THE CHAMPLAIN VALLEY VOTER
Newsletter of the League of the Women Voters of the Champlain Valley
March 2007
CVLWV Board, 2006 - 2007
President - Marge Gaskins, 879-0003
Vice President - Irene Wrenner (Voter Editor), 879-0011
Treasurer - Amy Bond, 879-0628
Secretary - Sue Golden, 985-9524
Director - Barbara Bowen, 985-9754
Director - Mabel Buttolph, 863-3990
Director - Jean Hopkins, 878-9326
Director - Bonnie Scott (Website), webmaster@cvlwv.org
Director - Keri Toksu (Membership), 658-0962
Calendar of Events
We sponsor meetings and events for the public and League members.
Champlain Valley LWV Monthly Meetings
Meetings alternate between noon and evenings on the second Wednesday of
each month, September through May.
Openness in Government: Looking for Sunshine
In honor of Sunshine Week, Mike Donoghue, President of the Vermont Coalition
for Open Government, will talk about accountability and transparency in
government.
Mike is a Burlington Free Press staff writer and was one of three journalists
inducted in 2003 into "Heroes of the 50 States: The State Open Government
Hall of Fame," a joint venture between the Society of Professional Journalists
and the National Freedom of Information Coalition. Please come to learn more
about this issue and to ask your questions! Bonus for e-mail recipients of this
newsletter: Late-breaking AP article, Government Usually Wins 'Sunshine' Cases
. (Thanks to Jean Hopkins for the link.)
Wednesday, March 14
Noon - 1 pm
Pickering Room at
Fletcher Free Library
235 College Street
Burlington
Lake Champlain: Challenges and Opportunities
In anticipation of summer, the Champlain Valley League of Women Voters is
pleased to present a talk on one of Vermont's most precious assets, Lake
Champlain. Our speaker, Bill Howland, Program Manager, Lake Champlain Basin Program
will discuss the state of the lake's water quality, fisheries, wetlands and
wildlife, as well as how the lake serves as a recreational and cultural resource.
Wednesday, April 11
7 pm
Speeder & Earl's Coffee
412 Pine St.
Burlington
Annual Meeting and Pot-Luck Dinner
Wednesday, May 9
Cocktails at 5:30. Dinner at 6 pm.
Mabel Buttolph's home
20 Peterson Terrace
So. Burlington
BRING YOUR TOWN MEETING SUMMARIES TO OUR MARCH 14 MEETING! We're eager to
hear your highlights. Everyone is invited to share a 2-minute summary of their
individual Town Meeting experience at our March 14 member meeting on Openness in
Government.
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT - Marge Gaskins
What an interesting first year of the biennium this is becoming. The
legislators are tackling some very large issues that may, or may not have some impact
on the country and citizens in Vermont. And it's politics as usual with the
partisan gap between the Republican governor and Democrat legislature. Are
we, voters of Vermont, caught in the middle and doomed to another year of no
solutions to high property taxes, high cost health care and housing, and
wrangling over the lack of good jobs to entice our bright, well-educated kids to live
in Vermont?
Are we and the Vermont "powers that be" overlooking some good laws that we
may need to change or write that will truly make a difference in our lives and
our worth? Let me give you a couple of our issues and the value of them that I
see.
For more than 30 years the LWVVT has urged a Constitutional revision to pass
a 4-year term for our Governor and Lt. Governor. The cost of that campaign
and election is ballooning, and the administration term is so limited that the
best, the brightest and most affordable people and solutions to our needs can't
be implemented. If it makes it to the floor for discussion, it is guaranteed
set off a firestorm and maybe end up with no action without including
legislators, because it would create inequity between them and the Governor.
Funding our schools is a perennial problem that seems to work for a little
while with each new formula. Then property taxes continue to grow, and our
population ages and loses interest in using their life savings to pay for a lot of
schools with declining enrollment and they want a more affordable solution.
Is the only answer voting down some budgets?
We are still stuck in neutral for affordable, renewable energy. Some of the
answers, including wind power (but not where aesthetics might be affected),
hydro facilities in Canada (could be costly), wood, coal or nuclear are dirty or
scary, as well as expensive. And oil and gas don't come from Vermont. It's
easy to sit back and say what we don't like and can't afford, but how about a
suggestion that might work?
Election proposals are near and dear to me. We need to encourage people to
ask questions and get out to vote. Election day registration, a really workable
statewide checklist every polling place can access, and civic education that
will excite younger voters is possible, but we need the support of the
legislature and the administration. Are party politics and power struggles more
important?
Plug in here your own issues, and remember them when you talk to your
representative.
ARE YOU A NOTARY? If so, please let us know by replying to this e-mail
(imwren@aol.com) or phoning 879-0011. When we have an opportunity to register
voters, we may let you know.
FUNDING OUR SCHOOLS - Amy Bond
How can we compile all of the parts of school funding to improve the fairness
to the local residential property tax payer?
In response to the supreme court ruling that the quality of education should
not be dependent on where in Vermont a student happens to live, Act 60 went
into effect in 1997. Its framers recognized that additional problems would need
to be addressed soon. What are some of the many ways the problems can be
addressed? Is a property tax better than an income tax? What is the best way to
compare one district to another for purposes of distributing state aid. What
is the best way to determine residential property value? How should cost per
student be defined? It seems we can ask more questions than we can answer.
Local residential income tax:
- It will not tax out of state property owners, requiring more to be raised by
Vermonters.
- The tax rate that will be needed is indeterminate.
- Low income voters may not be affected, so will approve, while higher income
voters would be more inclined to reject a proposed budget.
- An income tax doesn't work well on non-residential property.
Local residential property tax:
- The tax rate can be closely estimated before the budget vote.
- With income sensitivity proportional to the property tax rate, low income
people will pay a reduced tax rate while higher income people may pay less than
they would with an income tax.
- Property tax depends on a fair system of property valuation both within each
town as well as compared with other towns. The CLA (common level of
appraisal) provides equity among towns but is quite unfair where we have inconsistancy
within a town. Use of fair market value pleases our sense of propiety but
seems to cause more problems than we are able to cope with especially in times
of rapidly changing market value. Can we initiate a system that uses physical
attributes such as footprint, quality,of building materials, number of rooms,
location, acreage, etc., creating a rating to each property to which a tax
rate can be applied?
- Non-residential property owners should pay school taxes only to the state
education fund, because service to local schools does not directly affect them.
- If at all possible the state tax on residential property should be
eliminated. Taxing residential property only at the local level is fairer and easier
for taxpayers to understand, and because it would include all school district
voters it would provide the best form of cost control.
Cost per student:
Vermont gives aid to each school district such that the tax rate is the same
for every district which has the same cost per student, with the tax rate
increasing as the cost per student increases. With this goal, the way we define
cost per student is critical. Ideally it should include only those costs which
are in the control of the local district. We would eliminate, for example,
those costs required by the state constitution, by the federal government, and
by state administrative regulations. These items would be separately funded
to each school district from federal funds and from taxes paid into the
Vermont education fund. Some of these items would be, capital construction and debt
service, transportation, special education, school lunches, "no child left
behind", etc. It should be noted that weighting of students by grade level is
faulty and should be eliminated. All school districts have pre K-12 students
making weighting unnecessary.
If we can resolve problems with residential property values and cost per
student, the local tax rate will follow.
Until we do, a block grant from funds other than residential property taxes
will absorb some of the burden by reducing the amount to be raised by local
taxes. A block grant should be no higher than 90% to 95% of the median state
cost per student.
Have questions? Send them to our editor Irene Wrenner, 15 Thrush Lane, Essex
Junction 05452 or imwren@aol.com.
VT HEALTH CARE REFORM NEWS - Jean Hopkins suggests visiting
http://hcr.vermont.gov for updates on health care reform in Vermont.
FRONT PORCH FORUM
Need to better connect with people in your neighborhood? Consider using Front
Porch Forum. It works on many levels: economic, social, educational,
political, and practical, in countless ways.
Front Porch Forum is a place to share neighborhood news, have discussions,
work on neighborhood improvement projects, and post items for sale, to borrow,
lost and found, etc. All of these actions add up to a more healthy and vibrant
community.
Your neighborhood's forum is only open to the people who live there. It's
free and requires no work from you. Simply join (http://frontporchforum.com/join/
) and receive occasional email newsletters written by your neighbors.
Contribute messages as you like. It's all about helping you connect. To find out
more, take their tour at: http://frontporchforum.com/tour/.
2007 MEMBERSHIP LIST! If you have joined the League of Women Voters by
paying dues this year, you may contact imwren@aol.com to request a membership list
to be sent to you via e-mail.
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The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization,
encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government,
works to increase understanding of major public policy issues,
and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
Membership in the League is open to men and women citizens of all ages.
With more than 86 years of experience and 850 local and state affiliates,
the League is one of America's most trusted grassroots organizations.
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League of Women Voters of Champlain Valley, Vermont. All rights reserved.
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