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By Michael Bielawski
Non-citizens will be allowed to join the vote today on a public referendum in Burlington regarding new police oversight powers created by the City Council. The proposals appear in part to shift power over disciplinary actions away from the chief and the mayor, while giving the City Council more say.
The proposed charter change language includes, “to further define the role of the police chief and police commission, providing opportunity for the police chief and police commission to jointly establish rules and regulations for the police department and for the city council to resolve any dispute with respect to the same and for the council to delegate the authority for auditing or monitoring of the police department to the police commission.”
For years, the Burlington Police Department and the mayor’s office had a rift with the City Council regarding the drawn-out appointment of Chief Jon Murad, which took three years.
The chief and Council have largely been at odds over their defunding by the Council by about a third via attrition in June of 2020. Since then, the workload per remaining officer has doubled, crime rates have substantially risen, and police responses have been limited for certain types of crimes.
Another component of the referendum is to add new faces to those doing the oversight. It proposes, “adding a stated intent for the police commission to include representation from the diverse nature of the city’s constituents.”
Another section deals with the review process for alleged misconduct of officers. It proposes, “providing a process for review of alleged misconduct of members of the police department, with opportunity for review and recommendation by the police commission, including the ability to review documents and other evidence relevant to the allegation as the City Council shall determine by ordinance, on any disposition of an allegation of misconduct by any member of the police department, aside from the chief, who shall continue to answer to the city council for any such allegation.”
One part specifically outlines a scenario in which a decision by the chief could potentially be overturned by a new panel of three to five members.
This panel would be “as appointed by ordinance for determination of the disposition of an allegation of misconduct (subject to appeal rights), where the chief of police does not accept the police commission’s recommendation and after ⅔ vote of the police commission, provided that department members shall retain appeal rights of any such disposition to the police commission or in the case of conflict of such body, the independent panel.”
Non-citizen voting
Also, non-citizens will vote in this election in Burlington. A report about a lawsuit against the city regarding this initiative was reported by VDC in June.
“Plaintiffs seek an injunction compelling Defendant to refrain from implementing the invalid voting scheme, including refraining from registering noncitizen voters to participate in education-related elections and referendums in the City of Burlington,” the report states.
A report on Daily Caller notes that illegals voting in this year’s elections are a continuous problem nationwide.
“Several states say that the Biden-Harris administration has not cooperated with their efforts to prevent noncitizens from voting. The Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Virginia in October and Alabama in September over their efforts to remove noncitizens too close to the election. Texas, Ohio and Florida filed their own lawsuits against the administration this month for allegedly hampering their efforts, while other states told the Daily Caller News Foundation the federal government has not supported attempts to identify noncitizen voters.”
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle
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Categories: Burlington
I find it ironic that when it comes to education, teachers and their unions know best. More staff, more money, more staff, more money. It’s been going on for as long as I can remember and despite plunging measurable outcomes.
Yet when it comes to the police, when you’d think actual police would know best what they actually need, nope. We need this council or that commission or a non-citizen vote, not to mention the mayor putting her two cents in. Let cops do cop things! You know your job better than the guy in HR, right?
What in the world has this state, and Burlington in particular, devolved into?
“What in the world has this state, and Burlington in particular, devolved into? A cesspool of socialism !
Why are non-citizens voting?!
How do you pass these moronic policies, well let every tom, dick and harry vote, even
non citizens and you wonder why there is such disdain in our communities.
Non citizens helping progressives policies, and now you understand how and why they stay in power, all you need to do is dangle a carrot ” policies & programs “, yes
and you let it happen by your votes……………………. wake up people !!
Like I need another reason to not patronize this once great city. Progressives continue to chip away at Burlington with the future end result being a metaphorical pile of rubble. Shameful.
You can’t make this crap up.
Haven’t they had enough of the inmates running the asylum??? Great , make it easy to vote. But , be sure they have some skin in the game.
A certificate of attendance of being here does not automatically make you part of the franchise. Where is the buy-in and accountability? I hear the argument they pay taxes. Well, consider it a user tax for being here and enjoying the benefits of freedom others have earned and paid a price.-not a pass to change the society you chose to visit to be more like where you may have escaped.
Illegals voting in our elections is just plain WRONG !
And that’s how they win, along with day registration, out state collage students along with having no morals……………….Vote them out !!
Non-citizens are not illegals. This crappy piece of “journalism” attempts to conflate the two.
Will this include the out of state felons expanding their drug ring operations into the land of opportunity aka the socialist republic of Burlington? One would think they would have a strong interest in the outcome of this initiative!
Commissions, oversite boards, Chief, why would any police officer stay with a department or join a department with so much political heavy handedness, you’re signing your own law enforcement death bed. Save yourself the headaches and go to work for a real department run by a Chief!!
Since a vote on this issue would, for all reason and purpose, require a voter to know and understand the reasoning for or against and the historic value, oh shall we say ‘skin in the game’- how could a non citizen be of correct mind to have a reasonable understanding. In short why do you allow people not of the community or of the same level of understanding or investment in( nothing to do with intelligence/just awareness), hold a vote in the community unless you do not want to represent the community any longer. Remember taxation without representation will not be permitted by the patriots. So we are to be represented the tax payer. Period the tax payer is represented period.
More progress garbage, not a citizen then you don’t vote, pretty simple.
Last I looked there were a lot of open LEO slots in Vermont in municipalities and at the state level. Most of them are in locations that still value police protection. The officers of Burlington could not be faulted by leaving for less insane places.