At BBA Legislative Breakfast: Douglas on ‘Tough Fiscal Times’
By Mary Anderson

At the March 31 legislative breakfast sponsored by the Bethel Business Association, Gov. Jim Douglas spoke about the "tough fiscal times" the state was in. He said there would be a special meeting to see where Vermont stands, but he expects that, with inflation factored in, revenues would be down at least 4%.

Noting that Vermont has "the heaviest tax burden per capita in the nation" Douglas said he "rejected the notion of raising taxes." He went on to say that Medicaid was one of his concerns, and voicing displeasure over the house budget, said he thought "their estimates for Medicaid costs are unrealistic." He also said it was "not wise to remove $3 million from the budget for Vermont children who are in Boston’s Children’s Hospital." He added that he believes the state will have $10-20 million less to spend and he did not want to "spend every dollar in the cookie jar."

Education costs were another matter that the governor said, "we must find ways to contain." He noted that people would be surprised when their tax bills came in, because due to revenues being down, the actual expenditures and tax rates will be higher.

Bethel resident Janet Burnham asked if the state could cut down on the number of superintendents. Noting that the budget of the superintendencies statewide was $65 million, Douglas said that was "a fair question" although it was not yet being addressed.

The governor expressed displeasure about a bill passed by the house in regards to housing in Vermont. Saying, "There is a crisis in the price of a home," he advocated tax incentives to towns for creating new neighborhoods. He believes the new bill provides incentives only "in narrow areas and adds tougher burdens through Act 250 for developing outside of growth areas." He also advocated making certain state land available to developers with the stipulation that they build affordable homes.

Noting that the winter had been a good one for ski resorts and snowmobiles, Douglas said "the flip side is it has been harsh on roads." He said the state was allocating $3 million more for repairs of potholes.

Lori Bradi of Rochester queried about the proposal to cut 400 state jobs and Douglas replied that the state has to cut jobs in order to save $25 million, but said no layoffs would be made.

Todd Tyson of Tunbridge queried about an independent safety assessment for Vermont Yankee and what green alternatives were being looked at to replace the aging nuclear power plant.

Douglas replied that he did support a safety assessment but was not sure how long it would take. He said he did not know how the state could produce the 31% of its electric needs that it currently gets from Vermont Yankee and believed the state would end up buying power from elsewhere. He said he expected more generators, which produce electricity from landfill gasses, to go online. He also advocated turning thousands of acres of unused farmland into crops for ethanol. Douglas admitted that he was "not a fan of windmills on ridge lines" and suggested Vermont could buy wind power "from the north."

Legislative breakfasts are open to all, and are held at the Black Forest Café on Main Street in Bethel the last Monday of each month at 7:30 a.m.

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