Gov. Phil Scott on Thursday announced a 14-point plan to address crime and disorder in the Queen City.
The state will expand drug treatment in prisons; offer additional police patrols; participate in a “mass volunteer clean-up and beautification event”; and start a program that aims to prevent offenders from committing more crimes while awaiting trial.
Conspicuously missing from the plan is an expansion of homeless shelter capacity in Burlington or elsewhere in Chittenden County, despite the dire need for it. The plan also ignores specific asks that Burlington city councilors made of Scott in a resolution they passed in August.
Even so, Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak is on board.
“This response plan is a good step forward for community health and safety in Burlington,” she said in the statement. “In order for our communities to be safer for everyone, we must identify myriad responses to address harm and improve well-being.”
The plan comes as Mulvaney-Stanak has faced unrelenting pressure from local businesses to stem public drug use and unsheltered homelessness that are pervasive in the city.
At the same time, the Progressive mayor has cast Scott, a Republican, as culpable for the city’s problems as continued rollbacks of the state’s motel housing program have put hundreds of Vermonters on the streets. Scott’s administration, meantime, has described Burlington’s challenges as those of its own making. Scott and Mulvaney-Stanak traded barbs in the media before agreeing to meet.
“This is a model for how, despite differences in political party, we can put that aside and work together to solve problems and help people,” Scott said in the statement.
Some of the plan is already in motion. Last week, Scott appointed Zach Weight, a deputy state’s attorney in Washington County, to serve as special prosecutor in an “accountability court” for repeat offenders. A judge, public defender and other staff will be assigned to the court, the plan says.
Incarcerated people “in certain DOC facilities” will have access to expanded drug treatment, including therapy and recovery coaches, when required by a court order, the plan says. And Burlington will get a pre-trial supervision program to monitor defendants who are released pending trial. If they violate their court-ordered conditions, they could face additional charges.
Scott’s plan offers Vermont State police for additional patrols. But accepting that offer would be a reversal for Mulvaney-Stanak, who has previously said that she and interim Police Chief Shawn Burke determined those services weren’t necessary. It’s unclear if she’s changed her mind. Jen Monroe Zakaras, the mayor’s deputy chief of staff, said in a text message Thursday that Scott’s plan creates “opportunities for coordination” with Burlington police but didn’t specify if that includes state police patrols.
Social service providers also figure into Scott’s plans. For one, the plan directs organizations that receive state funding to call the police “for violent and disruptive behaviors in and around their premises.” Operators of needle-exchange programs will work with state officials to explore “both incentives and accountability for disposal of those syringes,” the plan says.
A report released by a city council subcommittee this week similarly supported additional scrutiny of syringe programs, specifically Howard Center’s Safe Recovery.
“If Burlington is being asked to support this harm reduction initiative by locating the services here, we also expect that the funders and providers of the syringes be primarily responsible for their mitigation and clean-up,” the report says.
Thursday afternoon, Howard Center released a statement applauding the governor’s plan.
“Building on our strong partnership with the Agency of Human Services, and as a committed community partner in the City’s work ahead, we look forward to engaging in this effort and identifying meaningful ways to contribute to lasting, shared solutions,” the statement says.
Scott’s plan taps the University of Vermont to launch an additional “mobile addiction treatment van” and to join a citywide clean-up event, perhaps to deal with rampant graffiti. It offers Agency of Transportation officials to consult on construction projects, which could include the disruptive Main Street makeover that has strained downtown businesses for months. And it endorses City Circle, a forthcoming city program that will prosecute people who violate city ordinances if they refuse to participate in a restorative justice process.
In August, city councilors passed a resolution that asked Scott to convene panels of experts to address youth violence, low-level drug dealing and barriers to addiction treatment. But the governor didn’t include these initiatives in his plan, and a statement from his press secretary, Amanda Wheeler, didn’t directly address why.
“The Governor and team have had many conversations in recent weeks about what is needed to help Burlington turn the corner,” Wheeler wrote. “Given that, the Governor believes taking immediate action is important — which is exactly what is being done in consultation with service providers, businesses, residents, and others.”
Asked about discussions involving homeless shelters, Wheeler said those conversations are “ongoing.” As it stands, the city has no plans — or money — to operate a low-barrier warming shelter this winter as it has for years.
