Scott laments budget before General Assembly returns in June
(The Center Square) – Vermont’s governor said he thinks the budget passed by the General Assembly is unsustainable.
Republican Gov. Phil Scott, speaking during his weekly press conference on Wednesday, said that when he proposed the budget in January, he felt it was balanced, prioritized communities, and helped make the state more affordable through tax relief and other investments.
He said the General Assembly’s budget “spent a lot more money than I proposed and relied on regressive taxes and fees to fund” the spending contained in the $8.4 billion budget.
“I shared priorities like child care, climate, change mitigation, infrastructure, workforce, and more,” Scott said of his budget proposal. “The good news is the Legislature included funding for most of those initiatives. The bad news is they spent a lot more money than I proposed.”
The spending, Scott said, contained in the budget he believes is “unsustainable” with any future economic uncertainty.
“As I’ve repeatedly said, we can make historic progress on our shared goals without increasing costs on already overburdened Vermonters,” Scott said.
Scott said he fear was the General Assembly’s budget was not sustainable moving forward.
“What I put forward was sustainable, something we can afford next year and in the future, and we can expand on those shared goals,” Scott said. “If we have organic revenue to fill those coffers. I’ve been clear. I’m ready and willing to work with legislators to find the right balance between their approach and mine because that’s what Vermonters elected us to do.”
Scott said that residents voted for him while also voting for their legislators in the General Assembly.
“As I said in my adjournment address, a majority of Vermonters voted for me in the last election in every single town while also electing them,” Scott said. “Vermonters voted for balance and expected us to work together. But they’ve also been loud and clear with me that they didn’t think Vermont was affordable even before this legislative session.”
Scott said he has concerns over the economic impacts of what is contained in the budget that has been passed, but he has yet to sign.
“Between $100 million payroll tax, $20 million in DMV fees, $30 million in property tax pressure, at least $180 million in potential clean heat mandates, that works out to roughly $1,200 per household per year,” Scott said. “I worry about everyday Vermonters already facing cost increases due to inflation.”
The governor said that among the residents, he is concerned about single moms “who won’t significantly benefit” from what was “passed this year” is a concern as they will “pay more in taxes and fees” as families with higher incomes or seniors on fixed incomes will pay.”
“Now, it’s no secret I have some disagreement with the approach lawmakers have taken,” Scott said. “So I’ll once again make this appeal which you and the press are now familiar with. We share the same goals. We both support making historic investments in shared priorities. But I believe we must do it in a way Vermonters can afford. We have five weeks between now and when they come back at the end of June. Vermonters want us to work together, and I’m ready to do just that.”
