Dear friends,

This is a personal note to share my thoughts about the issues that will come before us this week. Montpelier voters have the opportunity to choose two dedicated public servants on Town Meeting Day.

For City Clerk, John Odum is running to replace our veteran Clerk, Charlotte Hoyt. John is uniquely qualified for this job, and deserves your vote on March 6.

As a longtime database and IT professional, John has been responsible for managing voter registration databases, and is familiar with election laws from his work with state and national election campaigns. John will use his database management skills to reduce paperwork in the City Clerk’s office and make the office operations more efficient and greener than they have ever been. Since John has served the city as a member of the Board of Civil Authority, working on elections and other city activities, John has the knowledge to keep our elections running smoothly and to support our City Council and Manager. Finally, John will ensure that city government will be open, welcoming, and responsive to city residents. I have nothing negative to say about his opponent, but I just think that John has already mastered many of the exact functions needed to succeed as our city clerk.

For City Council, Nancy Sherman is running for reelection as our councilor in District 2. Nancy has served on the Council for twelve years, and she has been at the center of every progressive move the city has taken during those years. By her support for the Housing Trust Fund Nancy has helped to address the shortage of affordable and mixed-income housing in the Capital City. By her support for the multi-modal transportation center and the district heating plan, Nancy has supported downtown economic development and efficient city budgeting.

John Odum and Nancy Sherman offer real solutions to the problems that face Montpelier city government. Their work will help move our city forward. When you vote for John Odum and Nancy Sherman on Town Meeting Day you vote for Montpelier’s future.

On the two local options taxes, I will be voting yes and I urge you to do the same. Montpelier’s budget problems are due in large measure to the cost of providing infrastructure and municipal services to people who come into Montpelier to work, impose burdens on our city government, but pay nothing to support the services our city provides. If you believe that costs should be borne in part by the people who cause us to incur those costs, you should support the local options taxes to realize this goal.

I recognize that many local business owners oppose these proposals, but I think their opposition is misguided. There is no basis to think that someone working in Montpelier will drive out of town to save a dime on a ten dollar lunch order, fifteen cents on a paperback book, or a dollar on a hundred dollar wristwatch or antique. What is more, the anti-tax advocates overlook the fact that our taxes are buying the services that we all use. There is no accounting magic, no bookkeeping tricks that will balance our budget. It is important to make sure that our tax dollars are wisely spent, but it is vital to maintain public works and public safety services that everyone in Montpelier relies on.

Finally, Article 14 of the proposed budget is an appropriation of $41,000 for the Housing Trust Fund. This fund in past years has provided money to make homeownership and rentals more affordable for Montpelier residents, and a recent study showed that based on the additions to the tax rolls that this fund has created, we are receiving a rate of return of almost 20% on that investment. In the context of a very long ballot I urge you to find and support this item.