State tries novel tactic to drive off drug-using vagrants: loud songbird recordings
By Guy Page
Gov. Phil Scott said Wednesday that Burlington continues to face public-safety challenges following a violent weekend, but he is not currently planning to extend the recent Vermont State Police presence downtown.
Speaking during an Aug. 19 press conference, Scott also fielded questions on the Democratic gubernatorial primary, corporate campaign contributions, the planned closure of the Dairy Farmers of America plant in St. Albans, property taxes, immigration enforcement and the state’s response to disruptive behavior outside state offices in Montpelier.
Scott said Burlington is still living with the consequences of the City Council’s 2020 decision to reduce the authorized size of its police force.
“I think defunding the police years ago in Burlington, we’re just still continuing to see the effects of that initiative,” Scott said. He acknowledged concerns from other Vermont communities about State Police resources being directed toward Burlington, but said the state has an obligation to protect communities when additional help is needed.
The governor said the city clearly still has problems following a weekend that included a fatal stabbing and other violent incidents.
“There’s still an issue obviously in Burlington,” Scott said, adding that the recently established accountability court appeared effective and could potentially be intensified.
Asked whether the administration would extend the State Police presence downtown, Scott said, “Not at this point,” although he left open the possibility depending on requests from Burlington and whether the violence proves to be a sustained trend rather than “a one-off terrible weekend, tragic weekend.”
Scott defended the effectiveness of having troopers downtown despite making limited arrests during the deployment. He said their presence reassured businesses and visitors and allowed troopers to work in tandem with Burlington police.
Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison, the former Burlington police chief, cautioned against drawing broad conclusions from one violent weekend. She said Burlington had experienced an “amazingly quiet run” earlier in the summer and said violent crime has declined both in the city and statewide. Morrison also explained that State Police making Burlington arrests creates longer-term obligations for troopers to return for court proceedings, depositions and other case work, making it preferable in many situations for Burlington officers to make the formal arrest.
Scott also discussed the Aug. 11 Democratic gubernatorial primary, saying he was surprised Amanda Janoo defeated Aly Richards.
“I knew Amanda was running ahead during the campaign, but I really thought that Ally would come out in the end with more support,” Scott said. Asked why, he said he had assumed there were more Democrats in Vermont than Progressives.
Scott also defended encouraging voters to participate in the Democratic primary for Chittenden County state’s attorney, saying voters needed to understand that the primary winner could effectively become the next state’s attorney. He said Vermont’s roughly 22% primary participation rate was discouraging and that his message was fundamentally about getting people to vote.
Asked whether he would follow Janoo’s pledge not to accept corporate or corporate PAC contributions, Scott gave an emphatic “No.”
“I’ll take money from anyone,” Scott said, arguing that accepting a contribution does not mean it influences his decisions. Asked whether corporations have undue influence over political institutions, Scott replied, “They don’t over me.”
On the planned DFA milk-processing plant closure in St. Albans, Scott said he was surprised by recent suggestions that the shutdown could be connected to workers’ union activity. He said he had previously understood the closure to be based on economic and production considerations.
Scott said his administration, including agriculture and economic-development officials, has been discussing the situation. He said he hopes DFA can remain in Vermont because losing the facility could hurt farms across the state.
Administration officials also said they’ve taken steps to reduce the impact of the closure of the Fitch paper mill in Glens Falls, NY, on Vermont loggers, for whom the plant has been a major customer. The state has filed paperwork with the Public Utilities Commission to create an emergency exception for softwood that was already cut potentially to be used at the McNeil [Burlington] and Ryegate biomass electricity generating facilities. The process could take several weeks to several months. “It is a good faith gesture to the foresters and loggers working in the woods right now that we are doing what we can to try and find outlets for that important timber,” Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore said.
Scott also addressed concerns about the Chittenden County Sheriff’s Department’s reported cooperation with U.S. Border Patrol in an immigration detention. Scott said he believed the incident represented a “clear violation” of Vermont’s Fair and Impartial Policing policy.
However, Scott said Vermont should continue participating in Operation Stonegarden because the border-security program also addresses drug, gun and human trafficking. He said Vermont law-enforcement officers should be able to distinguish those duties from civil immigration enforcement.
“They understand the lines and they have to stay within the lines,” Scott said. “That’s the end of the story.”
On property taxes, Scott said his administration would again build its budget with affordability in mind after using General Fund money during the previous two budget cycles to blunt education property-tax increases. But he said the longer-term answer remains restructuring Vermont’s education system.
“When we’re spending per pupil one of the highest in the nation and not getting the results that we need and expect, we have a problem,” Scott said, calling it a structural problem. He said education transformation could ultimately reduce property-tax pressures, although “it’s not instantaneous.”
Scott and Administration Secretary Kristin Clouser also defended the installation of a noise device outside Montpelier state offices, including the Pavilion Building housing the governor’s office, intended to discourage overnight activity among substance abusers and vagrants. Clouser said the state acted after months of problems including fights, human waste, used needles, broken windows and a fire on a porch. The device operates between about 11 PM and 4 AM.
Scott said another option would have been arrests.
“That’s not what we’re trying to do,” he said. “We’re just trying to get people to act appropriately” while using public areas and state property.