The Brattleboro Citizen Police Communications Committee (CPCC) will meet on Monday, June 22, 2020 at 5:30pm via GoToMeeting. In keeping with Governor Scott’s “Stay Home – Stay Safe” order, this meeting will be held with no physical location using GoToMeeting. A copy of the agenda is attached and it contains information about how to access the meeting remotely.
Brattleboro utility rates will be going up at the next virtual meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard. New water and sewer rates, the parking and general fund budgets, and salary increases will be approved.
The Town Manager will give a COVID-19 update, Brattleboro will consider joining a communications district, the Municipal Center renovations will inch forward, and more. You can bring up other items not on the agenda, of course, during public participations.
TODAY’S NEW INFORMATION + IMPORTANT REMINDER
• Police Chief Michael Fitzgerald will hold a community forum on The Common on Wednesday, June 17, at 5:30pm, to discuss policing in Brattleboro and beyond. If this forum can’t be held on June 17 because of rain, then it will be held the next evening on Thursday, June 18, at 5:30.
• Brooks Memorial Library is providing limited delivery service of materials to Brattleboro residents who are unable to come to the library, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, noon-1pm.
There is a current call across the nation to defund the police and to use that money for other things such as human services or education:
“Community groups advocating for defunding have put forward differing strategies, some merely opposing police budget increases, others advocating mass reductions, and some fighting for full defunding as a step toward abolishing police forces. Some initiatives are tied to the fight to close prisons. All are pushing for a reinvestment of those dollars in services.”
What does Brattleboro’s police budget look like?
Another black man is murdered by American police. People are outraged and they take to the streets. Their protests help to ease the pain of injustice every black person has to endure every day while trying to enjoy the privileges and rights of citizenship that the rest of us take for granted.
Those in power will sit back and do nothing to change the root causes of injustice that have led to yet another horrific moment in American history. They will engineer sound bites and they will pick out easy political memes to try to ease their base of the brain-dead followers who also are in the same political camp as the rich and privileged. They will even go so far as tear-gassing crowds of people near their home so they can take a walk whose purpose is to use the Bible as a prop in a culture war of their own creation.
Tonight, over 2000+ Vermonters converged on the Burlington Police Department in protest of the racist murder of unarmed Black man George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis PD. Over the last 48 hours, rebellions & demonstrations have broke out in a multitude of US cities. In Minneapolis citizens overran the police department building where the officers responsible for the killing were based. Violent confrontations have flared between protesters and law enforcement in many urban centers outside Vermont. President Trump has called for looters to be shot, and has threated to mobilize the U.S. military.
In Burlington, the demonstrations were lead by Black Lives Matter. Amongst the many protesters were VT AFL-CIO District Vice President Dwight Brown, AFSCME Local 1343 President Damion Gilbert, and Progressive State Representative Brian Cina (who is also a member of DSA).
The Brattleboro Selectboard will approve their own budget for the first time, due to a special act of the Vermont legislature to bypass Town Meeting Representatives this year in an effort to get the budget approved prior to the new fiscal year on July 1. The board will also discuss options for convening a Representative Town Meeting at some point.
Water and sewer rates will be raised, downtown parklets for businesses will be purchased, the Solid Waste Fund will be discussed and might be folded into the General Fund, another COVID-19 update will be given, and even more will happen during this packed agenda. Prediction: watch as Selectboard members mention that they hate the dog warrant language again this year! “It’s the owners, not the animals…” You can bring up other items and animals not on the agenda during Public Participation. Just don’t ask your questions in the chat room of the virtual meeting.
WHAT IS NEW TODAY
Two big announcements today!
From the Recreation and Parks Department:
The Living Memorial Park Swimming Pool and Rotary Water Playground will be opening for the season on Saturday, June 20th, 2020, at 1pm. Space will be limited to 25 patrons and staff inside the gated area at any one time. Daily reservations may be made by calling the pool at 802-254-6700. Priority will be given to Brattleboro Residents.
Due to COVID-19, the pool schedule, fees, and procedures have been updated for the Summer of 2020:
The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee will meet on Thursday, June 4, 2020, at 5:00pm. In keeping with Governor Scott’s “Stay Home – Stay Safe” order, this meeting will be held with no physical location using GoToMeeting. A copy of the agenda is attached and it contains information about how to access the meeting remotely.
The Brattleboro Citizen Police Communications Committee (CPCC) will meet on Monday, June 1, 2020, at 5:30pm. In keeping with Governor Scott’s “Stay Home – Stay Safe” order, this meeting will be held with no physical location using GoToMeeting. A copy of the agenda is attached and it contains information about how to access the meeting remotely.
FY21 final budget matters and draft warnings for Representative Town Meeting will be the primary focus of the next meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard. They’ll also grant quite a few special event permits, sign a new contract with the Town Attorney, and hear about the bus system from Southeast Vermont Transit.
You can bring up other issues during public participations, too.
At their special meeting this week, the Brattleboro Selectboard decided to reverse a decision they made just last week and instead remain IN a second, national opioid lawsuit. A lawyer told them opting out wouldn’t be so smart.
Health and safety issues at local apartments, an effort to reduce the speed limit in West Brattleboro along Route 9, and discussions of the FY21 Police and Fire budgets rounded out the special meeting.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, November 26, 2019, at 6:15pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center. ASL interpreters will be available for deaf and hard-of-hearing community members.
The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee will meet on Monday, November 25, 2019, at 5:00pm in the Mezzanine Room at Brooks Memorial Library.
The Brattleboro Citizen Police Communications Committee (CPCC) will meet on Monday, November 25, 2019, at 5:30pm in the Meeting Room at Brooks Memorial Library.
The Brattleboro Selectboard decided Tuesday night to enter into an opioid lawsuit similar to the one that Bennington is undertaking. With strict warnings that local pharmacies could be added in the future if anything notable arises, the board decided not to sue local pharmacies for now.
SeVEDS gave an account of their work year and asked for their annual contribution from Brattleboro, big projects are planned at Living Memorial Park, yes we’re getting another new fire truck, the police have requested some hybrid vehicles for the first time, and the first local option sales taxes shows that things cost about $200,000 more in Brattleboro than in surrounding communities for the first quarter reported.
The Brattleboro Selectboard started their meeting a bit late and ended it quite early, with a rare move of taking nearly everything major off of the agenda and moving it to next week. The reason? Two absent board members.
Almost the entire agenda will be added to next week’s agenda, making next week’s special meeting a whopper.
The 2020 Brattleboro Fire Department calendars that the VFW Auxiliary #1034 produced are now available for $10.00 a piece. You can purchase them at Central Fire Station on Elliot Street or the Brattleboro VFW on Black Mountain Road.
Town Manager Peter Elwell will give the board a first look at the proposed FY21 budget at the next regular meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard.
The board will also hear an update on the community marketing plan, learn about the downtown alliance work plan for the next year, join a opioid-related lawsuit, consider changes for Green Street traffic safety, upfit a pair of police vehicles, and more. You can bring up other things not currently on the agenda during public participation.
The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee will meet on Monday, October 28, 2019, at 5:00pm in the Mezzanine Room at the Brooks Memorial Library.
The Brattleboro Citizen Police Communications Committee (CPCC) will meet on Monday, October 28, 2019, at 5:30pm in the Meeting Room at Brooks Memorial Library.
A Brattleboro Selectboard quartet decided Tuesday night to proceed on a path toward suing opioid manufacturers and providers. The board didn’t see any need to spare local pharmacies from potential litigation, and wasn’t sure about suing local doctors.
The board continued their discussion of municipal broadband, bought winter salt and sand, heard a report on progress at WSWMD, and got a final financial report from retiring John O’Connor.
At their next meeting, the Brattleboro Selectboard will decide if the Town will be joining Bennington in a lawsuit “to recover costs and damages from manufacturers, distributers, and retailers who have profited from the sale of opioids.” Town Attorney Bob Fisher will summarize the 175 page complaint and answer questions.
Health Insurance will be renewed for 2020, winter sand and road salt will be purchased, bulletproof vests will be funded, goals will be reviewed and an update from the solid waste district will be delivered. You can deliver your own items, not already on the agenda, during public participation.
