Notes from the Statehouse

By Sarah Copeland Hanzas

The Agency of Human Services, or AHS, addresses the needs of Vermonters who are often described as the most vulnerable among us: children, the elderly, people with disabilities, the poor, and people with chronic mental or physical health problems. Last fall $69 million was cut from these programs during the budget rescission process. Administration proposals in January would impose even further cuts in the Department for Children and Families (DCF), the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living (DAIL), the Department of Mental Health (DMH), and the Office of VT Health Access (OVHA). Little has been done to show how the proposed cuts would bring greater efficiency in government or better value for the dollars spent. The proposal does not suggest where to weed out ineffective programs. We need to be wary of causing long term cost increases as a result of some of these short term savings. More importantly, we need to be aware that every position cut from one of these departments means some of our neighbors will no longer be able to get the health care, food, housing or counseling they depended on to get by.

Moving Vermonters out of poverty has a great economic benefit to the State. Working Vermonters are able to support themselves, spend money in their community, they pay taxes instead of requiring state services and their children are better able to be successful in school. Vermont's Reach Up Program is intended to help low income families with children by providing assistance for basic needs and by providing services that support work and self-sufficiency. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the changes proposed by the governor would be counter-productive to the goal of moving families out of poverty. As we consider the 2010 budget, we will maintain the goal of empowering Vermonters to become and remain independent of state services.

The Ways and Means committee oversees all fees and taxes in Vermont. Our taxes go toward the services we expect from government; good roads, safe bridges, police and court protection, great schools, day-to-day support for our senior citizens and health care for vulnerable Vermonters. As stewards of Vermont's tax dollars, the Ways and Means committee has spent the first half of the session answering three basic questions: How will the federal tax cuts in the recovery act affect the revenues of Vermont; How will we fund the transportation infrastructure bond called for by the Governor, the Treasurer and the Speaker; and how can we equitably raise additional revenues, if needed, to sufficiently fund government programs?

Ways and Means has been considering what revenue opportunities might be available. It is fair to say that Vermont is in a very complicated and difficult situation. The economy is slowing down which means less income for the state. We don't know how much less Vermont will take in for taxes this year and we are not likely to know until mid-April. We DO know that it would exacerbate our recession for the state to balance the budget only on job and services cuts. The federal stimulus is not going to fix our budget problems. In order to come through this responsibly the state will need to raise some more revenue.

Bills that have been introduced in the legislature include: changes to Vermont Yankee policy, executive fee changes, curbing misclassification of workers in order to avoid taxation, changes to education funding and raising taxes on those who earn their income from dividends or interest. Various bills suggest the taxation of soda, disposable grocery bags, an income tax surcharge and sales tax on services. Others propose the reduction or elimination of some tax incentives which give out millions of tax dollars. Each of these proposals has promoters who believe it is good policy and detractors who believe it is not. As representatives of our communities, we have to look for progress and sustainability in state government. Stewardship through hard times means that finding what is best for Vermont is not easy work.