Letter to Governor Scott

March 20, 2025
Governor Phil Scott
Office of Governor Phil Scott
109 State Street, Pavilion
Montpelier, VT 05609

Dear Governor Scott,

We are witnessing the real and predictable harms created by a severe lack of shelter options, including inadequate capacity in the General Assistance Emergency Housing Program (hotel/motel program). In Chittenden County, data indicates that approximately 250 people are sleeping outside on any given night this winter, primarily in Burlington. This equates to a 6.5-fold increase in unsheltered homelessness since 2023 and is a direct result of reductions in shelter opportunities through the motel program, as well as a structural lack of shelter capacity, both locally and statewide.

This winter, recognizing the high vulnerability of those living outside, the City of Burlington developed a new policy decreasing the threshold temps for Emergency Extreme Cold Shelter from - 20 to -10 degrees with windchill. Under these new criteria, the City partnered with CVOEO to activate an emergency shelter over nine nights, resulting in over 620 bed nights with an average nightly census of 70 people. The level of acute need related medical, mental health, and substance use issues was more than we could have imagined. Five people used wheelchairs; more than a dozen people were older adults. We saw people with infected wounds, burns from fires used to keep warm, sores from lack of access to personal hygiene, incontinence, and severe frostbite due to prolonged cold exposure. The City of Burlington and our partner organizations stretched well beyond our capacity to meet a portion of the need for shelter in our community.

In Chittenden County, AHS has shared that 83 households will be exited from the motels on April 1. This group includes at least 18 families and 26 children. Municipalities and service providers do not have the resources to support these vulnerable populations. Our community outreach workers are focused on keeping people alive. Our emergency responders and emergency department are overwhelmed with responding to the acute needs of people without safe shelter.

As Vermont’s Governor, we implore you to seriously consider the profound negative impacts your veto will have, not only for the households this affects but the strain that will be placed on municipalities and social service organizations who are already stretched to the limit. The City of Burlington has estimated $8 million in expenses related to unsheltered homelessness responses in calendar year 2024. These costs to the City are largely supported by municipal taxpayers. As municipal leaders, we are forced into action to support basic human dignity while mitigating health and safety concerns for all residents, businesses, and visitors. We know Burlington is not alone in carrying these additional expenses with an already strained budget. The lift to support people living unsheltered has become impossible – our numbers continue to rise while we continue to see decreases in funding – and in the State’s diminishing role in shelter provision. This repeated cycle of removing people from the motel program with no exit strategy will continue to place an undue burden on municipalities across Vermont, and will continue to force us into prolonged states of crisis response. This is unsustainable and far more costly to Vermonters than extending motel stays through the end of the fiscal year. We want to be partners in creating a sustainable and humane transition out of the motel program – however, that work becomes near impossible when we are constantly forced into a crisis response posture. Please sign the compromise Budget Adjustment Act into law to ensure vulnerable households remain stably sheltered through June 30.

Thank you for your consideration of our urgent request.

Sincerely,
Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, Mayor
Ben Traverse, City Council President, Ward 5
Tom Flanagan Superintendent Burlington Schools
Mark Barlow, City Councilor North District
Becca Brown McKnight, City Councilor Ward 6
Carter Neubieser City Councilor Ward 1
Gene Bergman City Councilor Ward 2
Evan Litwin City Councilor Ward 7
Melo Grant City Councilor Central District
Sarah Carpenter City Councilor Ward 4
Marek Broderick City Councilor Ward 8
Joe Kane City Councilor Ward 3