Vermont

Vt. lawmakers push fast-track fix to avert property tax spike

Published

2 years ago

February 14, 2024

Vt. lawmakers push fast-track fix to avert property tax spike

MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont lawmakers continue to work on an 11th-hour plan to avert an anticipated massive hike in property taxes.

School spending is up this year for a myriad of reasons including education funding reforms passed two years ago aimed at achieving equity. Lawmakers say part of that bill allowed some districts to pack their budgets because their tax rate would be capped at 5%.

Now, a measure being fast-tracked would allow school districts to push back their budget votes and re-draft spending plans in an effort to find cuts. Many districts have been working on their budgets since the fall and this new measure would give them just weeks to re-write and announce it to taxpayers.

“The rules are changing late in the game here and so some of them will likely be going back and taking a look at their budgets depending on their individual circumstances,” said Sue Ceglowski with the Vermont School Board Association.

Some towns already have Town Meeting Day ballots in hand or have mailed them out while others are crossing out school budget items. Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas says each town is different and voters should check in with their clerk. “There is a lot of complexity. I like to think of it as a curveball — sometimes we get those. We are pushing for school districts to be as proactive as possible in getting that information out to voters,” she said.

Lawmakers have yet to make clear to what degree, if any, the changes would bring down a forecasted 20% increase in property taxes.

A pair of bills also in the works would impose a new tax on the state’s top earners in hopes of raising more revenue.

Vermont

74-year-old woman fulfills childhood dream as EMT at fair in Vermont

Published

11 hours ago

April 20, 2026

Press Room

74-year-old woman fulfills childhood dream as EMT at fair in Vermont

ESSEX JUNCTION, Vt. (Aging Untold) — For 10 days, the Champlain Valley Fair, a county fair in Vermont, becomes its own little town with thousands of people, hot afternoons and the occasional emergency.

Charlene Phelps, 74, runs the fair’s emergency response team.

“We have a lot of seniors that come and people don’t drink enough water,” Phelps said.

The team handles sprains, bee stings, heat exhaustion and whatever comes through.

“I like taking care of people, I like helping people,” Phelps said.

Living out a childhood dream

It’s also a childhood dream.

Phelps wanted to be a nurse, but college wasn’t possible, so she found another route into care and has been showing up year after year at the fair.

Aging Untold expert Amy O’Rourke said living out your purpose can improve mental and spiritual well-being.

“When you tap into that, you’re tapping in on a place that’s a risk, that’s a challenge that inevitably creates growth inside you, gives you confidence so that if you’re in another situation you can build on that,” O’Rourke said. “Or, if you’re in an everyday situation where you’re a little anxious, it’ll help create stabilization in that place as well.”

Saving lives at the fair

Sometimes it’s bigger than a bandage.

“Over on there near the swings way over there is Gustovo, and we saved his life,” Phelps said.

Gustovo had gone into cardiac arrest at the fair a few years ago.

“I mean he was gone,” Phelps said.

Now he’s back and working the rides.

“Came for my hug, Gustovo,” Phelps said.

O’Rourke said stories like this are also why some people keep working past retirement age. Purpose isn’t a number, it’s a role.

“I’ve seen a 92-year-old still working as a nurse’s aid. I’ve seen people in my neighborhood chilling out and loving it,” O’Rourke said. “So, I think it’s being really self-aware of what you need and making sure that you’re getting those needs met.”

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Vermont

Vermont lawmakers reject digital lottery initiative – Valley News

Published

24 hours ago

April 19, 2026

Press Room

Vermont lawmakers reject digital lottery initiative – Valley News

A plan by Gov. Phil Scott’s administration to make all of the state’s lottery games, including scratch-off tickets, available on a person’s phone never got off the ground at the Statehouse this year.

Lottery Commissioner Wendy Knight told lawmakers in January that the plan was a way to modernize the lottery “because you need to keep pace with technology — you need to meet your players where they are.”

Fifteen states have created a “digital” lottery system, and many have discovered there’s a distinct market of people who don’t buy lottery tickets at retail outlets but will do so on their phones, according to Knight. “We’re trying to ensure the future of the Vermont Lottery, ” the commissioner said.

But state lawmakers have not been persuaded.

Vergennes Rep. Matt Birong, the Democratic chair of the House government operations committee, said members of the panel felt this year was not the time to move forward with this plan, especially given the recent legalization of sports betting.

“It is digitizing a current system and after moving forward with the sports wagering — people just wanted to take their time with it — so my committee decided to tap the brakes on further testimony.”

The administration estimated that the plan would have raised roughly $5 million a year for the state’s education fund after two years of implementation.

The prospect of that additional revenue is appealing to lawmakers, and Birong said they may reconsider the plan next year.

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