MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Big budget decisions lie ahead for Vermont lawmakers in the next legislative session. They will face tough choices on the cost of schools and the cost of fighting climate change.

Gov Phil Scott used his weekly news briefing on Thursday to sound the alarm on these issues. The Clean Heat Standard and education finance reform are two big issues we’ve tracked for years and the governor says Vermonters can’t afford where we’re headed.

Vermont’s governor says a landmark thermal energy bill years in the making– which is yet to be voted on by lawmakers– is proving to be too complex and costly. Much like health care reform was a decade ago.

“From my perspective, this is starting to look a lot like single-payer,” said Gov. Phil Scott, R-Vermont.

Last year, lawmakers overrode Scott’s veto on the Clean Heat Standard, a program designed to ween Vermonters off fossil fuels and instead invest in more eco-friendly forms of home heating, like heat pumps and biofuels.

Questions about the cost to consumers for implementing the new program have sparked political acrimony. But we now have more clarity: according to a new study published by the Department of Public Service, a potential Clean Heat Standard designed to meet the requirements of the Global Warming Solutions Act over the next 25 years would take investments to the tune of just shy of $10 billion.

“There’s still many unanswered questions like who pays for what,” the governor said.

Scott and his team say a shortage of contractors to pull it off is another concern.

“Only three states are even thinking about this. Why does Vermont have to be first?” Vt. Public Service Commissioner June Tierney said.

But some say Scott’s concerns are misplaced because changing the way we heat our homes and businesses will be net positive to the economy.

“This study is saying the benefits of doing that– $12 billion in benefits– outweigh the costs by $3 billion over the next 25 years,” said Jared Duval, who serves on Vermont’s Climate Council and is with the Energy Action Network.

He says many aren’t focusing on the long-term savings of ditching fossil fuels, adding we still don’t know what that will do to the price of a gallon of fuel oil which will come in a study due in December.

“We have to have an honest fact-based conversation and not be distracted by numbers, by the fossil fuel industry and their lobbyists,” Duval said.

At the same time, the Scott administration is also raising red flags about the upcoming school budget season and another potential looming property education property tax spike. In a letter to school boards this week, Scott’s team estimates even if school districts keep spending flat, it’s estimated Vermont could see a 7% average property tax hike after this year’s 14% increase.

“We have to prepare ourselves for what’s going to happen in the not-too-distant future about another December first letter that will show another increase,” Scott said.

A key commission is expected to make recommendations on short- and long-term education cost containment strategies before the session in January.

These two big issues come down the pike in January when the Legislature reconvenes. But it remains to be seen whether there will be any shifts in the political leanings of the Legislature after voters go to the polls in November.

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A former employee with the Vermont Department of Children & Families is charged with sexually assaulting a minor in her care.

According to WPTZ, 31-year-old Sonja Herman, of Swanton, was charged with sexual assault in July after the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations received a report from DCF that she had engaged in a sexual relationship with an underage person in the agency’s custody.

The Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations said they were notified by DCF in October of 2023 that Herman had sexually abused a juvenile for several years while working with him in her role as a family services worker for the agency. Herman was a licensed foster parent with two foster children at the time they learned of the abuse.

Herman was cited with a sexual abuse charge on July 31 and was arraigned Thursday. She was released on conditions prohibiting her from supervising or providing care for children under the age of 18.

If convicted, she faces a minimum sentence of three years in prison up to life in prison, along with fines up to $25,000.

On Aug. 20, President Biden approved a major disaster declaration, Disaster 4810, in response to the July 9–11 flooding which hit seven Vermont counties this past summer, making the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance funding available in the affected counties. At the time of this announcement, FEMA teams were still in the state responding to Disaster 4720, a more severe flooding event that occurred last year in July 2023. 

In order for FEMA to begin operating in response to a disaster, minimum damage amounts called indicators must be reached, explained FEMA external affairs coordinator Kimberly Fuller. Fuller explained that the time it took FEMA teams to assess the damage for indicators resulted in the time delay between the disaster itself in July and the declaration made by Biden in August. 

In order to gain access to FEMA assistance, the governor of the affected state must contact FEMA for an Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA). FEMA then assesses damages by both responding to calls and physically looking for damage, and then sends its report to the President, according to Fuller. 

While more major disasters, such as Hurricane Irene in 2011, may warrant an emergency declaration, which does not require a PDA, less major disasters require even more time, possibly months, to be assessed, especially in areas like Vermont with small, diffuse populations. 

Middlebury alum Sofia West ’23, a former International and Global Studies major from California, has been on the ground with FEMA as a member of the FEMA Corps. FEMA Corps is a program within the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) program for 18–26 year-olds that deploys teams based on national needs to work on projects accomplishing FEMA’s mission-critical functions: disaster survivor assistance, individual assistance, logistics, planning and geographic information system, and public assistance, according to West. 

While in Vermont, West has primarily worked on project grants related to last summer’s flooding. However, after the declaration of this most recent disaster, her team was briefly deployed working in Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA), meaning they spent time canvassing communities and helping them apply for assistance from FEMA.

“There was about an hour and a half between the declaration announcement and our first survivor interaction in the town of Barre, breaking an unofficial FEMA-wide record of fastest DSA (Disaster Survivor Assistance) deployment in history- pretty neat!” West wrote in an email to The Campus.

Fuller explained that FEMA teams “go where the people are” to help them gain access to funding. In order to access assistance, survivors have to register loss and damage, among other documentation.

In the approximately four days West’s team was in the field in August, they knocked on over 200 doors in flood-affected areas and spoke with more than 100 survivors. In Vermont, “going where the people are” has also involved setting up at local farmer’s markets to speak with locals about registering their damage and helping them through the process via an app on their smartphones. 

Fuller explained that while citizens can apply for assistance online, lack of awareness about this option, limited Wi-Fi availability and complexities in the application process can make it difficult for aid to reach survivors. In order to gain access to funding, survivors have to be both eligible and have given FEMA all of the information it requires. DSA teams help facilitate that process. 

FEMA is diligent in its work to reach survivors and help them apply for assistance, Fuller explained. The agency tries to contact survivors through various methods, multiple times. 

As of Sept. 7, 1,103 individuals had registered for assistance in response to Disaster 4810, with $2,926,239 in aid already approved, Fuller told The Campus. She reported that she expected approximately five million dollars of individual assistance to ultimately be approved in response to the July floods.

“Overall, it was an intense experience that necessitated a lot of interpersonal skills blended with FEMA assistance knowledge, but one that provided a more inclusive foundational awareness of FEMA operations,” West wrote of her time doing DSA work.

There are currently 10 DSA teams and two FEMA Corps teams operating in Vermont. DSA teams have registered approximately 200 survivors over 3,587 survivor interactions and 8,000 home visits. Teams have also visited 300 community-based organizations, 550 businesses and 300 public spaces.

FEMA also provides public assistance funds to local municipalities to support the reconstruction of infrastructure, such as roads, and support local nonprofits, such as food banks, impacted by the flooding. 

Congress closed its most recent session in January without approving additional funding for FEMA as it traditionally does, prompting the public to worry about assistance fund availability. Local and government nonprofit funding will be put on hold, but individual assistance will remain unaffected by this lack of funding, Fuller explained. 

West expects additional FEMA funding to eventually be approved.

West noted that in an ideal world, Vermont would become more prepared for natural disasters, and that increasing preparedness is a key part of FEMA’s mission. However, for now, FEMA’s focus remains on more immediate recovery in the state. 

“FEMA has been steadfastly supporting Vermonters through multiple disasters and will continue to do so as long as there is a need,” West wrote.