April 1st 2024 Council Recap
My first council meeting was mostly ceremonial and gave me hope that we can establish a culture of collaboration and trust over the next two years. At last night’s meeting we …
-> swore in our new and returning City Councilors and Mayor. Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak delivered her inaugural State of the City Address.
-> voted to appoint Councilor Traverse as Council President. I voted for Councilor Traverse because he has communicated a commitment to centering fairness and good process, regardless of a fellow councilor’s party label or policy views. I hope and fully expect that Councilor Traverse will follow through on that commitment and treat all councilors fairly regardless of party labels.
-> voted to appoint Councilors Barlow, Carpenter, and Kane to the Board of Finance (BOF). The Council President and Mayor also serve on the BOF by default. I voted for the slate and hope to see good-faith collaboration. Our new mayor and council is inheriting a challenging FY-25 budget for which we’ll need to close a 9 million dollar shortfall.
-> made history. Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak became the first woman and first openly LGBTQ+ mayor in the history of our city. This achievement gives me a lot of hope as a member of the LGBTQ+ and as a parent. My daughter (who I am excited to announce is due in October!) will grow up in a community where she sees herself represented in city government, and I am incredibly grateful for that.
If you missed last night’s proceedings you can watch the CCTV recording here.
Other Notes:
-> Moving forward the best email to reach me at, in my role as our Ward’s City Councilor, is cneubieser@burlingtonvt.gov. Using that email will help me stay organized (I now have 4 email inboxes to manage!) and help ensure I respond to everyone in a timely manner.
-> Our next NPA Meeting is Wednesday, April 10th at the Friends Meeting House (173 N. Prospect St.) from 7-9pm. Dinner is served starting at 6:30pm - as always, shout out to Sam Ayotte for cooking!
-> Speaking of neighbors deserving of praise, I wanted to give a big shoutout to Carol Livingston & Gary Golden for going door to door this past weekend, handing out glasses for the eclipse. Thank you both! If you haven't thought about the eclipse next Monday, please do so - it is likely going to impact your regular routine. For more information and all things eclipse check out this link.
-> I met with DPW as part of my onboarding, and raised a number of needed street improvements that I heard were a priority from residents during the campaign. Most notably, I am awaiting news regarding some pretty nasty potholes around BHA housing in Ward 1 that have frustrated residents for years.
-> Mayor Mulvaney Stanak just announced hires for three key positions within her administration. Read more here. You can sign up to receive updates from the Mayor’s office directly here.
In Closing:
I want to thank all of you for trusting me to represent our Ward on the City Council. I am hopeful that over the next two years my colleagues, the Mayor, and I can …
1. Move forward big ideas like tax fairness reform, decarbonizing our energy, strengthening our local democracy, taking on our city’s housing crisis, and adequately addressing public safety challenges.
2. Deliver basic city services in an efficient and effective manner, help our constituents navigate city government, and help facilitate neighbors involvement in the political process.
3. Decrease the divisiveness that too often characterizes our city’s politics and instead focus on moving the city forward. That doesn’t mean avoiding disagreements and hard conversations, but rather engaging productively with empathy and grace when disagreements arise.
Thank you and please don’t hesitate to reach out,
Carter Neubieser
Ward 1 City Councilor
cneubieser@burlingtonvt.gov
