May was the start of a new Council term, which meant a mix of orientation, planning for the year ahead, and digging into some longer-term issues that don't always get a lot of public attention but have a significant impact on the City.
Check out below for my summaries of our new term starting, reappraisal, community engagement, the Fire Department (EJFD) and the Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD).
NEW COUNCIL TERM
At our annual reorg meeting, Amber Thibeault was elected Council President, Tim Miller was elected Vice President, and Bethany Clark was elected Clerk. Congratulations to all three.
May also marked the start of service for Bethany Clark and a return to the Council for Raj Chawla following April's election. I'm looking forward to working with both of them.
REAPPRAISALS ARE OUT
Many residents recently received preliminary reappraisal notices and were understandably surprised by the new values.
The most important thing to understand is that a large increase in your assessment does not mean your taxes will increase by the same percentage.
The purpose of a reappraisal is to ensure everyone pays their fair share, based on current property values. If assessments across the City double, the tax rate will likely be roughly cut in half.
That's a simplification, but it's much closer to reality than the common fear that "my assessment doubled, so my taxes will double."
Individual tax bills will still change. Properties that increased more than average may pay a larger share, while properties that increased less than average may pay a smaller share.
For a more detailed explanation, I recommend the City's reappraisal guide and former Councilor Marcus Certa's video explainer.
If you still have questions, feel free to reach out. I'm always happy to talk through the math behind how reappraisals affect tax bills.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
One item I was particularly interested in was staff's presentation of a draft Community Engagement Plan.
The goal is to create a more consistent framework for how the City communicates with residents, gathers feedback, and builds participation in public projects & decision-making.
I raised a question about emergency and real-time communications. While the draft plan is focused primarily on engagement rather than communications, I think there is room for us to improve how we notify residents about things like unexpected road closures, infrastructure emergencies, and other time-sensitive events.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
The Fire Chief's presentation highlighted both some good news and some looming challenges.
On the positive side, staffing remains strong and call volume is down compared to this point last year. The department continues to recruit volunteers and maintain a high level of service for the community.
The biggest concern continues to be equipment replacement, particularly fire apparatus. Fire trucks are incredibly expensive (~$1.1M!) and lead times are now measured in years rather than months. The department identified rolling stock replacement as its highest capital priority and noted that current funding projections may not be sufficient to meet future replacement needs. The council deferred that specific concern to the first meeting in June.
CSWD BUDGET AND CYBERCRIME
The Council also reviewed and approved the FY27 budget for the Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD).
Much of that discussion focused on the fallout from the widely reported phishing scam that resulted in the loss of approximately $3 million connected to construction of the new Materials Recycling Facility. District staff explained the steps being taken to close the funding gap without passing those costs on to member municipalities and outlined additional safeguards being implemented moving forward.
My main takeaway is that online scams can happen to anyone. I'd be remiss if I didn't make a quick reminder to everyone to be careful online:
* Use complex passwords
* Try to use different usernames & passwords on different sites
* Sign up for two-factor authentication when offered
* Don't click on an email link without investigating it first
LOOKING AHEAD
June will be a busy month. We'll hold our annual strategic retreat, continue discussions about community engagement, review Fire Department capital needs, and make appointments to several City boards and committees.
As always, I appreciate hearing from residents. Whether you attend meetings, send emails, stop me at the grocery store, or reach out through social media, your feedback helps inform the decisions we make.
Thank you for staying informed and engaged. It genuinely makes our City stronger.
As always, this post reflects my personal opinions and not necessarily the opinions of the City nor the City Council.
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Brian Shelden
City Councilor
bshelden@essexjunction.org
(802) 879-7665
