By VDC staff

The Fiscal Alliance Foundation is expanding into Vermont and has named Waterbury resident Elizabeth Brown as its Vermont state director, charging her with leading the organization’s efforts to promote fiscally responsible, transparent, and data-driven public policy.

Brown, who has lived in Vermont for three decades, brings more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry to the role. She previously served on the Harwood Unified Union School District board and was a candidate for the Vermont House of Representatives in 2024.

“For too long, Vermont has been part of a policy experiment that too often fails to ask a basic question: who pays?” Brown said. “Vermont taxpayers have been left footing the bill. Our mission is simple: government should be effective, accountable, and affordable. Public policy should be judged by whether it improves the lives of Vermonters, expands opportunity, and delivers measurable value for taxpayers.”

Brown said the organization plans to publish independent fiscal analyses, evaluate the cumulative effects of legislation and regulation, measure whether government programs achieve their stated goals, and provide Vermonters with information about the costs and tradeoffs of public policy decisions.

“Every public policy has a price,” Brown said. “Whether that cost appears as higher taxes, increased utility bills, more expensive housing, higher healthcare premiums, rising insurance costs, compliance burdens for businesses, or fewer economic opportunities, someone pays. Fiscal responsibility begins by asking those questions before, not after, policies are enacted.”

The Foundation said its Vermont work will focus on government spending, long-term fiscal sustainability, education outcomes, efficient use of taxpayer resources, energy affordability and reliability, tax competitiveness, and private property rights.

Executive Director Paul Craney said Vermont’s tradition of civic engagement makes it a natural fit for the organization’s expansion.

“Our goal is to contribute credible research, thoughtful analysis, and constructive solutions that help policymakers and citizens evaluate how government decisions affect affordability, opportunity, and economic growth,” Craney said. “We hope to provide a voice for the taxpayers of Vermont and educate the public on the interests of the taxpayers.”The Foundation also announced that Stowe resident Rob Roper has joined its board of directors to help guide its work in Vermont. The nonprofit, which has operated in Massachusetts for more than a decade, said it plans to work with business leaders, local officials, community organizations, researchers, and residents interested in strengthening Vermont’s economy while promoting government accountability.