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By Guy Page
Governor Phil Scott plans to use one-time money within the Budget Adjustment Act (BAA) to buy down property taxes, calling the effort “just step one” toward necessary long-term reform, he said at a December 17 press conference.
The proposal addresses an estimated $200 million increase in the education fund, which could result in an average property tax increase of about 12%.
The BAA is a mid-year adjustment to the current year budget, passed by legislation early in the next session to cover needs that emerged after the passage of the budget this spring.
The Governor’s plan earmarks approximately $75 million from the BAA—money that was available after meeting other obligations—to be fenced off and reserved for providing tax relief.
Governor Scott emphasized that this move is purely temporary and conditional on further structural change, stating that legislators must understand the nature of the plan.
“It really is a stop gap measure,” Governor Scott said, acknowledging the temporary nature of using one-time funds to address systemic issues.
The administration stressed that sustained tax relief requires comprehensive education transformation, noting that the current system “isn’t efficient” and is using up money that should be going to students.
Act 73, passed by the Legislature last year and signed by Gov. Scott, requires an appointed task force to draw a map of ‘super school districts’ that, if approved, would significantly reduce costs, Scott said. However the task force declined, and instead proposed keeping current supervisory unions but instead sharing costs among them.
Neither plan addresses reducing the cost of in-school instruction, and instead focuses more on administrative reductions.
The Governor cautioned local districts against viewing the state aid as a solution without local action.
Governor Scott further elaborated on the need for local accountability: “We don’t want school boards to just assume that the legislature and and the executive branch are going to come together, the governor’s going to come together and bail them out, so to speak”.
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Categories: Taxes
We were told last month that tourism brings 2.6 billion dollars to the state. If rooms and meal tax is 9% then the states take in this is about 600 million. The trickle down money that gets into state coffers comes in through businesses that pay property taxes, business taxes and fuel taxes. I have no idea how much of the 2 billion the state actually gets. Someone out there, please help me understand this better because I have no clue.
Can no one see the real issue here is the ever rising education funding? Pull all the illegals kids out of school and guess what, less money needed. And don’t tell me there aren’t any, our border has been open for 4 years. This is why we are classified as a sanctuary state, and the Winooski principal feels so emboldened.
Gov. wants to buydown property tax (one year)
Marxist Decoder Ring:
We are not making any real, substantive change.
Another band-aid.
Re: “The Governor’s plan earmarks approximately $75 million from the BAA—money that was available after meeting other obligations—to be fenced off and reserved for providing tax relief.”
Here we go. A $75 million dent in a $2.7 billion budget (not counting the projected increase). That doesn’t qualify as scratching the surface of taxpayer relief because it’s still taxpayer money.
This is a proverbial case tantamount to arranging deck chairs on the sinking Titanic. And it’s just the beginning of the spin put forth by those in charge to obfuscate their responsibility for putting us in the position I the first place.
Are y’all having fun yet?
Heaven forbid anyone in State government try to kook at and figure out why education costs are rising instead of just throwing money at the problem from some other fund that we will have to replenish next year. I don’t have the answer other than reduce education labor costs by lowering the number of school staff members or sharing them between schools. However, i may be full of it, on this issue, but I don’t think so.
Dan, In my district’s school choice tuitioning grades, for every student choosing an independent school instead of a public school, annual tuition costs decline by more than 30% and student outcomes improve. It’s just that easy to understand and to do.
That sounds like a pretty good deal and the best way to go.
Jay, how many grades do you tuition, if you don’t mind me asking? I find it interesting.
We tuition 7th & 8th graders.
Dan, read my comments in this VDC article published in November.
https://vermontdailychronicle.com/harrison-what-would-mark-twain-say-about-act-73/
The “leadership”, oops scratch that. Those that are making decision, suck, quite frankly. Not just the house, but the entire town is on fire. There needs to be REAL, DRASTIC cuts in 2026, THAT WILL BE FELT **IMMEDIATLEY** by Vermonters. We simply cannot absorb another 12% property tax increase. You thought last year was bad after tax bills came out??? *vermont legislature & governor* Here, hold my beer.
Governor Scott is doing the right thing in proposing using 75 million in surplus funds to lower the projected property tax increase in the upcoming year. It was something he was able to do with surplus funds last year as well which led to only a 1.1% increase in the educational property tax last year for residentail propery owners.
He was able to do this only because there were enough Republicans elected to the legislature in 2024 to give him additonal leverage ( not total control) and to prevent an override of his vetoes. It should be noted that the Democrat Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee has already pushed back, wanting to consider using surplus funds not to reduce taxes but spending the money elsewhere.
We need in 2026 to keep focused on keeping and electing Republicans and true Independents to the legislature to both continue to stregthen opposition to the ideologically driven Democratically led legislature and prevent ever slipping back into them having a supermajority in both chambers.
Scott has also said he will be looking at other ways in the short term to reduce educational property taxes next year which he will present in his budget to the legislature.
Finally,Scott has said this is a band aide to the problem and structural reform is needed. It is the reason for the continued push for educational reform. In particular reducing our costly and inefficent 52 Supervisory Unions for some 80,000 student to a far lower number.
For many Vermont residents who pay property taxes, the so-called buy-down was a classic example of stealing from Peter to Pay Paul
My property tax bill, before the buy-down had an expected education tax rate increase of 7.93% (voter approved budget). With the buy-down the actual education tax rate increase was 7.64%
My expected INCREASE of $440 on my education property tax bill was reduced to $424 (on a total education tax payment of $6,000)!
However, $77 million dollars of the buy-down came from the General Fund and the primary revenue in the GF is resident income taxes.
I calculated how much of my income taxes went to the buy-down. Answer: $63.
So to get a $16 reduction on my education taxes (total tax of $6,000) the state took $63 of my income taxes to do the buy-down statewide.
Only in Vermont could the state pass legislation that gave a taxpayer $16, but charged them $63 for that benefit.
The biggest problem is residents who either :
(1) fail to turnout and vote no on unsustainable school budgets or
(2) turn out and vote yes because they pay little or nothing (income sensitivity)
OR they have children in the school system and to them no amount of money is too much.
Here are the details about the stealing from Peter to pay Paul FY26 buy-down:
https://vermontdailychronicle.com/vermonts-118-million-dollar-buy-down-of-fy26-property-tax-bills-a-whopper-of-a-nothing-burger/
After buy-downs in 2019, 2022, 2024, and 2025 and now a projected 2026 buy down, I think it’s safe to say we can dispense with the term “one time”. It feels more like policy than a one-time event at this point. And if we’re going there, why don’t we just say, anything above the Social Security COLA will be paid by the State, not by the taxpayers.
Every time Governor Scott does this, he keeps the same power structure in place that created the policy in the first place. Why not let the Democrat voters suffer the full extent of their policy? Under the guise of helping all Vermonters maintain affordability, he gives Democrats political cover when he buys down the actual tax rate.
Bravo I’ve been saying this for years! Bailing out the sinking ship with a thimble will only prolong the pain. Let this ship sink! There is no saving it because there is no will to do the tough reform needed. Real reform is gonna hurt and politicians don’t have the stomach for it.
This scenario is just like Willy the Coyote in the Lonny Tunes cartoons always falling off the cliff in persecute of the Road Runner. Never catches him. So as goes the education funding off the cliff pushed by the unions and special interest groups. Until there’s real strangling of these interests, nothing will change. When I was a kid, we played “Kick The Can”. What the Gov is doing is just kicking the can regarding the the proposal for property tax relief. It will keep returning to haunt the tax payer. There’s zero solutions as long as the interests are in control and in cahoots with greedy politicians. Must be some payola here.
When are we gonna ever admit that we have a problem in the public education department?
I would look where they tell us we can’t look!
(Exploits into the “Failed State of Vermont”)
You’re obviously taxing is way too much if you have a reserve fund after spending $33 million a year on 9000 families for hotel vouchers. After buying a useless island of an island pond with taxpayers money. The state of Vermont needs to get rid of the worthless Democrats that are running it and Governor Phil Scott, who is a Democrat in disguise.