINGTON 2 Mayor’s Message I am pleased to present you with the City follows the standard pracce of generang of Burlington’s Annual Report for Fiscal Year and publicly releasing monthly financial 2014. We made considerable progress as a reports and reviewing them at the Board of community over the past year, addressing Finance. Also, as part of the City’s new open some of our most vexing challenges and con data portal, the City’s general ledger now is nuing our great tradions, all the while seek visible to all online and updated daily. The ing to make our great City even more credit rangs at Burlington Internaonal Air inclusive, walkable, bikeable, sustainable, Miro port and the Burlington Electric Department Weinberger accessible, livable, and vibrant. The different MAYOR officially have stabilized aer dramac down chapters of this year’s Annual Report docu grades in recent years, and in FY15 the Air ment this progress across the City – along our water port’s credit rang was upgraded to investment grade. front, in our parks, within our buildings, in our Improvements like these also provided State Treasurer neighborhoods, and in strengthening our financial po Beth Pearce and the Vermont Municipal Bond Bank sion. I am appreciave of the collaboraon we have with the confidence necessary to support a waste enjoyed with the City Council over the past year, grate water bond refinancing for the City that will save ful for the opportunity to serve as your Mayor, and Burlingtonians millions of dollars in interest costs in the proud of the progress we all have made together. years ahead. Burlington Telecom Lawsuit Resolved and City Credit Rating Stabilized With a focused and sustained team effort that included working unl nearly midnight on New Year’s Eve, we began 2015 with the dismissal of the Cibank lawsuit, definively ending a long and difficult chapter in the City’s history. The now completed selement agree ment removes the threat of the $33.5 million Cibank lawsuit, protects taxpayers from any further liability, and preserves Burlington Telecom (BT) service for Burlington residents and businesses. I am thankful for the unanimous support of the City Council at numer ous points throughout the yearlong process of imple menng the selement agreement. Even before the selement was completed, the City’s credit rang out look had been upgraded to stable, and we now are wellposioned for further improvements. As a result Leddy Softball Grand Re-Opening of this progress and the voters’ earlier decision to sup port the Fiscal Stability Bond, Burlington taxpayers will Revitalizing the Waterfront and save tens of millions of dollars in reduced bond interest Rejuvenating the Parks System costs during the years ahead. 2014 was a year of great progress in revitalizing the waterfront and reinvesng in our City’s parks. Last summer, we broke ground on a major redevelopment of the northern waterfront, part of a slate of Public Investment Acon Plan (PIAP) projects voters approved on the March 2014 ballot by a substanal margin. The Waterfront Access North (WAN) project, the first major new waterfront public infrastructure investment since the creaon of Waterfront Park in the early 1990s, includes: realigning and rebuilding the currently decayed and disjointed secon of the Burlington bike path immediately north of Waterfront Park; creang a new, worldclass skatepark; remediat ing environmental issues related to the site’s historic industrial use; undergrounding overhead power lines; and implemenng stormwater measures to protect Lake Champlain. During FY14, the City’s progress stabilizing its Addionally, by extending Lake Street and building financial posion was demonstrated in a number of other road, sidewalk, and ulies infrastructure, WAN ways beyond resolving the BT challenge. The City now enables future construcon of the voterapproved 3 Annual Financial Report Mayor’s Message Burlington. The new improvements will include: widening of the path; higher engineering standards to improve stormwater flow and path longevity; user safety enhancements; improved connecons between the path and our parks, the lake, and cultural re sources; improved wayfinding signage; and pause places including rest stops, informaon stops, and pocket parks. The City also made good in 2014 on the promise of the votercreated Penny For Parks (PFP) program, compleng a 61project drive to rejuvenate our City wide parks system using $1.3 million of PFP funds. For years, money derived from the “penny” on the tax rolls to support park revitalizaon had accumulated Mayor’s Book Club Discussion unspent while the City’s parks languished. That prob lem has been addressed, and the progress will con PIAP projects – a new Community Sailing Center facil nue. We have budgeted for more than 30 parks ity, New Moran, and the Burlington Harbor Marina. improvement projects during the new fiscal year and The Lake Street extension also will enhance public are beginning to implement our new, firstever Parks, access to the Urban Reserve for any future uses of that Recreaon & Waterfront Master Plan. City land. Taking advantage of the City’s waterfront tax increment financing (TIF) district, these infrastructure improvements will not impact residents’ property taxes. Also in 2014, the City completed the first part of the bike path rehabilitaon through Waterfront Park, beginning a process to restore and enhance the full length of Burlington’s recreaon crown jewel. In addi on to providing a great recreaon opportunity, the Bike Path generates substanal economic acvity in Green Up Day 2014 Renewed Focus on the Long-Term, Careful Stewardship of our Municipal Assets As with the PFP projects, we have priorized eliminat ing a more than $1 million backlog of maintenance and improvement projects that had been funded by tax payers in prior years, but not built – projects that include everything from crucial life safety installaons in the library to boiler upgrades throughout the City that will pay for themselves in well under a decade. Overall, our infrastructure connues to degrade at a faster rate than we reinvest, and beginning