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by Gina Galfetti
Buckle up, it is that time of the year again–the time when your duly elected State Legislators return to Montpelier to face the challenges that are at hand. And I am writing today to let the people know that some of us hear you loud and clear. Governor Scott proposed a sweeping education reform bill, and many of us went out on a limb to give it a shot. What has happened thus far is that the special committee comprised of a mix of legislators and non-legislators that was tasked with drawing new districts over the summer refused to do their assigned task, with Democrat members that are in the majority refusing to do it. That is the reality of what happened over the summer.
And let’s face it: not everyone is going to be happy with school and administrative consolidations, because at the end of the day the idea is to save taxpayers money, which means we need to optimize, streamline, and cut. Yes, I said it: CUT. We need to save on the costs of maintaining buildings and reduce personnel. For too long now Vermonters have been footing the bill as school funding has sky rocketed and the number of students and their test scores have plummeted. The system is not working for the kids, or the taxpayers, and it is time to stop throwing more money into a broken system.
With this in mind I am proposing a 3-year property tax rate freeze, so Vermonters can survive while we at the Legislature get to work. The bill would prevent any increase in your taxes for 3 years. It is not reform; it is not a solution. This bill will do 2 things. First, stop your property taxes from increasing for 3 years, and second, require that any additional spending for budget increases come from the General Fund. In my vision for the bill the amount that needs to come from the General Fund would be taken from every single item on the budget that is normally funded with General Fund dollars. No favorites here! Just a large dose of reality and a stark fiscal reminder that if we continue to spend foolishly and without accountability, we are all going to feel it.
Please be advised, my fellow Vermonters, that not all of us in the Legislature are out of touch with you! I own and swing a brush at my small painting company. And I don’t have health insurance, and I can barely pay my mortgage, just like many of you out there. And I know that I am one of the lucky ones. But we need your help too. Keep the pressure on your representatives, and if they are making ludicrous statements like Senate Pro Tem Phil Baruth did at the Legislative fiscal briefing back in December, when he told us that the state would step in to cover any shortfalls in federal funding, call them out.
Vermont doesn’t have large bags of cash or bars or gold stashed in the State House cellar. Nor do Vermonters have the taxing capacity that would allow the Legislature to restore all the cuts that the federal administration has made in Vermont’s budget. These are dark and complicated times, and we need to take care of each other, but we also need to come to terms with the fact that we cannot do everything all at once. Vermonters are beyond our breaking point when it comes to affordability, and in my view, the race is on to save this state, and we all need to work together to make that happen.
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Categories: Commentary, Rep. Gina Galfetti's Floor Report
Most people have used up half of their fuel aid money by now and we have three more months to go.
If you want to see cold, look at MWOBS web cams on Mount Washington. The top of the mountain looks like Dr. Zhivago ice palace. Today, the wind chill is only -21 degrees. Some beautiful scenery on clear days.
Yes, I said it: CUT. I guess you didn’t believe what you said. Cut. And cut again.
Then why aren’t these progressives ashamed of themselves for putting Vermont taxpayers in such dire straits monetarily while teachers get rewarded with more$$$ and children’s school test scores keep plummeting? Would school choice be an answer in Vermont. Look into it.
Our property tax is going up another 12% in 2026? The progressive democrats should be resigning in groves. You should be arguing that they do need to resign. Why don’t you bring this to their attention soon because I could conceivably see a red wave in Vermont’s house and senate seats in 2026 and 2028.
I see Planned Parenthood is advertising for funds—come on Gina—tell people what planned parenthood is using these funds for—abortions, transgender treatments and body mutilating surgeries on minors without parental consent. These children are not all Vermont children either.
RFK, Jr. at HHS is working on banning transgender treatments and surgeries on minors because the science does not support doing these radical procedures but it takes time. This was a 80/20 issue and you should be on top of this!!!! Maybe you know, is planned parenthood forking over another 1 M dollars to help the democrats get re-elected in the Mid-terms? Is the governor giving planned parenthood funds that the federal government withholds?? Ask planned parenthood for an itemized audit of past funds in previous years since COVID and what the money was used for. Don’t let them say—“we did mammograms and paps on uninsured woman to detect cancer” How many abortions did they do and how young were they? How many were late term? How many transgender procedures did they do? Ages?? And were they Vermont residents?These are important issues that need to be addressed. I want to know how my tax dollars are being spent and I want every Vermonter to know the truth before mid-term elections. Bernie sanders has said, there are not that many, but I don’t believe him. I don’t believe he’s leading with love. I believe being a socialist, he wants to keep control over the majority of Vermonters by disguising your freedom to choose pitch and controlling the electorate with free things for awhile then dropping the hammer like with the affordable care act did and in 2026 insurance premiums being so expensive that people can’t afford it and are going without insurance. People please don’t forget—anywhere in the US they have tried socialist policies like free groceries-it has never worked so vote these people out of office and please include the governor in this request. Vote true republican candidates in to clean up this mess. And I mean —clean up the fraud and abuse in Medicare/medicaid/social services as well!! If it’s rampant in Minnesota, it’s got to be in Vermont too. Turn Vermont around Gina!! Start today!
Thank you.