March 12, 2008, VPR, by Ross Sneyd

March 5, 2008, the Burlington Free Press, by John Briggs

Resounding endorsement for Mayor Kiss

Burlington voters gave Mayor Bob Kiss a resounding endorsement Tuesday, approving three administration ballot items by large margins.

At the top of the list was the mayor's plan to remodel the waterfront Moran plant -- the hulking generating plant, which was decommissioned more than 20 years ago.

The Kiss plan was approved by 65 percent of the voters. The city total was 7,585 in favor of redevelopment and 4,016 opposed.

In 2005, voters in every ward rejected a plan by former Mayor Peter Clavelle to sell the plant to the Greater Burlington YMCA. Tuesday, the outcome was the reverse, and the Kiss plan won by large margins in all seven wards.

Kiss publicized his plan last spring and promoted it relentlessly. His approach worked. Thirteen of 14 city councilors supported his development plan, and last week the Burlington Business Association, the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce and the businesses of the Church Street Marketplace urged voter approval.

[Full Story]

February 29, 2008, the Burlington Free Press, by Nancy Remsen

MONTPELIER -- Supporters of repealing a controversial school budget constraint mechanism enacted last spring scored a political win in the House on Thursday -- but stand little chance of ultimate victory.

That's because Senate leaders have shown scant interest in joining the fight for repeal, and Gov. Jim Douglas has promised to reject any legislation that would repeal what is known as the two-vote provision. When he says "reject" he means veto.

The House, Senate and Douglas administration compromised on the two-vote measure in the final hours of the 2007 session. Now Democratic leaders and Progressives in the House have changed their minds. They say it would be too confusing for voters.

The mechanism would work like this when it becomes effective in 2009: School districts that spend more per student than the statewide average and want to increase their budgets by more than the rate of inflation plus one percentage point would have to split their budgets and seek voter approval of each piece. One vote would be on the proposed spending up to inflation plus one percentage point and the second vote would be on the rest of the spending package.

Supporters of repeal say they still want to pressure school districts to control spending. Rep. Johanna Donovan, D-Burlington, offered the alternative endorsed by the House Education Committee. It's the same high-spending penalty the House passed last year, but the Senate ignored.

This alternative toughens an existing penalty. If districts' per pupil spending is more than 125 percent of the previous year's statewide average, local taxpayers pay a tax "penalty." For every extra dollar spent, taxpayers pay another dollar that's sent to the state's education fund. Under the change that received preliminary approval Thursday, the penalty threshold would kick in at 123 percent next year and at 120 percent in 2012.

"The high-spending threshold is a simpler, fairer way to achieve cost containment," Donovan argued.

House Republican Leader Steve Adams of Hartland criticized House Democrats for flip-flopping on the deal reached with the governor and a promise made to Vermonters to reduce their property tax burden.

"We have taken a step back," he said. Adams said he voted against the two-vote provision last spring because it didn't do enough to control costs and provide property tax relief. Thursday, however, he voted against repeal.

"For me, the issue isn't whether it's the threshold or two-vote," Adams said. "It's lack of leadership on property tax reform."

House Education Committee Chairwoman Janet Ancel, D-Calais, argued the cost-containment merits of the tougher spending penalty on the House floor.

"What we are proposing now isn't a retreat. It's a more effective way to do it," she said. "It builds on a proven mechanism."

The House voted 99-38 to support the repeal and replace measure. It comes up for a final vote today.

[Full Story]

February 27, 2008, the Rutland Herald, by John Curran

MONTPELIER — Taking aim at Gov. James Douglas' budget proposal, Progressive challenger Anthony Pollina called the governor out of touch with Vermont residents Tuesday and said his spending plan is at odds with his affordability crusade.

Douglas denied it, saying his plan to eliminate a "working tax penalty" was aimed at fairness and accusing Pollina of wanting to raise taxes.

If enacted as is, Douglas' $4.2 billion 2008 budget will drive up health care costs, push road and bridge repair expenses onto local taxpayers and give income tax breaks to the wealthy — all at the expense of struggling Vermonters, Pollina said Tuesday.

"For a governor who talks about making Vermont more affordable and avoiding tax increases, these cost shifts tell a different story and a reality that does not match the rhetoric," he said.

Pollina, 56, of Middlesex, is the only candidate to announce a run against Douglas, a popular three-term Republican, who is up for re-election in November.

He said elimination of a 40 percent capital gains tax exclusion — which Douglas supports — should be used to help pay for debt service on up to $75 million needed to shore up deteriorating roads and bridges around the state and to fill a Vermont State Police budget shortfall, not to underwrite tax cuts.

But Douglas' spokesman, Jason Gibbs, said Pollina's plan to eliminate the loophole and then spend the money saved in doing so was, in effect, a tax increase.

"Under the structure we have now, someone who makes $50,000 in earned income pays, on average, nearly 50 percent more in income taxes than someone who makes $50,000 from a trust fund or capital gains," Gibbs said. "The governor's proposal is meant to address that fundamental inequality. By eliminating the capital gains exemption, you can eliminate that working tax penalty and reduce income tax rates for the middle-income brackets."

[Source]