FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 28, 2020
Contact: Olivia LaVecchia
                (802) 734-0617

Statement from Mayor Miro Weinberger in Support of Burlington’s Transgender Community

Burlington, VT – In response to a meeting scheduled and then cancelled at the Fletcher Free Library by a group called Gender Critical Vermont, Mayor Miro Weinberger released the following statement:

“I welcome the news that a meeting that was scheduled for tonight at the Library has been cancelled, at least temporarily. Burlington seeks to be a city in which people of all backgrounds, orientations, and gender identities feel safe and enjoy a sense of belonging. This event as organized clashed with that deeply held community goal. If the event is rescheduled, I urge the organizers to do so in a manner that demonstrates an understanding of the unacceptable persecution too frequently experienced by members of our community who are transgender and non-binary.

“I appreciate the thoughtful way in which Mary Danko, the Director of the Fletcher Free Library, handled the controversy surrounding this event. The City will continue to fulfill the responsibilities that the First Amendment demands of all government entities, while simultaneously opposing hate speech and aggressively enforcing laws that protect the public from hate crimes, in order to send the message that such actions have no place in Burlington.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 21, 2020
Contact: Olivia LaVecchia
                (802) 734-0617

                Robert Goulding
                (802) 540-0846

City of Burlington Broadens Use of State’s VT-Alert Rapid Notification System to Include Local Warnings

Mayor Miro Weinberger encourages Burlingtonians to sign up to receive alerts by phone, text, or email for emerging and urgent issues

Burlington, VT – Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger announced that the City of Burlington will broaden its use of the State VT-Alert system for rapid alert notifications about emerging and urgent local issues. With the City’s expansion of its use of the system, members of the public will be able to sign up for calls, texts, or emails about certain categories of urgent alerts, including boil water advisories, major storm preparations, beach closures, snow bans, and other critical notifications.

“One of the wonders of the modern world is our capacity for immediate communications, but until now the City lacked the ability to urgently and reliably contact all of our residents,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger. “I urge all Burlingtonians to sign up for VT-Alert today in order to receive time-sensitive information from the City.”

By working with the State to use this statewide system, the City is able to provide VT-Alert at no cost to the community. Please go to www.burlingtonvt.gov/BTV-Alerts to learn more, and click on the banner at the top of the page to sign up.

Background

Last summer, Burlington had to issue a precautionary boil water advisory in parts of the South End for the first time in memory, out of an abundance of caution and to comply with a recent change in State regulations. The City worked to alert the public to this advisory, including through a press conference call, up to the minute social media notifications, and an email to water customers with up-to-date email contact information. While the advisory was precautionary and the risks of water-illness extremely low in this event, the fact that some residents did not immediately receive the notification highlighted the need for a more robust City notification method for local issues.

Immediately following the incident, the Water Resources Division’s Customer Care and Finance Manager, Jessica Lavalette, identified VT-Alert as a powerful outreach platform that would meet the Water Division’s needs for emergency notification, and likely serve other City notification needs as well. As a result, the Mayor created a cross-departmental team from the Department of Public Works, Fire Department, Police Department, Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Department, and Innovation & Technology Department, with additional departments joining at times, to examine the tool further and develop a coordinated plan for an improved notification framework. Following conversations with the State, this working group confirmed that VT-Alert was an effective tool for the City’s needs. The group then developed procedures that outline how the City will use VT-Alert and for what types of events.

How VT-Alert Works

VT-Alert is a powerful tool. By using it, the City will be able to contact users who sign up with texts, calls, and emails, for certain types of categories that users select. These notifications will be limited to public safety or public health concerns. VT-Alert allows users to choose whether they prefer text, call, or email, or all of the above, and users can unsubscribe at any time. The system also allows users to set quiet hours to limit any overnight notifications. The City has previously used VT-Alert only in a limited way, and primarily as one of the systems for snow ban notification. For certain types of emergencies, the system also has the capability of alerting residents who did not opt-in to VT-Alert.

For the following categories, any user who signs up for VT-Alert and inputs a Burlington address, or signs up for “City of Burlington Alerts”, will receive an alert:

• Boil water advisory
• Do not drink water order (should such a requirement occur)
• 911 phone system failure
• Emergency Operations Center (EOC) activation
• Evacuation
• Major storm preparation
• Other significant fire or emergency

For the following categories of lesser urgency, users will specifically need to opt-in to the “City of Burlington Alerts” category within the VT-Alert system, and also select the relevant sub-category:

• Snow bans
  • Users who want to sign up for this category should select both “City of Burlington” and “Transportation alerts > Winter parking bans”
  • The City will continue to use both GovDelivery and VT-Alert for snow ban notification through this winter, but will discontinue use of GovDelivery for snow ban notification after April 2020
• Beach closures
  • Users who want to sign up for this category should select both “City of Burlington” and “Health alerts > Beach closures”
• Major road arterial closures related to construction
  • Users who want to sign up for this category should select both “City of Burlington” and “Transportation alerts > Road closures, disruptions, and delays”

In addition, VT-Alert will also allow the City to send some location-specific notifications. The City plans to use these to alert impacted areas of water main breaks during business hours. To sign up for these, users can input a specific address upon sign-up or later, and select “City of Burlington” and “Infrastructure > Water system outage.”

As the City continues to use the VT-Alert system, it may add additional categories and uses. Users should also note that at this time, the City does not plan to use all of the categories that are preset in the VT-Alert system, such as the “planned events” category.

Over the coming weeks, the City will be doing additional outreach to spread the word about VT-Alert and ask Burlingtonians to sign up for notifications. To sign-up, users can go to www.burlingtonvt.gov/BTV-Alerts and click on the banner at the top that reads “Sign up for VT-Alert” to be directed to the VT-Alert portal. Then, users will be guided through a few screens to create an account, input contact information, and identify categories of interest. The entire process takes less than five minutes.

“Public health and safety are the priorities for DPW Water Resources,” said Megan Moir, Division Director of Water Resources at the Department of Public Works. “We have been making a historic upgrade to our water systems, but emergencies will always be a small part of the infrastructure business. We are excited to have such a powerful notification tool in the event of such emergencies, however unlikely.”

“I am pleased that the City is broadening our use of this rapid notification system,” said Steven Locke, Chief of the Burlington Fire Department. “The VT-Alert system will allow the residents of Burlington to have greater situational awareness of public safety and public health issues when they arise.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 17, 2020
Contact: Olivia LaVecchia
               (802) 734-0617

Vermont Supreme Court Unanimously Affirms the Sale of Burlington Telecom

All five Supreme Court justices agree that sale “promotes the public good” and that appellants’ desired outcome “would likely impose additional financial burden on Burlington Telecom customers and City taxpayers”

Burlington, VT – Today, the Vermont Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in its review of an appeal of the Vermont Public Utility Commission (PUC)’s order approving the sale of Burlington Telecom to Champlain Broadband, a subsidiary of Schurz Communications. The Court ruled: “Upending the sales transaction reached by petitioners in this proceeding would likely impose additional financial burdens on Burlington Telecom customers and City taxpayers. Moreover, beyond disruptions to Burlington Telecom’s workforce and customers and a reduction in Burlington Telecom’s value to potential purchasers, unwinding the transaction could potentially have negative financial impact on City taxpayers due to the City’s obligations to Citibank… Simply put, given the PUC’s past orders, the record supports the PUC’s conclusion that the petition promotes the public good.” 

In response, Mayor Miro Weinberger released the following statement:

“I welcome the Supreme Court’s decision as the final word: The decade-long Burlington Telecom crisis is over, and our solution promotes the public good by preserving high-speed internet choice for Burlingtonians and saving BT users and taxpayers many millions of dollars. 

“I am proud to have delivered on my promise to voters to fix BT and restore the City’s financial standing, and I am grateful for the long years of hard work and commitment that made this possible by City Councilors, BT employees, the BT Blue Ribbon Committee and its successor the Burlington Telecom Advisory Board, our outstanding legal team, and our business consultants Dorman and Fawcett.  I am also grateful to Trey Pecor and Schurz Communications for the critical roles they played in making today’s definitive resolution happen. Finally, thank you to the people of Burlington for sticking with BT through great uncertainty and turmoil, and repeatedly supporting this solution at the ballot box through years of debate and scrutiny.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 15, 2020
Contact: Olivia LaVecchia
                (802) 734-0617

Mayor Miro Weinberger Opens New One-Stop Permitting Center

Dramatic overhaul of permitting system and creation of new Permitting and Inspections Department will vastly improve services for residents and represents the most substantial reorganization of City government in more than 20 years

Burlington, VT – Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger officially welcomed the public to the City’s one-stop shop for permitting and home of the new Permitting & Inspections Department. The creation of this permitting center marks the culmination of years of work to reorganize City government in order to respond to one of the public’s most frequent requests: to simplify, improve, and make more user-friendly and accountable the City’s permitting system.

“Residents come to the City’s permitting offices to pursue their dreams and needs for their homes and businesses. In the past, though, it’s often been too hard to achieve those dreams as a result of a system spread across multiple locations and lacking clear accountability,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger. “Today, due to the hard work of dozens of committed City employees, we are celebrating the creation of a new system and the beginning of an era of improved service, accountability, and coordination.”

How the New Permitting & Inspections Department Works

In the past, the process of obtaining and closing out a City permit for Burlingtonians looking to make improvements to their homes and small businesses often involved three different departments. City employees worked hard to advance requests, but the process was cumbersome and often unintuitive, especially for residents who interacted with it only occasionally.

For a typical small project, members of the public would start at the Planning & Zoning Department at City Hall, then travel to the Inspection Services Division at 645 Pine Street, and then get the review of the Code Enforcement Office at Pine Street. In interviews and focus group, members of the public described “dozens of examples describing situations that required permit applicants to shuttle between departments, located in two buildings approximately a mile apart, to obtain signatures, sign documents, pick up permits, make payments, and get questions answered.” For even routine projects, the likelihood of getting through permitting correctly the first time was about 20 percent.

“Ultimately, it will be necessary for the City to create a more centralized permitting function within City government in order to make the significant and long-lasting improvements to the permitting process that the City desires to achieve,” a third-party report found in 2017.

Today’s event marks the completion of three major reforms to this system:

• Creation of a one-stop-shop permit center: The renovated customer service center at 645 Pine Street is now the location for all municipal permitting and land use needs.
• Launch of the unified Department of Permitting and Inspections (DPI): The new Department includes 20 positions that previously were dispersed among Planning and Zoning, the Department of Public Works, and Code Enforcement.
• Single point of accountability: In contrast to the prior system, in which oversight of the process was spread among three department heads, one of whom was appointed by the Planning Commission, the DPI Director now oversees the entire process, and is appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council on an annual basis.

With these reforms in place, now, all of the functions of permitting – zoning, building inspections, and code enforcement – have been combined into the new Permitting & Inspections Department. Importantly, the City employees who do this work were closely involved in the discussions about how to best make these changes, and their job descriptions have remained similar. The big change is that these employees are now all working together directly, located in the same place at 645 Pine Street, and reporting to the same person – Bill Ward, the director of the new department.

Having these functions working together and in one location will also allow the City to more easily identify and correct inefficiencies in the future, and track, for example, how many times fees are collected over the course of the permitting process, or how many permits are getting successfully closed.

In addition to enhanced service, the changes of permit reform will create new efficiencies that will result in ongoing savings for taxpayers estimated at more than $100,000 annually.

Goals for the Permitting & Inspections Department’s First Year

While the one-stop shop for permitting now physically exists, and the new department has been meeting and training with LEAN management consultants over the last year, its reformed processes continue to be created and refined and will take time to fully implement. Over the next year, the department has outlined three key metrics that it will track in order to measure its success. These are:

• Improving the permit application intake success rate by more than 10 percent: Currently, about one-third of initial applications are returned to the customer due to errors or incomplete submissions. Over the next year, the department will work with applicants in order to improve the rate of applications that are approved the first time around.
• Improving the permit closure success rate by 40 percent: A 2019 estimate identified that 50 percent of a customer’s attempts to close permits were unsuccessful because the customer had not completed all of the required steps. The new department will create greater coordination of all parts of the permitting and inspections process, allowing the department to set the goal of greatly increasing this permit closure success rate.
• Improving the overall “first time right” success rate from 22 percent to 68 percent: This success rate is an evaluation of a customer’s ability to go through the permit process from start to finish without missteps, and over the next year, the department will closely track this rate and aim to significantly increase it.

“I feel very fortunate that the new department has a great team of experienced City employees who are enthusiastic and dedicated to improving every area of the permitting process,” said Bill Ward, Director of Permitting & Inspections. “The public can now expect to see the three departmental divisions of Code Enforcement, Zoning, and Trades all working closely as one entity to simplify the customer experience.”

Background

Improving the City’s permitting process is something that Burlingtonians have asked for, and that the City has discussed, for decades. The initiative to create the Permitting & Inspections Department formally began in 2014, when the Council and Administration held a public hearing on “reforming Burlington’s permit system” that resulted in a Council Resolution calling for a “soup to nuts” reform effort.  “An overly burdensome permit system is one of the most significant barriers to building more housing in Burlington,” a Council resolution noted at the time.

The initiative took on the name “permit reform,” and over the next three years, the City issued an RFP for a consultant to work with City staff to review the City’s permitting process and make recommendations, held public forums and conducted a public survey, and delivered recommendations to the City Council. The Council formed a Permit Reform Ad Hoc Committee, made up of three Councilors, to consider the recommendations, and in August 2017, voted to accept a plan for permit reform. In the fall of 2017, the City also convened a citizen Permit Reform Advisory Committee in order to have additional engagement and advisement from members of the public during the implementation of permit reform.

Over the next year, members of the City team, including multiple department heads and Mayor Weinberger, met regularly in order to work through the nuts-and-bolts of the implementation – including changes to the organizational structure, moves of the physical locations of employees, updates to the City’s codes and ordinances, reforms to the steps in the permitting process, and reviews of existing fees. The City’s Chief Innovation Officer, first Beth Anderson and then Brian Lowe, played an important role coordinating this work.

In March 2019, voters approved a ballot question to amend the City Charter in order to remove zoning, code enforcement, and inspection services from their previous departments, and combine them into the new Permitting & Inspections Department. Following a reconfiguration of the City building at 645 Pine Street in order to create the space for the new department, the new one-stop permitting center is now open to the public.

"The new one-stop permitting center is a critical step in the Council and Administration's effort to improve user experience in obtaining a city permit,” said City Councilor Chip Mason, who served on the Council’s Permit Reform Ad Hoc Committee. “Residents will get better service more efficiently under the new and improved permitting process."

“The Permit Reform Advisory Committee thanks all of the staff at 645 Pine Street and all of the buildings, inspections, and zoning staff for their support for this significant change and their patience in the transition,” said Celia Daly, Chair of the Permit Reform Advisory Committee. “We also thank the City Council for its support, and we thank Mayor Weinberger for his willingness to make the decision to get this done and to see it to completion. We look forward to continuing to work to improve the permitting process with Bill Ward and this new Department.”

"The dramatic restructuring of these City Departments will result in better services and significant time savings for residents. It also builds the foundation for continued process improvements within a far better permitting system,” said Chief Innovation Officer Brian Lowe. “The success and new opportunity created by this project would not have happened but for the leadership of the Mayor and the willingness of staff and Department leadership to work together to address a challenging structural problem.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 10, 2020
Contact: Olivia LaVecchia
               (802) 734-0617

Mayor Miro Weinberger Appoints Katherine Schad as Chief Administrative Officer

Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger today announced the appointment of Katherine Schad as Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Burlington. Katherine is currently serving as the Vice President of Project Support Services at Tetra Tech in Burlington, and will bring over 20 years of experience in operations, regulatory compliance, and financial and project management with global mission-driven organizations to the position. Mayor Weinberger will ask the City Council to confirm Katherine’s appointment at its meeting on January 21.

“One of the highest priorities of this Administration has been to responsibly manage the City’s finances,” said Mayor Weinberger. “We’ve made great strides in this over the last eight years, and Katherine is exactly the right person to continue this work and take it to the next level.”

“I am excited to be joining the City of Burlington team in the role of CAO,” said Katherine. “I look forward to continuing to build on the Administration’s commitment to strong financial management and delivering critical services to the community.”

Katherine will bring many strengths to the CAO role, including:

• Experience monitoring compliance and financial management systems;
• Record of leading successful collaborations, managing large teams, and working with stakeholders to implement large-scale projects; and
• Commitment to the Burlington community, including serving as the Vice Chair of the board of ANEW Place.

Background

Since 2012, Katherine has worked at Tetra Tech International Development Services, a USAID contractor that implements over $350 million in projects globally. At Tetra Tech she served in several senior leadership roles, most recently as the Vice President of Project Support Services. In these roles, she has managed teams that carry out complex, multimillion-dollar projects around the world, developed and implemented internal audit measures, and improved financial management and compliance.

Katherine spent her early career managing US-funded economic development projects throughout the world, with a focus on helping to create jobs for women; improving critical infrastructure such as roads, water supply master plans, and capital improvement projects; and improving incomes for farmers. In 2009, she relocated to Tirana, Albania where she played a critical role supporting an anti-corruption project that introduced the country’s first electronic tax and procurement systems. She has a MBA from the School of Global Management at Arizona State University and a BA from Gordon College.

Building on the City’s Past Financial Success

Katherine will lead a department with many recent successes, including:

• Strong financial management that has resulted in the restoration of the City’s Aa3 credit rating and clean audits;
• Budgets that have funded historic investments in City assets while limiting taxpayer burdens; and
• New debt and pension policies that guide taxpayer capacities and spending.

For additional information, please see:

• Resume of Katherine Schad
• Photo of Katherine and Mayor Weinberger, below

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 20, 2019
Contact:  Olivia LaVecchia
                 (802) 734-0617

Mayor Miro Weinberger Announces Series of Next Steps for Burlington Police Department

Mayor Will Conduct National Search for the Next Chief of Police; Mayor Appoints Jennifer Morrison as Interim Chief of Police; City Hires Workplace Expert to Conduct Review of Burlington Police Department Social Media Practices; Deputy Chief Wright Placed on Administrative Leave; City Implements Interim Social Media Policy

Burlington, VT – Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger announced a robust series of next steps for the Burlington Police Department, designed to address multiple facets of the Department’s leadership and social media practices and lead the Department forward.

“After a challenging week for the Burlington Police Department and the City of Burlington, today, with action on numerous fronts, we begin the work of moving forward,” said Mayor Weinberger. “We are fortunate to have a department with 154 years of history, decades of outstanding leadership, and the strength and resilience demanded by this moment.”

Next Steps for the Burlington Police Department

The following are the next steps announced today for the Burlington Police Department:

• Mayor Weinberger will conduct a full, national search for the next Chief of Police: The Mayor will consult with the Police Commission and City Council about the plan for this search in early January 2020.
• Mayor Weinberger will appoint Jennifer Morrison to serve as Interim Chief of Police: Effective January 7, pending City Council confirmation on January 6, Jennifer Morrison will serve as Interim Chief of Police for the months that it takes for the City to complete a national search. Chief Morrison will bring years of leadership experience to the role during this critical interim period, having begun her career with the Burlington Police Department in 1990, serving as Deputy Chief until 2013, and serving as Chief of Police for the Colchester Police Department for five years from 2013 to 2018. As the Burlington Free Press reported in 2018, “Morrison has been an important part of regional discussions on how to solve shared problems with mental health issues, drug addiction, and how to better deliver emergency response services.”
• Deputy Chief Jan Wright placed on administrative leave: As the City continues its investigation into Deputy Chief Wright’s social media activity, Deputy Chief Wright is being placed on administrative leave. Upon the conclusion of the investigation, the Mayor will work with the Police Commission to determine any additional discipline.
• The City will hire the workplace expert Anita Tinney to conduct a review of the Burlington Police Department’s social media practices: As principal consultant with the consulting firm Employee and Labor Relations Academy, Anita has an extensive background in conducting workplace investigations and establishing preventative and proactive labor practices. She has worked with many other municipalities, and will travel to Vermont to start this investigation on January 3. The investigation will seek to understand the Department’s existing practices around social media use, develop clear standards for behavior, and determine what training and/or policy changes will be needed to ensure that those standards are implemented.

Next Steps for the City of Burlington

On Wednesday, Mayor Weinberger wrote to all City employees to give direction about social media use. He shared a draft social media policy that is in the final stages of formal adoption, after having been reviewed by all four public employee unions and, since November, by the City Council’s Human Resources Committee. While the policy may change modestly before it is formally adopted by the City Council as is required for all personnel policies, the Mayor determined that it was sufficiently vetted to share with City employees and direct them to follow as an interim policy until a final policy is formally adopted.

Social media policy is an emerging and changing landscape, and will require ongoing review. For example, the interim social media policy does not currently address pseudonymous accounts, and the City will review how to address this in the final policy. The City’s interim policy seeks to balance employees’ rights to express themselves and communicate with each other about work-related issues, while also setting expectations around how to use these tools in the context of work-related matters.

For additional information, please see:

• Interim social media policy of the City of Burlington
• Dec. 13: “Statement Regarding Chief del Pozo’s Twitter Account and Related Actions”
• Dec. 16: “Statement Regarding the Resignation of Chief of Police Brandon del Pozo”
• Dec. 16: “Statement Regarding Deputy Chief Jan Wright”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 16, 2019
Contact:  Olivia LaVecchia
                 (802) 734-0617

Statement from Mayor Miro Weinberger Regarding Deputy Chief Jan Wright

Burlington, VT – Soon after today’s press conference at the Police Department, Deputy Chief Jan Wright shared with Mayor Weinberger that she had occasionally operated a Facebook account under the name “Lori Spicer” through which she made comments about and engaged citizens in discussion of Police Department policy and practice. In response, Mayor Weinberger released the following statement:

“While Deputy Chief Wright’s situation may be very different than Chief del Pozo’s, given the circumstances the department is facing, I found the failure to raise this issue with me in the lead-up to today to constitute a lapse in judgement. 

As an initial matter I have taken the following steps:

• I have now named Deputy Chief Jon Murad as Acting Chief. Murad has confirmed explicitly to the City Attorney Eileen Blackwood and HR Director Deanna Paluba that he has never engaged in anonymous social media posting.
• I have asked City Attorney Blackwood and HR Director Paluba to review DC Wright’s posts in detail and report back to me by the end of the week to determine if further action is required.
• Deputy Chief Wright’s disclosure raises the possibility that problematic social media use is far more widespread within the department than previously understood. I am troubled that more than one senior department official engaged in such activity. I will be asking an outside investigator to conduct a thorough review of the Burlington Police Department’s social media activity and practices.
• Finally, within two weeks we will make further amendments to the draft social media policy the City is operating under to explicitly address the issues of anonymous social media posting by senior officials. I will be seeking to update and formally adopt the City’s social media policy to better reflect our expectations for City employees’ and City leaders’ interactions with citizens on social media and online.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 16, 2019
Contact:  Olivia LaVecchia
                 (802) 734-0617

Statement from Mayor Miro Weinberger Regarding the Resignation of Chief of Police Brandon del Pozo

Burlington, VT - Today, Mayor Miro Weinberger announced the resignation of Brandon del Pozo as Chief of Police. At the press conference, Mayor Weinberger delivered the following statement:

"Last night I received a letter from Chief Brandon del Pozo offering his immediate resignation from the Burlington Police Department.

With great sadness, I have accepted his decision. While I believe that del Pozo has been a truly outstanding chief, and while it was clear to me that he continued to have considerable support within the City Council, the Police Commission, the Police Department, and the community, it was also clear that if he continued to serve the days ahead would be very challenging for him, his family, the department, and the City.

I appointed Brandon del Pozo to be our chief four years ago, in the wake of terrible police incidents in Ferguson, Baltimore, and elsewhere. From the moment I first read his application, I believed him to be exactly the right person to lead the police in this progressive city at a very challenging moment in American law enforcement – and he was. Chief del Pozo’s time in Burlington should be understood and remembered as a period of remarkable progress and innovation.

His letter of resignation summarizes some of what we got done on his watch:

We were able to fight the opioid crisis as well or better than any other city in the nation, reducing overdose deaths by half in 2018 and sustaining that into 2019. Our methods have become a national model for saving lives. We closed the gap in racial disparities on our roadways in many ways and came to acutely understand the reasons for others. …Our innovations in the use of force and de-escalation were literally the nation's pilot, and they will endure.

The department achieved all this and more, while never losing focus on reducing crime and upholding justice. Again from his letter:

We lowered violent crime, making the city as safe as ever. Our detectives solved countless difficult cases, from hate crimes to sex assaults, giving justice and hope to our city's victims.

Chief del Pozo was an excellent communicator with the public, and he understood the very substantial pressures and risks faced by the women and men who wear the police uniform and serve as guardians of this community.

It was an honor and a privilege to serve with Chief del Pozo, and we wish him well in all his future endeavors. I will miss him greatly and I believe Burlington will as well.

We are fortunate to have an excellent police department that is much stronger than any one person. I have asked Deputy Chief Jan Wright to serve once again as Acting Chief, and she has agreed to do so. I will have more to share about the appointment of a permanent chief in the days to come.  

I am committed to doing everything I can to help the acting chief and ultimately the new chief move past this unfortunate chapter and to continue doing the excellent public safety work we expect from the Burlington Police Department.

Finally, to the outstanding men and women of the Burlington Police Department – thank you for your brave and steady service. I will do everything I can to support you through this challenging time and important transition."

For additional information, please see:

• Letter of resignation of Brandon del Pozo [PDF]

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 13, 2019
Contact:  Olivia LaVecchia
                 (802) 734-0617

Statement Regarding Chief del Pozo’s Twitter Account and Related Actions

Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger today responded to news stories regarding Chief of Police Brandon del Pozo’s fake Twitter account with the following statement:

"On the evening of Sunday, July 28, Chief del Pozo self-reported to me that he had posted tweets from an anonymous Twitter account and that he had not been forthright with a reporter about those tweets.

I was very troubled by both the tweets and his response to a member of the media, and as a result I took a number of immediate steps upon arriving at work the next morning. I immediately placed the Chief on administrative leave, directed him to turn in his badge, gun, and city phone, and instructed him to cease using social media. I also directed City Attorney Eileen Blackwood and Human Resources Director Deanna Paluba to open an investigation into the Chief’s actions.

The investigation quickly confirmed that while the Chief had not committed any illegal acts or explicitly violated any City policy, he clearly had conducted himself in a manner that was unacceptable, inappropriate, and not consistent with what I expect from the Chief of Police.

Early in the course of the investigation, the City Attorney and HR Director learned that the Chief had an underlying mental health condition that had impacted his actions. This opinion was made by Chief del Pozo’s doctor, and evaluated and confirmed by the City’s medical examiner.

At that point I followed the strong recommendations of the City Attorney and HR Director to treat this matter as we would any employee medical situation. Therefore the City granted the Chief a Family and Medical Leave of Absence (FMLA) and we attempted to protect his medical information, as even the Chief of Police is entitled to some level of privacy.

I was always clear that my ability to protect the Chief’s privacy, by virtue of his office and his actions, was limited by my responsibility to answer forthrightly questions from the public. I was asked about the Chief’s tweets for the first time yesterday by Seven Days, and at that time I shared this full account.

After six weeks of FMLA the Chief was cleared to return to work by both his doctor and the City’s medical examiner.

Upon his return to work, I formally reprimanded the Chief and warned him that any repeat of the problematic conduct would result in his immediate termination. Chief del Pozo’s conduct was certainly troubling to me, and I considered more serious discipline. However, I decided to give him the chance to resume his duties based on the following factors: 1) The Chief self-reported his mistakes; 2) The problematic tweets were posted for less than an hour and the Chief immediately recognized that what he did was wrong; 3) Two medical professionals asserted that these actions were linked to a mental health condition and employers of public safety personnel have a duty to treat mental health issues with compassion and awareness of the stigma still associated with mental health issues; 4) The Chief took action to address his medical condition; and 5) The Chief’s overall service to date had been otherwise excellent.

Moreover, when dealing with personnel issues as mayor, I generally believe that people deserve second chances if possible, particularly when they have come forward to admit error.

I have spent much of today seeking and receiving feedback about this matter from colleagues, stakeholders, and the public. I will have more to say on Monday after reviewing and reflecting on all that has been shared with me."

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 25, 2019
Contact:  Olivia LaVecchia
                 (802) 734-0617

Mayor Miro Weinberger Appoints Chief Steven Locke as Acting Chief Administrative Officer

Chief Locke is expected to serve through January 2020

Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger announced today the appointment of Chief Steven Locke as the acting Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). Chief Locke has served as the Burlington Fire Chief since February 2016 and prior to that appointment, served as the Interim Town Manager of Hartford, Vt. Mayor Weinberger has asked Chief Locke to serve in this role through January 2020 while the City searches for a permanent CAO. Chief Locke will continue to serve as Fire Chief during this period.

“I am grateful for Chief Locke’s willingness to take on this role,” said Mayor Weinberger. “His effective management of the Fire Department and prior experience serving as the interim Town Manager in Hartford position Chief Locke to excel in this transitional role while we continue the search for a permanent CAO.”

“I am honored to be asked to serve in this acting capacity,” said Chief Locke. “I look forward to working with the Clerk/Treasurer’s Office team and supporting this transition.”

For additional information, please see:

• Background about Chief Locke from the 2015 announcement of his appointment as Fire Chief
• Resume of Chief Locke [PDF]

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