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View ProfilesPublished April 17, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.
Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak's first few days on the job were nothing short of celebratory, including a standing-room-only swearing-in ceremony and a once-in-a-lifetime eclipse festival.
But the pomp and circumstance is giving way to more practical matters. Mulvaney-Stanak has been meeting with the city's department heads and must decide which ones she'll keep on the job. She's also considering how to implement the priorities and promises she laid out on the campaign trail. And she'll need to figure out how to work with a Democrat-controlled city council. All of this comes as the first-time mayor grapples with a $9 million budget shortfall that she and other city officials must close within three months.
As the hard work begins, Mulvaney-Stanak's decisions in these early days of her administration will shape and set the tone for her three-year term.
"It's a very short runway for a new mayor turning over administrations to work with city staff, to work with the council in partnership and to deliver a budget that is well thought out and reflective of the priorities of the city," she said. "But that is the reality."
When Mulvaney-Stanak's predecessor, Miro Weinberger, took office in 2012, he fired the director of the city's Community & Economic Development Office on his first day. The other department heads were required to reapply for their jobs in writing.
Mulvaney-Stanak is proceeding more cautiously. She's vowed to meet with all department heads before deciding whether a change is necessary. She also wants to quickly fill the city attorney position, which has been vacant for nearly two years.
Seven Days reached out to the 17 current department heads, three of whom replied and said they hoped to stay: CEDO director Brian Pine; Parks, Recreation & Waterfront director Cindi Wight; and Public Works director Chapin Spencer, who added, "It would be hard to find more meaningful work." Planning director Meagan Tuttle, meantime, will leave in June for a similar position in Madison, Wis.
The mayor's most closely watched reappointment decisions will be for two officials whose ideologies clash with her own: Police Chief Jon Murad and Burlington Electric Department general manager Darren Springer. Progressives have long been wary of Murad, in part because he's resisted efforts to bolster civilian oversight of the department. Two years ago, they blocked his ascension from acting to permanent chief. Mulvaney-Stanak is similarly skeptical of Murad, telling Seven Days during the campaign that she found him to be professional but "rigid" in his opinions. In an interview last week, she said she and Murad are still getting to know one another.
"I am taking that decision very seriously," she said. "I want to make sure I'm doing right for the City of Burlington and also that we have leaders ... [who can] really work in a collaborative fashion."
As for Springer, Mulvaney-Stanak and he disagree about the future of the McNeil Generating Station, the city's controversial wood-fired electricity plant. Springer is a staunch defender of the facility; Mulvaney-Stanak campaigned to eventually shut it down over concerns about carbon emissions. Still, Mulvaney-Stanak appears willing to work with Springer, calling him an "innovative thinker" who's open to conversation. Neither he nor Murad responded to interview requests.
Mulvaney-Stanak must also navigate a potential conflict of interest. Her wife, Megan Moir, is the director of the city's water division and reports to Spencer of the public works department. He, in turn, reports directly to Mulvaney-Stanak.
In an interview last week, Mulvaney-Stanak said she anticipated the potential conflict before she ran for office and asked Joe McNeil, a veteran lawyer who is now the acting city attorney, to investigate. He told Mulvaney-Stanak she'd be in the clear as long as she doesn't vote on Moir's compensation, she said. Since taking office, Mulvaney-Stanak has asked assistant city attorneys to again review the city charter and personnel policies and report back.
Other staffing decisions have proven easier. Before her swearing-in ceremony, Mulvaney-Stanak announced she'd hired Erin Jacobsen, a former assistant attorney general for Vermont, as her chief of staff. The lifelong Democrat also served as Mulvaney-Stanak's campaign treasurer. Former Progressive city councilor Joe Magee is her communications director, and Emma Allen, a holdover from Weinberger's office, is her administrative assistant.
On eclipse day, Mulvaney-Stanak palled around with Allen and introduced herself to city staff working the event, many of whom belong to unions that didn't endorse her mayoral bid. At Roosevelt Park, an official viewing site, she encountered two Parks, Recreation & Waterfront staffers. "You wanna meet us?" one of the men called from his pickup truck. Mulvaney-Stanak happily obliged and thanked them for working on an unusually busy day. Zipping around in a city-owned electric car, she greeted the firefighters and police officers.
"Guys, how's it going? Everything's nice and quiet, right?" she called out to a cadre of cops by Waterfront Park. They agreed it was. "OK, good! Let's keep it that way!"
The big event out of the way, Mulvaney-Stanak has set her sights on the budget. The mayor last delved into Burlington spending 12 years ago, when she was on the city council, so she's enlisted help to get a handle on the numbers. She's working closely with Katherine Schad, the city's chief administrative officer, and this week she formed a team of fiscal advisers.
Mulvaney-Stanak isn't the only one getting up to speed. The council has five new members who have never created a city budget but must review and approve one before July 1.
"I'm learning about the budget and asking a lot of key questions," Mulvaney-Stanak said. "I think it's very helpful, frankly, to have a fresh set of eyes on the budget."
Mulvaney-Stanak hopes that a mix of spending cuts and new revenues will help close a deficit largely caused by inflation and the end of federal coronavirus aid. Voters on Town Meeting Day approved a three-cent public-safety tax increase that would shrink the gap by $1.8 million, but Mulvaney-Stanak said she hopes not to use it. She's also awaiting a wide-ranging efficiency study of several city departments that may identify millions in other savings.
The tight margins could make it harder for Mulvaney-Stanak to carry out her vision for community safety, which includes hiring more firefighters to respond to overdoses as part of a designated team. The program is currently funded with state opioid settlement money, and on Monday, councilors agreed to continue it through the end of the fiscal year. It's unclear whether state funds would be available beyond then — and city money may not be an option.
Mulvaney-Stanak also wants to hire a special assistant for community safety, a position she proposed early on in her campaign. The temporary staffer would be charged with coordinating the city's response to overdoses, mental health crises and crime — work that's currently shared by staffers in several city departments.
"I would love if the council is in agreement that this is an important position, given what's facing Burlington," she said.
Mulvaney-Stanak is working closely with Council President Ben Traverse (D-Ward 5), who was chosen to lead the body earlier this month. The two have already agreed to talk before every council meeting, in keeping with a shared pledge to be transparent.
"[We want to] ensure we're on the same page to the greatest extent possible," Traverse said. "She and I both agreed that between us and councilors and the public, a policy of 'no surprises' is going to be a benefit to everyone."
Mulvaney-Stanak agreed. Facing big decisions, she said she welcomes input.
"I'm a collaborative thinker," she said. "We need to really clear the decks and make sure we're working in tandem."
The original print version of this article was headlined "On the Agenda | Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak's first term starts with major staffing and spending decisions"
Tags: Politics, Burlington, Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, staffing, budget
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