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| Feb. 2, 2012 | |
Opinion |
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E-mail letters, 400 words or less, to courtney@miltonindependent.com. Your full name, address and phone number must be included. Only your name will be printed. Messages from Montpelier -- notes from your legislatorsBy DON TURNER Another pretty crazy week at the State House has come to an end. We spent very little time on the floor debating bills this week, although there was plenty of activity elsewhere in the building. Several committees were discussing the rebuilding of the state hospital, and reapportionment finally took center stage this week. Next week we will begin the debate on the House floor of the plan to replace the Vermont State Hospital. Several committees have been taking testimony on this issue for the last few weeks. The plan calls for locating several smaller facilities around the state rather than rebuilding one large facility. Most people seem to support this idea, and I intend to do so as well unless I hear something very surprising next week. My only concern with the proposed plan to date is that there are no beds currently proposed in the greater Chittenden County area. I want to ensure that these services are available in close proximity to Milton should they ever be needed by you or your family. The vote of the House Government Operation Committee on the proposed House reapportionment plan was taken on Friday. The committee has been working on this plan in a non-partisan manner since last fall. Our goal for reapportionment was to ensure that all Vermonters receive fair representation in the House for the next decade. We approached this process knowing that it might very well become partisan at any given time. This did ultimately occur the day before the committee voted. As a result, we were very frustrated by the plan that was voted out by the committee on a partisan vote. It did not achieve most of the goals we had established prior to beginning of this process. Our committee members worked tirelessly on developing a plan that would be fair to Vermonters, our constituents, our colleagues and our Republican members of the House. Unfortunately, the majority didn’t care about being fair. I also spent some time in the Ways and Means Committee on Thursday listening to the Attorney General’s Office, the Tax Department and the Auditor’s Office testify about the recent audit of the Milton TIF districts. They attributed much of the problem to the very complex law that has undergone a multitude of changes over the years. It was also stated that there are two more audits in progress and that the committee should wait until they get all of the reports before proposing a resolution. I think that this is good advice, but it may mean that there is no resolution for Milton TIF audit results until the next legislative session. As your representative, I look forward to representing you and your concerns in Montpelier. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments or concerns. I am very interested in hearing from you. During the session, I can be reached at the State House by calling 1-800-322-5616 or by cell at 373-5960. My email address is dturner@leg.state.vt.us. My website is www.donturnerjr.com. Thank you, and have a great week.
By RON HUBERT This week redistricting was finally completed, and Milton will remain the same as it currently has been with one two-seat district. Milton has become the eighth-largest town in the state with our population of about 10,500 residents. This two-seat district will represent about 9,000 of our residents, with the remaining 1,500 electing their representatives with the Islands. The law states that a two-seat district can not exceed 9,074, and for us to gain another district, we need to be over 12,000 residents. When the new map was drawn, Burlington and Winooski will have 12 representatives compared to 11 from the last reapportionment. Last week, the town of Milton received a report from the State Auditor’s office about the TIF districts. This is not a bill, and Milton has asked for help and input from the state. I have spoken to the Ways and Means Committee about this report, and they will be looking at it over the next couple of weeks and will get back to me to help resolve this misunderstanding, which should hold down any costs. If you would like or need to speak with me, I will be at the Middle Road Market on Monday from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Tuesday through Friday 5 a.m. to 8 a.m., before I leave for the State House. You can call me at 893-4844 or on my cell at 578-5801.
By BOB KREBS It’s Saturday morning, the sun is crisp and bright, no wind yet and it feels like spring outside as I fetched my Free Press from the mailbox. Enjoying my coffee and watching the chickadees attack my bird feeders, I see that the Free Press has “stolen” all my news that I was going to replay for my legislative update, like reapportionment, the state hospital and Vermont Yankee. So, in case the Free Press in not on your list of must-read newspapers, here another brief synopsis. The House Government Operations Committee has been struggling with statewide reapportionment since the session started early in January. Every 10 years, with the new census, the representative district maps have to be revisited and the boundaries possibly adjusted to accommodate population shifts. We have been told that the Grand Isle-Chittenden-1 district will remain the same. The Burlington area has grown more than the rest of the state, and it appears that they will get a 10th seat, and that will result in the collapse of a district in the Fair Haven/Castleton area. The new plan should be in front of the House this coming week. The state’s policy on mental health services is crystalizing as the House Human Services committee is passing out its plan for the facilities to provide for those services. Mitzi’s report last week described in detail the options being considered. And as most know, Vermont Yankee will continue to operate as the result of a court decision last week. The state has several weeks to decide whether or not to appeal that decision, and who knows what will happen. Vermont Yankee is also still in the news, as it has refused to test an abandoned drinking water well for tritium. This well is a deep bedrock well in the path of the groundwater plume contaminated with tritium. Testing might indicate whether or not the lower aquifer has been contaminated. The devastation from Tropical Storm Irene continues to drive and influence much of the legislation now under consideration. The ways in which we design and construct our infrastructure, protect our flood plains and fluvial erosion hazard areas and allocate our scarce resources are all being reviewed. My hope is that there will be a strong strategic and long-term solution to put Vermont in a much more resilient position when the next disaster occurs. Please contact us with any issues, questions, or ideas! Rep. Bob Krebs: rkrebs@leg.state.vt.us or 372-4567. Rep. Mitzi Johnson: mjohnson@leg.state.vt.us or 363-4448. During the week, you may also leave a message with the Sergeant-at-Arms at 828-2228.
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State auditor’s report concerning Husky/Catamount tax increment Recently, the State Auditor’s Office issued a report concerning certain Tax increment financing districts labeled “Town of Milton Appropriately Established Districts, but Its Administration Was Flawed.” The audit reviewed the establishment and administration of the district going back to 1998. The report makes several recommendations including a recommendation that the town make arrangements “to pay the $3,402,000 of statewide education increment owed to the state”. The town disagrees with the methodology used by the State Auditor’s Office to derive the reasoning, conclusions and recommendations made in the State Auditor’s report. The Selectboard and I are taking the report very seriously. I do not believe the state is owed the $3,402,000 alleged in the auditor’s report. Presently, there is no mechanism by which the state can force the town to pay these funds based on the auditor’s report. However, the town is prepared to oppose any action seeking it to pay $3,402,000 or reduce its future aid by that amount. The town has consulted with its financial legal counsel concerning the report. The town has always paid the amount of education increment that the Vermont Department of Taxes and the Vermont Department of Education determined that the Town owed. The town has received no communication from these agencies of the state concerning the state auditor’s report. Legal counsel concurs with the town’s position of disagreement. Because the town may ultimately have to oppose such an action, it is important that town officials not publicly discuss (at this time) the merits or lack thereof in the auditor’s report. The Selectboard and I will stay abreast of legislative developments and communications and continue to consult with counsel to protect the town’s interest in this matter. Sincerely,
Suicide rates escalate The December 22, 2011 issue of the Milton Independent included ‘Police Stats,’ which had the category ‘Attempted Suicide.’ Four attempts recorded in 2010 and 18 in 2011, a 78 percent increase. Deputy Health Commissioner Patrick Flood recently revealed that Vermont has the 16th highest suicide rate in the U.S., 14 suicides per 100,000 population compared to a national average of 11.3. Additionally, the Vermont Mental Health Performance Indicator Project showed a 15 percent rise in suicides from September 2010 through August 2011. Oregon’s 15.2 average, according to the Oregon Heath Authority, is 35 percent above the national average, The authority also reports that rates have increased significantly since 2000 and that suicide is the second leading cause of death among Oregonians aged 10 to 24. Perhaps coincidentally, Oregon legalized physician-assisted suicide in 1997. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention analyzed the latest, comprehensive data from our Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 2009. Selected CDC findings include: suicide, now the 10th leading cause of death; an estimated 18-25 attempted suicides take place for every suicide death; suicide is the sixth leading cause of death among those age 5-14, the third for ages 15-24 and the fourth for ages 18-65. Continued efforts in Vermont by proponents of doctor-prescribed death over the years sends a clear message to our youth and others that suicide is an acceptable way to opt out of problems and difficulties that seem insurmountable. Our legislature soundly defeated an attempt several years ago. Let’s have done with this negative, opt-out fixation and concentrate on counseling, prevention programs, palliative care, including pain alleviation; in short, compassionate care for Vermonters of all ages. Bob Sekerak
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Lake Arrowhead photo by Anthony Boccio, Milton, VT.
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