The Burlington, Vermont City Council reviewed mental health, gun violence and redistricting at Monday’s meeting.
Councilors began Monday’s meeting with a work session on redistricting. The panel has been tasking the planning department to revise proposed maps and Planning Director Megan Tuttle provided an update.
“At your last work session there was a motion that was supported to move forward with an eight ward map option, understanding that that eight ward map would also include four districts. So the package of maps presents to you four different approaches for how we could consider an eight ward map.”
Councilors offered various concerns over the maps, as in this example when Ward 2 Progressive Gene Bergman objected to one proposal.
“This is terrible for Ward 1 I have to say. It guts this historic ward all the way. Looking at these other maps maybe there’s some ways to tweak.”
Councilors closed the work session without reaching consensus and sent the maps back for more redesign.
Councilors heard a report on a Mental Health Summit held in September. Burlington Police Department Community Support Supervisor Lacey-Ann Smith said the 62 participants worked to understand the mental health system and where action is needed.
“We all know that there are gaps but there’s not a whole lot of understanding around what is going on to try to fix those gaps, who’s doing what. And it becomes even greater because you can think about the mental health system in both a micro way and a macro way. So there’s the state and how the state affects our local system and then there’s our local system.”
Councilors unanimously approved Democratic Mayor Miro Weinberger’s nomination of Kimberly Carson to serve as the city’s new Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Director.
“I’m just really, really excited to have the opportunity to integrate within the community and be a part of the community that I think is primed and ready for change.”
The city’s Board of Health chair Celia Bird put forward a resolution calling gun violence in the city unacceptable. The provisions call on the council to demand the state legislature approve charter changes approved by city voters that would reduce gun violence and repeal state legislation prohibiting local governments from regulating firearms.
“As a council you address other threats to public health by implementing reasonable solutions. Please act on this opportunity to continue to protect and serve your constituents and our community by using our resolution as a public health framework to prevent gun violence.”
Some councilors say the city has limited tools to prevent gun violence and believe the Board of Heath’s resolution could be an important tool to put before the legislature.
Mayor Weinberger agreed.
“It really makes me angry that had the legislature given us the ability to require safe storage that that could have impacted some of the crimes that we’ve seen here. Had the legislature given us the authority to prohibit guns in bars perhaps that would have had a positive impact on the 12 late night shootings following bar closings that we’ve seen over the last couple of years. Now that we have this evidence of how much regulation in this area is necessary let’s hope we get a different reaction in Montpelier.”
The council voted unanimously to refer the Board of Health’s resolution to the Public Safety Committee.
