Burlington, Vt. – Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger announced he will not be seeking a fifth term as Mayor of Burlington. He made the announcement from the Lorraine B. Good Room in Burlington City Arts Studios on Church Street, where he first announced his intent to run for Mayor twelve years ago, surrounded by family, Department Heads, City staff, community leaders, and supporters.
Mayor Weinberger began his remarks by saying, “In this room 12-years ago I announced my intent to run for Mayor of Burlington. I said we would fix the city’s finances, hold city officials accountable, and get stuck and stalled projects moving again. I promised the people of Burlington a Fresh Start, hard work, and a steady hand during the crises of our time.”
He went on to conclude that: “After twelve years – the longest unbroken stretch of any mayor – with the pandemic behind us, the economy largely recovered, and investment and progress on track to continue, I have decided that now is the right time for me to conclude my service as Mayor.”
The Mayor thanked current and past members of the City team, City workers, Union Leaders, local business and non-profit leaders, and local builders for their support and partnership over the years, and “most importantly”, he thanked the people of Burlington for their trust and confidence. In his remarks, he reflected on the many accomplishments and successes of the Administration over his twelve years in office:
- The City has locked in more than $44 million in direct taxpayer and ratepayer interest savings since 2012 by securing a 6-notch improvement in Burlington’s credit rating from the brink of a “junk bond” status to an Aa3 rating and by restoring the rainy-day fund from -$15M to over $8.6M. Mayor Weinberger has dramatically increased city services and advanced an equitable economic recovery, including with the creation of the Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging and Business and Workforce Development Departments – all while keeping all local taxes well below the rate of increase of state property taxes.
- Since 2011, more than 2,000 new homes have been built or are in construction, and the City is on track to meet Mayor Weinberger’s goal of increasing the City’s housing production rate 400% by 2026. Between 2019 and 2022 the Mayor led the creation of 90+ low-barrier emergency shelter beds and the Community Resource Center which now serves over 2,000 people a year. He directed millions in new investments in homelessness programs, including to strengthen Coordinated Entry which now connects an average of 25 formerly unhoused households to permanent housing every month. Since 2012, 27% of all new housing units built were permanently affordable, and revenue to the Housing Trust Fund has increased more than 400%.
- Five years after Burlington became the first 100% Renewable Energy City, Mayor Weinberger announced the most ambitious climate goal in the country – to achieve Net Zero by 2030. Today, Burlington has 385 solar arrays generating well over 9,000 PV, the most per capita of any city east of the Mississippi. This year, the City will implement a voter-approved and State-first Carbon Pollution Impact Fee, and in 2021 voters approved a first-in-the-nation $20M revenue bond to fund electrification incentives and grid improvements. In the City’s Net Zero efforts, Mayor Weinberger has made equity and accessibility a top priority through the green stimulus incentive package, an innovative on-bill financing program, requiring rental weatherization, and more.
- Mayor Weinberger has led the completion of the Downtown Transit Center, the major renovation of City Hall Park, the Moran FRAME, and the broader revival of the northern waterfront. In 2022, the City celebrated the return of train service to New York City, and after a 34-year hiatus, construction at the Champlain Parkways is underway. He directed over $100 million of historic public investments through his 10-year Capital Plan, doubling the prior rate of road paving, tripling prior annual sidewalk investments, and initiating water relining for the first time. Mayor Weinberger guided historic investments of federal dollars at the Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport, including a $19M Terminal Integration Project and worked to help secure $165M in voter-approved bonding and $19M in State funds for the construction of the Burlington High School and Technical Center.
- Under Mayor Weinberger’s successful Rebuilding Plan, the Police Department is coming back from a devastating blow by the City Council with a confirmed Police Chief, 69 officers, and innovative new public safety resources including CSLs, CSOs, Urban Park Rangers, and the soon-to-launch BTV Cares program. Burlington is leading the State’s opioid response with innovation and local investment with all of its local opioid settlement dollars committed. Mayor Weinberger led Burlington in an aggressive virus control and equitable vaccination effort resulting in national leadership in low Covid-19 infection and fatality rates for an American city.
- Mayor Weinberger secured voter approved zoning changes and bonding authority for $35.9M in Downtown TIF and $21.8M in Waterfront TIF investments and leveraged an additional $31.5M in federal funds to expand the Great Streets initiative which, when complete, will rebuild 15-18 downtown blocks. He led comprehensive reforms to zoning and permitting which attracted millions more in private development downtown, including more than $200M estimated for the CityPlace project and $36M for the completed Champlain College housing project on St. Paul St.
- Mayor Weinberger successfully negotiated 12 collective bargaining contracts with the City’s four unions without going to arbitration a single time. In 2017, he intervened to end the first Burlington teachers strike in over 25 years after just four days. In its first year, the new Department of Business and Workforce Development launched a revolving loan fund and micro-businesses incubator program, strengthened direct support for families and child care providers, dispersed $1 million in ARPA grants to area non-profits to support an equitable recovery from the pandemic, launched BTV Market which features dozens of local, women-owned, and BIPOC-owned businesses, and secured a $1.5 million grant for workforce and job training to improve equity in local trades.
- From the start, Mayor Weinberger has understood the importance of great public spaces and the City’s role in building community. In 2022, he announced Juneteenth as an official City holiday for the first time, and since 2021, the REIB Department has hosted a major annual Juneteenth celebration. Since 2018, the City has hosted Highlight on New Year’s Eve, and dozens of concerts, splash dance, and speakers in the revitalized City Hall Park every summer. The Moran FRAME is already serving as a new canvas and stage for local creatives, and Mayor Weinberger committed $2 million of local ARPA funds to new and improved public gathering spaces across Burlington, including a second phase 2 of Moran FRAME, in Roosevelt Park, and to support the expansion of the BCA studios on Pine Street which now serves 1,900 adults and 1,700 youth every year. This year, the City will celebrate the completion of Vermont’s first universally accessible playground at Oakledge Park.
Mayor Weinberger is the longest continuously serving Mayor in the City’s history, having been first elected in March 2012. Many leaders shared messages of support and gratitude for the Mayor’s service to Burlington and to Vermont:
“For 12 years, Miro Weinberger has led Burlington with steady and visionary leadership. He has returned the City to fiscal health, cutting costs for Burlington taxpayers and delivering those savings back to the community with thoughtful investments. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he worked side by side with our medical community to advocate for the public health funding and economic support Vermonters needed in a time of great stress and uncertainty. And his groundbreaking work on climate and renewable energy has inspired leaders across the nation to rethink what’s possible in their climate action agendas,” said Senator Welch. “Throughout his time as Mayor, I was proud to partner with Miro on projects to deliver important investments to Burlington, including new infrastructure, affordable housing, green transit, and support for small business. I’m thankful for Miro’s dedication to the city of Burlington, the state of Vermont, and wish him well in his continuing commitment to serving Vermonters.”
“I want to thank Mayor Weinberger for his 12 years of dedicated service to the City of Burlington, the longest of any Mayor in Burlington history. Miro came in to office at a time of financial peril for Burlington and carefully shepherded Burlington back to a place of responsible financial management, saving taxpayers considerable sums,” said Congresswoman Balint. “He continued improvement on the waterfront, completely rebuilt the beloved Burlington bike path, increased housing in the city, made historic investments in childcare, and encouraged sustainable development such as the expansion of City Market into the South End, among many other accomplishments. Miro has faced challenges as the leader of our biggest city and he has risen to meet them, always prioritizing the health, prosperity, and safety of all Burlingtonians. He is a true public servant. I have tremendous respect for him and wish him and his family the best going forward.”
Senator Patrick Leahy sent the following note of support before the Mayor’s announcement: “Burlington, and Vermont, have been so helped by your service. Marcelle and I were married here in Burlington 61 years ago. We’ve seen this City during difficult times, and during the good times. Your leadership has been essential during COVID, housing crises, improving education, and dozens of other significant issues. In addressing these problems, you have set an example for the rest of the state, and you have certainly made Burlington better.”
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