Vermont Legislature SmartTranscripts:

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: Okay, we're live. This is the public hearing for the FY27 budget. I'm Senator Andrew Perklift. To my left is representative Robin Scheu. I'm the chair of the senate appropriations committee and representative Scheu is the chair of the house committee. Each year, we have these joint public hearings to hear from the public on budget requests. This is the second public hearing. For this hearing, each person will have two minutes to speak. There's the timer on all screens that you'll see and also representative, I already felt this will raise their hand to let you know if you have got the ten second fine. Representative Shai will call the names of who is up immediately and then who is on deck on that person. If you are testifying on Zoom, you will automatically be muted. When it is your turn, you will be promoted. You will see, please accept the promotion, unmute yourself, be sure your video is on so we don't have any technical delays and can see that you're going to be starting in two minutes. If this is your first public hearing, please note that it is our job as legislators to simply listen to the testimony and take note. We will not be asking questions during the hearing or gauging in any back and forth as we might in a regular committee meeting. Finally, if your time is up and you have more you'd like us to know, please submit written testimony. Your testimony will be read and submitted. The email link was in your confirmation email you were sent, And you can also submit it directly to Autumn Craftfee, the House committee assistant, or Elle, the committee assistant for the Senate. We will be reading those. So thank you very much for your participation and your attention. And we can start with the first.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Okay. The first up is Johanna De Grafenriede and followed by Johanna Doran. First Johanna is on Zoom.

[Joanna DeGrafenriede]: Hello, I'm Joanna DeGrafenriede. I'm the public policy manager for Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility. I want to thank the committees for your time today and for your thoughtful testimony acceptance. Just a quick introduction about VBSR. I'm proud to represent over 600 members, including hundreds of businesses representing all economic sectors, every Vermont County and ranging from international Vermont based businesses to Vermont's smallest rural businesses. In fact, over half of VBSR's business members are businesses that have less than 15 full time employees. Vermont's Businesses for Social Responsibility is a statewide nonprofit business association with a mission to leverage the power of business for positive social and environmental impact, we've done so for over thirty years. I want to testify today specifically in support of the housing requests in the budget. The link between economic stability and housing is undeniable. Housing is profoundly impacting many sectors of our economy from workforce housing, construction, mortgage brokers, transportation to heating and cooling, just to name a few. Our members have spoken clearly and we must take on every month's housing crisis head on. The scarcity of adequate housing in Vermont costs both employers and employees, and I want to highlight a few budget requests for you all today. I just want to also note that these are priorities shared by the Housing and Homelessness Alliance of Vermont, and we support that coalition. First is specifically capital funding to create and rehabilitate and preserve affordable housing. We support the $37,600,000 in base funding for the Vermont Housing Conservation Board through its statutory share of the property transfer tax, dollars 40,000,000 in additional one time funding for the Vermont Housing Conservation Board to maintain progress on the housing crisis. I want to note that the units created with VHCB funds have been crucial to helping people exit homelessness. Dollars 5,000,000 in base funding for the Vermont Housing Improvement Program would also be essential to continue to rehabilitate rental housing and make it affordable at or below federal fair market rent. I also want to note the importance of supporting rental assistance. Rental

[Representative Robin Scheu]: assistance Oh man, is we

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: ran out

[Representative Robin Scheu]: of time.

[Joanna DeGrafenriede]: That's okay. Well, thank you all so much. You can also check-in with the Housing and Homelessness Alliance of Vermont. I'm glad I got to release my time.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Thank you. Next up is Joanna Doran followed by Jesse Wilbert, both here in the room, I believe. Thank

[Joanna Doran]: you for having me today. My name is Joanna Doran. I live in and I'm the local food access director with the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, or NOFA Vermont, where I oversee the Crop Cash, Crop Cash Plus, and Farm Share programs. Thank you for listening to my testimony. I'm here to ask you to please support $500,000 in ongoing funding to strengthen Vermont farm viability and address food security by sustaining proven programs Crop Cash Plus and Farm Share. Crop Cash and Farm Share provide financial assistance to low income Vermonters to buy fresh food directly from their local farmers. We are grateful to have received $450,000 in one time funding in FY twenty six for Crop Cash, Crop Cash Plus and Farm Share, which has allowed us to successfully maintain increased food security while directly supporting Vermont farmers. We need continued funding so that these proven programs can keep leveraging federal and philanthropic and continue supporting low income Vermonters and farmers alike. Over the last two years of receiving the state support, these programs have leveraged around $1,600,000 in local food purchases during that time. This season alone, we are on track to direct over $850,000 in revenue to Vermont farms through the Crop Cash, Crop Cash Plus, and Farm Share programs. These programs are critical baseline programs that people rely on each week. The state of Vermont has shown that it can be a leader in investing in vital food security programs, which have been pivotal during the fluctuations in federal policy, inflation, and weather events that impact food access. The state can count on this investment to be used for the best possible outcome for Vermonters. Food security can and should be achieved for everyone who lives in Vermont. At the same time, we can support our farmers and ensure that they have the profit that they need, for growing food. Crop Cash Plus and Farm Share are proven programs that help Vermont achieve both of these goals. Please, these reasons, please support $500,000 Thank

[Reverend Beth Ann Meyer]: you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Next up is Jesse Wilbert followed by Megan Lasage. All on Zoom. Good evening. Hello, I am Jesse Wilbert, a fourth generation farmer, this is my wife, Stephanie, a registered nurse.

[Jesse Wilbert (with Stephanie Wilbert)]: Our family runs a lazy dog farm, which is an organic dairy farm in Orwell. Our three kids hope to be the fifth generation here on the farm. Thank you for taking our testimony today. We're here to ask that you please appropriate 15,600,000.0 in fifth fiscal 2027 for the Farm and Forest Operations Security Special Fund. We've been farming here in Orwell for fifteen years and this year's drought unlike any we've ever seen. Our average summer rainfall is three to five inches a month, and we didn't get six inches all summer or fall. The drought had a big impact on our farm business. We were able to get our cows, weren't able to get our cows out to pasture, and the feed just didn't grow. Normally, we get four good cuts of hay. Last summer, we got one normal cut and half of another. We had to supplement. We used one third of our winter feed this summer, and we've now spent over $50,000 on additional feed to get our cows through the impacts of this drought. That's 20% of our annual gross income here on the farm and a loss like that is just not sustainable for our small family farm. Even with that, our cows still aren't producing as much milk as they would in a normal year when they're able to graze. We had to pay extra costs with less income. We met these costs as best as we can and instead of growing, we shrank from milking 50 to just over 40 head. We sold one of our two Airbnb cabins to pay for feed. We work to buffer ourselves in our business against these impacts all the time. We've installed cattle laneways and watering systems. We take care of our soils. We make sure it can hold nutrients and water for our cows. We do our best, but we just can't make it rain. We weren't the only ones dealing with this. Our neighbor farms are facing the same challenges. Farmers as a whole are already facing mental health challenges. We don't like to talk about it, but dealing with the stress is a very real challenge and we don't necessarily have access to employer based health insurance to access mental health support. Funding the Farm and Forest Operations Special Fund would help support farmers navigating extreme weather events that are far too big for us to tackle alone.

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: Thank We

[Jesse Wilbert (with Stephanie Wilbert)]: appreciate the support and please appropriate the one 15,600,000.0 in fiscal year twenty twenty seven. Thank you.

[Reverend Beth Ann Meyer]: Thank you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Next up is Megan Lasage, who I see there, and then followed by Shelby LaBaron.

[Carol Langodin]: Can you hear me?

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: Yes.

[Megan LeSage]: For the record, I'm Megan Lasage. I'm the hotline coordinator and case manager at End Homelessness Vermont. We are requesting $611,625 in the budget adjustment for disability focused case management, technical assistance, and concrete supports. I answer the crisis calls. I hear the panic when someone has to leave their housing or their shelter. I hear people living with medical needs trying to keep their voices steady. In 2025, our hotline received over 3,000 calls. Each one represents a Vermonteran crisis, often with disabilities, medical needs, or both, trying to navigate a system that wasn't built for their reality. We worked with 500 clients with extremely complex needs in an ongoing way. Let me tell you about Joy. She's blind with only 10% field of vision. We've been working with her for three years. She was exited with a nine month old baby last July. She spent all of her social security to stay sheltered as long as she could. Eventually, we were able to find housing with a landlord we work with in Washington County and since last August, she's been in housing and doing amazing. Of the 80 people we've housed in the last fourteen months, only two of them returned to homelessness. One of those has already been rehoused. That's because we don't just house people, we provide the ongoing support that makes housing sustainable. Without this funding, we won't have the resources to turn crisis into stability. I ask the committee to support End Homelessness Vermont's request for $611,625 for case management, technical assistant, and concrete supports that save lives. These are services that our state cannot lose. Thank you.

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: Thank you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Next up is Shelby LeBaron and then Laura Chapman, both on Zoom.

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: Shelby?

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Not there?

[Reverend Beth Ann Meyer]: She ended up

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Okay. Sorry. Yeah. Go ahead.

[Shelby LeBaron]: Okay. I'm Shelby LeBaron. I provide service coordination, case management, and disability focused support at End Homelessness Vermont, but I'm here today because I was once a client. End Homelessness Vermont is requesting $611,625 in the budget for disability focused case management, technical assistance, and service navigation. I found End Homelessness Vermont when I was being exited to the street from the hotel program while I was in labor with a high risk pregnancy. I then had a premature baby who needed in home nursing support. I also live with disabilities myself. My family stayed safe because of the disability supports and homelessness Vermont provided. I became permanently housed and have a healthy baby. Who knows what would have happened had we not stayed sheltered. I certainly would not be housed today, and both my partner and I would not be in the career jobs we are in today. I now provide the same critical support to others managing medical complexities, coordinating specialized care, accessing equipment and services that keep people alive and stable. Without adequate funding, families like mine won't get the specialized disability support that they need. This 611625 will provide the disability focused case management and concrete supports that saved my family and saves families every day. I ask you today to help us help our fellow Vermonters who are most vulnerable in our state. I'm safe with my healthy child because of these services. I ask the committee to support this request. Thank you.

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: Thank you, Kelly.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Thank you. Next up is Laura Chapman on Zoom and then Dan Barlow in the room.

[Laura Chapman]: Good evening. Thank you for having Chapman, proud Vermonter, ally, and advocate for those living in homelessness. I'm here today in support of End Homelessness Vermont's budget request. I've managed both shelters and food access systems. I have experience in town governance, volunteerism, and board work for agencies serving people navigating the impacts of poverty. When someone is living with chronic medical instability and loses access to appropriate housing, the impact is immediate. The homelessness response system is not designed for long term disability support or complex medical needs. The gaps lead to painfully predictable outcomes, health deterioration, repeated hospitalizations, preventable crisis, and enormous strain on already stretched community systems. EHVT is working effectively to reduce this gap. Their staff coordinates based on individual needs to prevent costly failure points before they occur. They have housed 80 medically complex individuals in the last fourteen months, with over ninety seven percent remaining housed, representing stability in a system that otherwise absorbs instability at great expense. Hospital visits, crisis calls, and repeated shelter stays are prevented. From a governance perspective, their ask is a modest investment that reduces downstream costs across multiple state systems. From a human perspective, it keeps people alive and housed who would otherwise cycle through increasingly traumatic outcomes. Please support this request for $611,625 to End Homelessness Vermont so that they can continue to sustain their current services. We can either pay for costly preventable crisis or fund effective targeted stabilization. This request supports stabilization. Thank you for your time and consideration.

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: Thanks, Lauren. Thank you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Next up, Dan Barlow, and then on Zoom will be Ann Lawless.

[Daniel Barlow]: Thank you committees. For the record, my name is Daniel Barlow. I'm the executive director of the People's Health and Wellness Clinic in Barrie and the board chair of Vermont's Free and Referral Clinic Network. We are respectfully requesting an increase in the maximum allowable value of our state grant by $925,000 which includes 462,500 in state general funds in a fifty fifty match, with federal and Medicaid administrative funding. These funds will stabilize our operations, allow clinics to bring key positions to full time status, modernize our infrastructure, and expand direct patient access during a time when we are expecting tens of thousands of Vermonters to lose their health insurance. Vermont's free clinics serve more than 9,000 Vermonters each year, including over 3,000 uninsured patients. We provide free medical, dental, and behavioral health care at no cost. It's important to note that VFRC clinics are prohibited under federal law from billing anyone for our services. That includes private and public health insurance plans. So when we see a Medicaid patient in my clinic, about 30% of our patients have Medicaid, we cannot bill Medicaid for those services. Unlike every other health care provider in the state, we generate no reimbursement revenue. Our budgets rely entirely on community donations and our legislative appropriation. Our model is cost effective. The majority of our providers are volunteers, doctors, nurses, dentists, and specialists donating their time, supported by very small part time staff teams. Increasing the staffing will directly increase the number of clinics we can provide. At my clinic in Barrie, we see patients three days a week, increasing our grant will allow us to expand to five to six days a week, and build infrastructure without duplicating services. We know that free clinics save lives. We are often the last door open for people who have nowhere else to go. This funding keeps that door open for Vermonters who need it the most. Thank you very much.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Next up is Anne Lawless on Zoom, followed by Kara Fitzpatshamp also on Zoom.

[Anne Lawless]: Thank you very much for this invitation. I'm speaking about the need to help Vermont towns with twenty twenty five flood damage. Many of the affected towns are very small, like my town, Wheelock, in the Northeast Kingdom, where I serve as select board chair. But first, I'd like you to know about Wheelock's strong appreciation for Vermont Emergency Management's support and all their help guiding us through the FEMA process. Fallbrook Road Bridge was damaged in the 2024 flooding. This bridge is just off Route 122 right in Wheelock Village. We had a FEMA project underway, but that was upended entirely when the 07/11/2025 flooding took place. VTrans inspected the bridge and required the town to close it immediately to all traffic. FEMA also did a site inspection. The closure means that the eight households residing on the opposite side of the bridge now have to add a couple of miles each way to get in and out of the road at the other end, which comes out in Linden, and our town had to spend an unbudget $140,000 repairing the road to bring it up to Class four standards and FEMA did not cover any of that. So we're spending a lot of time these days seeking funding for our roads and bridges. We're working on a CDBG planning grant for hydrology studies and to enable our townspeople to discuss the study findings when they're released. We don't have a specific dollar ask in mind at this point, but our towns are in the Passumpsuck River watershed, and I hope Wheelock has the opportunity to work together with neighboring towns on all opportunities to strengthen infrastructure and reduce vulnerability to future flooding. Thank you all for your interest.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Thank you. Thank you. Next up is Kara excuse me if I'm pronouncing names wrong here, and then Margaret Loftus is accurate.

[Kara Fitzbouchamp]: That's great. You're doing great. Thanks for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Kara Fitzbouchamp, and I live in Shrewsbury. I own and operate Evening Song Farm growing four acres of certified organic veggies for a 300 family CSA, wholesale buyers, and charitable food community partners. Today, I'm asking you to allocate 15,600,000.0 to fund s sixty, the Farm and Forestry Operations Security Special Fund. 15,600,000.0 is 50 percent of the average of the last three years documented farm and forestry operations losses. As extreme weather events increase in frequency and severity, it's essential that this fund has adequate money to meet the uncertain future and bring stability to our food shed. Supporting farms supports all Vermonters. Farms provide food, jobs, valuable ecosystem stewardship, and a working landscape that's an essential visual characteristic driving our economic engine by welcoming over 15,000,000 visitors annually. A dollar spent towards keeping a Vermont farm in operation after an extreme weather event is many dollars back into the entire Vermont economy. The Farm and Forestry Operations Security Special Fund is particularly important to me because I wish it was in place in 2011 when we lost our first farm to tropical storm Eileen. That storm rerouted the Mill River through our farm and created y moonscape where there used to be four acres of vibrant veggies in rich River Valley soils, forcing us to rebuild in a new location a few miles away. There were exactly $0 available to a diversified veggie farm from federal and state sources despite trying every avenue that was suggested to us. Our entire fundraising and rebuilding efforts were funded by private grants, philanthropic donations from foundations, community crowdsourcing, and burning our 25 year old selves out. Despite being well insured, there was no insurance payment because the insurance landscape isn't designed for the climate crisis, and you can't get soil insured. Not every farm has the capacity to become full time fundraisers after disaster, and nor should they. Farms are a collective necessity, and allocating $15,600,000 to the Farm and Forestry Operations Security Fund is an essential piece for resilient future food shed. Thank you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Thank you. Thank you. Next up is Margaret Loftus followed by Eli Hirsch. You're on mute. There you go.

[Margaret Loftus]: We'll try this again. I'd like to thank everybody for the opportunity to testify this evening. My name is Margaret Loftus, and my family and I own and operate Cross Molina Farm in Corinth, Vermont. We are a highly diversified farm and we are also long time NOFA members. I'm here today to ask you to appropriate 15,600,000.0 for the Farm and Forest Operations Security Special Fund. As diversified farmers, my family and I have seen three years of what can only be described as wild weather, flooding, and then drought, all of which have impacted our farm and the farms around us. We haven't had the impact that some farms have had because we're highly, the financial impact that some farms have had because we're highly diversified. One crop might fail, but something else might like the dry weather or the wet weather. But we have seen, we have had crop, total crop loss and feed shortages in the past few years and have seen our friends and neighbors fare even worse. Knowing that this bill is funded and will be there for farms like ours and our neighbors will help me sleep at night. One of the most important aspects of this fund is the speed at which farmers can get funding when they have been impacted. In the aftermath of a flood or in the middle of a drought, farmers need assistance, feed for animals, help meeting payroll due to crop loss, money to rebuild the driveway to their farms so they can ship their milk. And we need that assistance in farmer time, not in FEMA time. This timing can make the difference between the farm failing and a farm surviving. I know this is a budget year when there's not enough to go around, but I will ask you to consider this as an ask to invest in farms, farmers like myself, and indeed the very security of Vermont's food system. Making this investment now, even in a tough budget year, is the key to the future of Vermont's working agricultural economy. Thank you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Thank you. Up is Eli Hirsch on Zoom followed by Jenna O'Farrell also on Zoom.

[Eli Hirsch]: Hi. My name is Eli Hirsch. I run Honeyfield Farm in Norwoods, Vermont with my partner, Valerie, and our team of local workers. Thank you for providing me this opportunity to ask that you please appropriate 15,600,000.0 in the fiscal year twenty twenty seven budget for the Farm and Forest Operations Security Special Fund. I also wanna voice my support for the request around local food purchases, that Johanna mentioned, which have had a direct benefit to my own and the other farms. Our farm sells between half and three quarters of $1,000,000 of plants, produce, and other farm products every season. We contribute over two thirds of this income directly into the local economy in the form of wages paid to local workers as well as products and services purchased from other local businesses. Farms are the backbone of our state's rural economy and the pride of our state's culture. By Vermont standards, we are a medium scale farm, but compared to the large scale industrial farms that federal support programs are designed to assist, we are tiny. These programs and insurance policies create gaps that leave many Vermont farmers vulnerable to the increasing volume of severe weather events. Young and beginning farmers are the most at risk because they're often in heavy debt start up period of their business like our own. As a state, we can't afford to lose the next generation of growers because they can't shoulder the financial risk involved in feeding their communities. The s 60 bill will provide a safety net to support farms through the difficult process of cleaning up, assessing, rebuilding, and replanting after weather impacts, and that will make the difference for many farms between closing and rolling up our sleeves and trying it again. I really appreciate the opportunity to speak in support of this bill, and I thank you for considering my request to appropriate the $15,600,000 in fiscal year twenty twenty seven for the Farm and Forest Operations Security Special Fund. Thanks so much.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Thanks, John. Next up is Jenna O'Farrell followed by Becky Castle.

[Jenna O’Farrell]: Good evening. I'm Jenna O'Farrell, the executive director of Northeast Kingdom Community Action, and I'm here on behalf of the Vermont Community Action Partnership. Thank you for the opportunity to testify and considering all the requests at a time when you're feeling pressure to reduce spending. Our community action agencies, we appreciate your commitment to working towards the best outcome for the people of Vermont, and we share that commitment. What we see every day in our communities are people who need our state to step into leadership and provide resources that can help them achieve economic stability. Our community action agencies are honored to partner with the state of Vermont and help people we serve to achieve the best outcomes for themselves and their families. In order to do that, we need to be adequately funded to provide the services that the state expects us to deliver to the people in our communities. Tonight, we have four buckets of requests. The first one is financial capabilities for 1,150,000. This is financial coaching, micro business development programs, the IRS volunteer income tax assistance or VITA program that we administer. Our financial capabilities programs are highly effective anti poverty strategies because they build long term capacity, not just short term relief. The second is supporting landlords, tenants, and manufacturer homeowners at 1,300,000.0. This includes landlord liaison positions, fair housing program, and mobile home program. These strategies are proactive interventions, and they actively disrupt the possibility of homelessness. Our landlord liaisons would help landlords and tenants. They resolve issues between landlords and tenants. They help pay their rent, take care of their unit, and be successful in their home. Third is case management, dollars 1,500,000.0. And this is case management for homelessness, housing retention, and housing navigation. And the fourth is concrete supports at 1,250,000 for to support families in acute crisis during their time of need. Thank you for your consideration.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Thank you. Thank you. Next up is Becky Castle on Zoom followed by Amy Scott on Zoom.

[Becky Castle]: Good evening. My name is Becky Castle and my husband, Bob and I run Fisher Brothers Farm and Sisters of Anarchy ice cream. We manage over 40,000 row feet of fruit and take that fruit and turn it into value added products, including ice cream, wellness syrups, and then we also sell frozen fruit to other value added producers. I'm here tonight to speak in support of the $5,000,000 for the Working Lands Coalition. In the past seven years, we've received two grants from Working Lands, one in 2019 for $20,000 for a 24 quart batch freezer and the other in 2022 for a full barn backup generator system. As you heard from many of the other testifiers, there's so many challenges involved in farming. And I think one of the most critical challenges is access to capital and the working lands funds provide capital to emerging farms. When we received our first grant, I think that we had been in business for three years. We were still making ice cream with like a white mountain creamer with rock salt and ice, not very sustainable or scalable. And this coming year, we'll be in 300 stores, do 150 events, have a payroll of $350,000 or more. We're really a critically important part of the food system because not only do we provide fruit to other producers, but we're also the only producer of dry ice in the state. The two grants from working lands were critically important in our development and our ability to scale. And I hope that you'll consider the $5,000,000 request.

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: Thank you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Next up is Amy Scott followed by Jane Catton.

[Amy Scott]: Hi. I'm sorry. I was reentering the room. Did can you hear me?

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: Yeah. Go ahead. Appreciate

[Amy Scott]: it. Thank you. My name is Amy Scott. I am the food program manager for Brock Community Action. I work closely with the Vermont Food Bank to distribute food to my neighbors in both Rutland and Bennington Counties. I'm here to ask you to please appropriate $5,000,000 to the Vermont Food Bank in FY twenty seven. I'm speaking specifically in support of $2,000,000 for network partner support, which directly affects food shelves and meal sites like mine. At Brock Community Action, my total budget that I spend with the food bank every month is $4,000 In January alone, we served nine forty five unique households across Rutland and Bennington Counties, representing eighteen fifty nine unduplicated neighbors, most of whom needed to visit more than once. When you do the math, we're feeding households for about $4.23 each. Before this work, I managed restaurants, and if we had been able to feed people at $4.23 ahead, we'd be a national chain by now. But today, I'm not selling food, I'm sharing it. And the people that we share with are low income seniors, neighbors with disabilities, families with young children, unhoused Vermonters, new Americans needing appropriate foods and seasonal ski area workers trying to get through the winter. Without the Vermont Food Bank, this scale of support would not be possible. We rely on a patchwork of programs offered by the food bank, TFAP, CFSP, Fresh Rescue, their low cost co op, and more. These programs keep nutritious food on our shelves and allow us to stretch every dollar to feed our neighbors. Please appropriate $5,000,000 to the Vermont Food Bank, including $2,000,000 for network partner support. Thank you for considering this request.

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: Thanks, Jeremy. Next

[Representative Robin Scheu]: up is Jane Caton followed by Kascie Winterson.

[Jane Caton]: Hello, everyone, and thank you very much for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Jane Caton, and I'm the CEO at AgeWell, one of Vermont's Area Agencies on Aging, or AAAs, and part of the Vermont Aging Network Consortium, or VANC, which is a formal affiliation of the five designated Area Agencies on Aging across the state. VANC requests funding to sustain the 2% rate increase from the FY26 BAA base appropriation for case management by ensuring that there are sufficient funds in the FY27 budget, an additional $141,000 over the Governor's recommendation. The bank also joins the Long Term Care Crisis Coalition's request for a 3.5% inflationary increase across the board for home and community based service providers, including AAA case management services. The bank requests consideration for nutrition funding for older Vermonters. That is an additional $2,000,000 in base general funds for home delivered meals for older Vermonters, including the option to draw down additional matching funds through the Global Commitment investment. Bank supports restoring the Elder Care Program with $349,763 of Global Commitment funding. The Elder Care Program is a collaboration between the Area Agencies on Aging and mental health designated agencies. We cannot leave this group of elders unsupported from the many issues they're managing alone, including alcohol and substance use, memory issues, among others. Lastly, the bank requests the support for H-six 85, which increases the Dementia Respite Grant program by $500,000 This grant is administered by the AAAs to serve more unpaid caregivers of loved ones with dementia. Thank you very much.

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: Thank you, Jane.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Thank you. Next up, Casey Winterson, followed by Ben Clements.

[Kascie Winterson]: Hi, thank you so much for the opportunity to speak tonight. My name is Kascie Winterson. I'm the director of economic and community based services at Northeast Kingdom Community Action and a resident of Burke. I'm here tonight in strong support of the Vermont Food Bank's $5,000,000 appropriation request for fiscal year twenty seven, including the $1,000,000 investment in the Ready Response system. Weather related disasters are becoming more frequent. That is not unique to Vermont. What is unique is how we will continue, and what will continue to define us is how we show up for one another. When floodwaters rise, the immediate response is neighbors helping neighbors without being asked and without hesitation. NACA has been part of these responses, supporting families across Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans Counties sharing repeated flooding events. In the wake of each flood, critical support from the Vermont Food Bank made our response possible. Within hours of the waters receding, we were connected, assessing needs, coordinating logistics, and mobilizing resources. Trucks carrying food and water arrived quickly, allowing us to respond immediately and without having to spend time and taking resources shopping at the market. On Red Village Road in Lyndonville, residents were completely cut off after the road was completely washed away. With support from the food bank, my team loaded our transit van and pushed it to its full limits, meeting neighbors on the other side of the road where the water and we were able to access their four wheelers. We met seniors who had lost food in their refrigerators and parents who were unsure of how they would feed their children, their food storage area still being pumped out in their basement. In those moments, people are overwhelmed, exhausted, and scared. The Ready Response system is about preparedness. It ensures that when the next disaster hits, Vermont is ready. Ready to respond faster, coordinate better, and reduce our neighbors' suffering in those critical and early days. In the hardest moments, food is more than a meal. It's stability, dignity, and hope, and this investment protects all three. I respectfully urge you to appropriate the full $5,000,000 to the Roth Food Bank. Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: Thank you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Next up is Ben Clements followed by Rosalie Wright Lappen.

[Dr. Ben Clements]: Good evening. My name is Ben Clements and I'm a family doctor with UVM Health and an associate professor of family medicine with UVM Arnold College of Medicine. I'm speaking today on behalf of Bridges Health and in support of their $500,000 funding request for fiscal year twenty twenty seven. Bridges to Health is a critical service to migrant workers in our state and really needs our support. I've been a volunteer for Bridges to Health for six years. My work began in 2020 when Naomi Walcott McKascenska, knowing that migrant workers have little access to primary care or transportation to pharmacies, wanted to do everything possible to reduce respiratory illness on Vermont's farms. And she reached out to me in hopes of bringing flu and COVID vaccines directly to these farms. This work has taken me all over the state, and together, we've given well over a thousand vaccines. We've given these vaccines in homes, in trailers, in milking parlors, and even outside in snowstorms, all for folks with significant barriers to access our state health system. Our work has matured into doing health screenings on both farms and in community meeting places, screening for hypertension, diabetes, depression, substance use disorders, etcetera. I'm also one of the few medical volunteers who provide medical triage support to the Bridges to Health team. The folks that Bridges to Health serves are the backbone of our state. I've gotten to work with people who milk cows, pick strawberries, harvest squash, build homes, apply roofs, and wash dishes. Our farms rely on them. Construction industry relies on them. Our service industry relies on them, and they rely on bridges to health. Naomi and her team of community health workers are trusted and culturally competent liaisons between migrant workers and our state health systems. Our vaccine outreach has reduced the burden of flu and COVID for these essential workers, and Bridges to Health administrative support is responsible for nearly all enrollments in the immigrant health insurance program. And their outreach and triage connects primary care or connects patients to primary care, avoiding unnecessary and expensive emergency rooms. I understand this is another tight year of budgets, and I firmly believe that an investment in Bridges to Health is wise and one that will save our taxpayers money. Please consider funding their request.

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: Thank you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Next up is Rosalie Wright Lappin and then Alexandra Carambellas, maybe is in the room.

[Rosalie Wright Lappin (override)]: Hi, everyone. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. My name is Rosalie Wright Lappin. I am a licensed clinical social worker, the director of Connecting Cultures and an employee of AALV. Connecting Cultures and AALV are organizations located in Chittenden County that provide social services to refugees and immigrants. I am asking that you please appropriate $4,950,000 to community service provider organizations to support benefit assisters with keeping eligible people on SNAP and Medicaid. I have been involved with connecting cultures and AALV for the past six years and have worked with close to 100 clients in these settings. Many of our clients come from war torn countries, yet they are almost always gracious, loving, and kind. However, many face barriers that other Vermonters do not face, including language barriers, cultural barriers, and living with intense pre and post migration trauma. Some of my clients have seen family members killed in front of them. Others did not have the opportunity to go to school and are illiterate. And many are separated from family members who still live overseas. Despite the fact that many of these individuals are eligible for state and federal benefits, the cultural, language, and social emotional barriers that our clients face make it extremely challenging for them to access the benefits. Connecting Cultures and AALV specialize in working across cultures and languages to overcome these barriers. Again, I am asking that you please appropriate $4,950,000 to community service provider organizations to support benefit assisters in order to keep eligible people on SNAP and Medicaid. I ask for your support with the benefit a sister project in the context of AALV and connecting cultures because I care deeply about the individuals and families that we work with. I see them struggle to navigate systems that I as a master's level social worker and native English speaker struggle to understand myself, and I believe that everyone living in Vermont deserves for their basic needs to be met. Thank you very much for your time and for considering this request.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Thank you. Next up, Alexandra and Karen Bellis on Zoom, followed by Jessica Barquist.

[Alex Karambelis]: Good evening. My name is Alex Karambelis. I'm a policy advocate with the ACLU of Vermont. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I am here asking the committees to support the shelter system redesign plan currently being developed by House Human Services. Everyone can agree that we need to reform our statewide emergency housing system. We all want to see this system improve and serve our communities better, offering more access to needed services and reducing reliance on emergency programs. We believe the committee bill being discussed in Human Services will provide a more effective and humane path forward than the governor's proposed housing initiative. At least 4,500 Vermonters, including more than 1,000 children, are experiencing homelessness in our state. Vermont is experiencing an affordability crisis that continues to worsen our homelessness crisis. Research shows that rates of poverty, disability, and substance use disorder do not affect homelessness trends on a systemic level. The truth is that homelessness is ultimately a housing problem, and in Vermont, affordable housing is scarce or nonexistent, with our state now holding the fourth lowest rental vacancy rate in the country. With community shelter capacity hovering at just six eighty available spaces, access to statewide emergency housing represents the only viable path to obtain shelter for many impacted families. But with the Governor's Housing Initiative, it would reduce immediate access to shelter by roughly 50% come July 1 before additional shelter capacity is available. This will result in more unsheltered people on our streets, more people's lives placed at risk, higher costs to the state as people will be forced to rely on emergency departments for survival, and more financial pressure on our cities and towns to address a statewide crisis despite already being at a breaking point. Should the governor's plan continue, roughly six sixty households will lose a roof over their heads come July. Keeping our neighbors out of the cold should not be a partisan issue. Please support the human services proposal. Thank you.

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: Thank you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Thank you. Next up is Jessica Barquist followed by Reverend Beth Ann Meyer.

[Jessica Barquist]: Evening. Jessica Barqua is Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. We proudly serve over 14,000 Vermonters across our six health centers, as well as statewide through our telehealth program. Every day, people turn to us for compassionate, high quality and affordable reproductive and sexual health care, including wellness exams, birth control, STI testing, cancer screenings, gender affirming care and menopause support, as well as essential primary care. No one is turned away based on their ability to pay. Fifty six percent of our patients have low income, and we provide $1,240,000 in free and discounted care. Last year, this legislature committed to raising the Medicaid reimbursement rates for the family planning service codes. This was done by using a modest state investment of $85,000 to utilize the enhanced federal match rate, meaning that the federal government would cover 90% of those increased rates. Unfortunately, due to how those matches are calculated, Diva has been unable to implement these rate increases and have requested this line item be removed from the FY twenty seven budget. We're committed to working with Diva to overcome their implementation hurdles and are requesting that this line item be preserved with language requiring us and Diva to report back to this body by July on our implementation plan for the rate increases and updated budget information. In addition to that, we have PPN and E also supports Vermont communities each and every day through helping our patients navigate resources outside of family planning. We employ patient support counselors at all of our health centers, and we are seeing increased reliance on this service due to the impacts of HR1 on Medicaid and SNAP. And so we are part of the Benefit Assisted Coalition asking for $4,950,000 to help Vermonters apply for and stay on their critical benefit services like SNAP and Medicaid. Thank you for your time and consideration tonight.

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: Thank you.

[Reverend Beth Ann Meyer]: Thank you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Next up is Reverend Beth Ann Meyer, followed by Carol Langodis. Good

[Reverend Beth Ann Meyer]: evening. I'm Beth Ann Meyer, a deacon at Christ Episcopal Church just Upstate Street. I'm speaking on behalf of Vermont Interfaith Action, is a partner in the Housing and Homelessness Alliance of Vermont. And we support their proposals that fully fund our shelter system, supportive housing, and housing retention services to keep families stable. For twenty years, we've come before you as VIA to testify that the budget is a statement of our shared values. Our morality is a statewide community. We testify that the budget must reflect the foundational commitment to love our neighbors, a commitment shared by all faiths. I'm also a retired pediatrician with forty five years of experience observing Vermont families and have spent most of this winter days, evenings, and some nights providing safe, warm spaces for our members of the community who are without shelter. In Central Vermont, in Washington County, we have over 100 people this winter with no shelter at all. And we feel that is morally unacceptable. These are people who, some of whom were my former patients, some grew up with my children in Girl Scout troops and baseball teams. They are Vermonters. And forty five years ago, a full time wage earner, one full time wage earner could provide the basic needs for their families. And now two full time low wage earners cannot do that. We all know about the massive movement of wealth to the top 1% of our populace. But I don't think we make the connection with the effect that this is having on the lower half of our lead earners. The stress is enormous.

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: Reverend, you're right out of time. Thank you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Next up is Carol Langodin followed by Julie Novak. Okay.

[Carol Langodin]: Good evening, everyone. My name is Carol Langotten. I'm the executive director at the Lamoille Family Center in Mooresville. Thank you for allowing me

[Representative Robin Scheu]: to speak tonight. We do respectfully request that

[Carol Langodin]: you increase the Vermont Parent Child Center Network's integrated grant appropriation by 1,880,000.00 for a total appropriation of 8,910,000.00. PCCs and their staff are often the trusted people that stand in when caregivers with young children don't have extended family members to offer support and encouragement. We're the referral specialist, ensuring a parent knows where to find quality childcare and how to apply for financial help to pay for it. We're the developmental educators holding a caregiver's hand when they hear for the first time that their two year old has autism. We're the Strong Families Vermont home visitors who drop off diapers and food from a local food pantry to a family with no transportation. We're the early childhood experts leading a playgroup so that a child has social interactions and a parent can talk to another adult. We're often the shoulder someone is crying on when they aren't sure how they'll pay their next month's rent or a car repair wipes out their savings. None of the things I've mentioned can be done without the incredibly dedicated staff who work at each of the 15 PCCs. That kind of commitment to supporting people with young children should be recognized to its fullest. And sadly, without increases in contracts, things like salary and benefit increases pose an ongoing challenge for nonprofit organizations. In FY26, the cost to Memorial Family Center to cover health insurance for 90% of our staff will be close to $325,000 This is a $45,000 increase from last year. PCCs cannot continue to be level funded for a third year in a row. Again, we ask that you increase the network's integrated grant appropriation by 1,880,000.00 for a total appropriation of 8,910,000.00 for Vermont's 15 PCCs. Thank you again for your time today and for your ongoing dedication and service.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Thank you. Next up is Julie Novak followed by Seth Lipschutz.

[Julie Novak]: Good evening, Chair Scheu and members of the House Appropriations Committee. My name is Julie Novak and I serve as legal advocacy coordinator at Atria Collective. For the past forty five years, Atria Collective has been a critical resource for survivors in Addison County. I'm here today in strong support of a $450,000 appropriation to fill the deficit in Vermont's domestic and sexual violence special fund and preserve life saving services for survivors. We are a team of eight full time staff, seven per diem staff, and passionate volunteers. Together, we provide continuous services to survivors and their families, including a twenty four hour crisis hotline, emergency and transitional housing programs, legal advocacy, medical forensic exam support, sexual assault response, and supervised visitation program, support groups, and prevention education. Last fiscal year, we served six forty four individuals through our advocacy and supervised visitation services. Our education and prevention efforts reached over 13,145 individuals working to interrupt cycles of violence. As an advocate, I work directly with survivors on our twenty four hour hotline, in the hospital during SANE exams and in court seeking protection. I see every day how critical these services are and how fragile they become when we are asked to do more with fewer resources. From the front lines, the urgency is clear, but our future funding to provide daily resources remains uncertain. Without a desperately needed appropriation in FY twenty seven, the impact will be felt most by survivors in crisis. The person calling our hotline in the middle of the night, the survivor sitting in the ER, the parent trying to secure safety for their child. When resources are stretched too thin, survivors wait longer, advocates are pulled in multiple directions, and safety becomes harder to sustain. Please consider a $450,000 appropriation to Vermont's Domestic and Sexual Violence Fund to ensure that when survivors reach out for support, there's someone there to answer when they need it most. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today and for your consideration.

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: Thank you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Next up is Seth followed by Amy Johnson.

[Seth Lipschitz]: My name is Seth Lipschitz. I live in Middlesex. I am both a volunteer and board member of Central Vermont Adult Education. I speak to request that the legislature include the recommended language for scenario one in the agency of education's report on adult education funding in the FY twenty seven budget. I have personally witnessed adult learners at Central Vermont adult education achieve educational goals and build skills for economic and social success in their lives and enrich both their lives and our communities. Our programming and educational activities are specifically tailored to each individual student to allow them to succeed. I work almost exclusively with CVAE's immigrant population, tutoring in English and helping with legal advice surrounding immigration, asylum and refugee status. This is now about 25% of CVAE's student body, and I see every day the amazing work they do. As a board member, I know CVAE does this good work on a shoestring budget relying on volunteers and aggressive fundraising. Scenario one is the only pathway for CBAE students to finally receive a level of funding that, when coupled with volunteerism and fundraising, will meet student needs now and into the future. Scenario one is the fairest and most straightforward formula to assure equitable funding for adult learners throughout Vermont. As a representative and volunteer in a member organization of adult education and literacy network, I ask the legislature to please include the recommended language for scenario one in the agency of education's report on adult education funding in the FY twenty seven budget. Thank you so much for your consideration.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Okay, next up, Amy Johnson followed by Jeanette Baer.

[Amy Johnson]: Hi, everyone. Amy Johnson, Vermont Care Partners representing the network of designated and specialized service agencies. Thank you for your ongoing support of our network truly. I'm here today to advocate for a 3.5% inflationary increase to our home and community based system of care. When the Brandon Training School closed, Vermont made a deliberate choice to move away from institutionalization and invest in community based system of care. It was a promise. A promise that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities could live in their communities with the supports they need to thrive. A promise that when someone experiences a mental health crisis, help would meet them where they're at. A promise that Vermonters struggling with substance use could access treatment close to home and a promise that children and adults alike could have access to care that keeps them healthy, supported and connected to their communities. These services are not optional. They are statutory responsibilities and our agencies deliver them every day on behalf of the state. Budgets are not just numbers, they are statements of priority. The governor's proposed budget includes approximately $4,000,000 in reductions, including elder care across network wide and individual agency programs. And it includes no inflationary increase for community based providers. No increase is erosion. More than 80% of our budgets are personnel when wages, benefits, transportation and of cost rise, and they are, holding funding flat means the system shrinks, wait times grow, workforce instability increases, programs shutter, access diminishes. Essential services must be funded in a way that preserves access and upholds the state's responsibility to the people who depend on them. Stability is a choice. We respectfully ask you to choose it and help us to keep the promise we made to Vermonters. Thank you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Okay, next up is Jeanette Baer followed by Robin McKervin. Good evening.

[Jeanette Baer]: I originally came, and I guess I still am, to ask for your support for $500,000 in funding for the Northeast Organic Farmers Association's crop cash and farm share programs. I see you've already heard from farmers and from organizations, so I guess I'm just going to speak to you as a consumer. I've lived in Vermont for twenty two years and worked nineteen of those as a part time library director. And for decades, I had a huge garden. And what I didn't grow, I bought by the bushel at the local wholesale farmers market and canned and preserved much of the food that we ate. However, I can't do it anymore. And being concerned, both on the environmental and food safety and local economy fronts, I go to our local farmers market weekly, during the season and walk away disappointed in how how little I can afford to buy. So last year, I applied for a grant from the NOFA Food Share Program and did receive a 25% grant towards a CSA, a Community Supported Agriculture Program, and, spent that, through a farm in Stockbridge, Birdsong Farm, CSA, and that provided us with most of the produce we had for the season. Birds on Farm is a CSA, is not only providing fresh local produce, to the area, but also preserving one of the most picturesque farms in the area. Young farmers need CSA to provide economic security to plant and hire help they need in order to know they have a community of investors in their farms. And so as a consumer, to be able to get a grant toward the cost of a CSA means a lot. So I ask you for your support of the Farm Share program, through NOPA.

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: Thank you.

[Reverend Beth Ann Meyer]: Thank you very much.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Up is Robin McDermott followed by Jamie Skybianco.

[Robin McDermott]: Thank you for holding this hearing and for listening to me. My name is Robin McDermott. I live in Wakefield and I manage Muddy Boots CSA. I'm here today on behalf of the Nova Farm Share program. I respectfully ask that you appropriate $500,000 in fiscal year twenty twenty seven to support Crop Cash, Crop Cash Plus, and Farm Share. These programs help Vermont achieve two goals at once, food security for Vermonters and a fair, reliable market for Vermont farmers. Farm share is proven, and state funding is essential to help leverage federal and philanthropic dollars that multiply this investment. You may wonder why a CSA in a ski community needs farm share. Here's a brief example of why this program matters in every community. Two of our members, Sally and Patricia, are long time Valley residents and senior citizens on fixed incomes. Sally is legally blind, she's a local artist. Patricia worked for years as a grocery store cashier. They helped build our community, but rising costs make it hard for them to afford healthy food. With farm share support, they can buy a CSA share, and they pick it up each week. They split the produce between their households, and they share recipes and stay connected while they get fresh Vermont grown food that they otherwise couldn't afford. In 2025, 10 of our members used farm share support. Each has a different story, but the needs are the same. These are working families and seniors across our community who value healthy Vermont food and simply need help accessing it. Please appropriate $500,000 in fiscal year twenty twenty seven for Crop Cash, Crop Cash Plus, and Farm Share. Thank you for your time.

[Reverend Beth Ann Meyer]: Thank you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Next up is Jamie Skye Bianco followed by Jeremiah Breer.

[Carol Langodin]: Hi. Can you hear me?

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: Yes. Go ahead.

[Jamie Skye Bianco]: Thanks so much for having me. I'm Jamie Skybianco, and I run Ramble Bramble Farm in Huntington, Vermont. I'm here in support of s sixty Farm and Forestry Operations Security Special Fund and the $15,600,000 ask. I also am a participant in the farm share programs and regularly receive Crop Cash Plus, but I'm going to talk about S sixty here. My farm is certified organic by Vermont Organic Farmers, and I practice daily rotational grazing as I'm a sheep and goat farmer. I produce protein and also layers on a 126 acres. I'm on top of the mountain and kind of in the poop trail of camel's hump if you needed a visual in Huntington. In 2023, I learned that even though I was very high up here in the mountains, I'm also located on a series of rock ledge bowls, and these rock ledge bowls hold and capture water. So after the flooding rains of July 2023, the water did not recede or drain out of my pastures. I lost a foundation wall to the farmhouse where most of my processing occurred for the farm, And it was not until the the following September '14 inches of water in the western fields actually drained. During that time, I lost stored feed because of water seepage in a barn that had never had water problems before. I was very fortunate in that at a moment when I needed it, the Community Fund of Vermont offered small assistance. It was $10,000 but it was the $10,000 I needed to replace the first cut and little bit of second cut I had stored and also to supplement for the pasture loss that I had that year. Without it, I would have culled my my herd. The farm has moved forward. The house is still under construction. My livestock numbers, instead of going down or being cold, have increased, and sales have increased. That need to have some kind of backup for these crazy climate things in in climate extremes are incredibly important. I urge you to support the Farm and Forestry Operations Security Special Fund. Thank you so me.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Thank you. Thank you. Next up is Jeremiah Breer followed by Riley O'Hagan.

[Jeremiah Breer]: Nurse and did not have a lot of opportunities presented to me naturally, but I was able to attend the Governor's Institute on a full scholarship, and I attended the Asian Cultures Institute and ended up going to China for three weeks. And as you can imagine, someone from my background that vastly expanded my horizons. I got to see different people in different places and different cultures. And that helped form me into a person who I think I am today as a much more balanced global citizen able to contribute to the state of Vermont. And so I'm here to make the case to you that the Governor's Institute invests not only in young people and in their lives, but in the people that they become. And there's a lot of discussion in our state about our demographic issues, which I'm sure I don't have to sell to you. And so anything that we can do to invest in young people and invest in them becoming the type of citizens that we need that have open minds and open horizons and great perspectives is of great benefit to our state. I am now a financial professional. I am the Chief Financial Officer of the State Treasury. And of note, I am obviously not here in that capacity today. I'm here in my capacity as a private citizen. I'm also a certified public accountant. I have fifteen years or more working with various financial management positions nonprofits. And what I can tell you about the Governor's Institute of Vermont is that they are very well run. They're excellent stewards of your money. They know the value of the dollar. And this is one of the most efficient ways that you can spend money to invest in the future of the people of Vermont and especially in young people and addressing our demographic crises. The money that is being asked here will not be go to waste. It will be put to the most efficient use to further the goodness of the city of Vermont. Thank you very much.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Thank you. Next up is Riley O'Hagan, followed by Phil Pedlikin.

[Riley O’Hagan]: Hi, I am Riley O'Hagan, the Direct Services Coordinator at Circle Vermont. We are Washington County's domestic and sexual violence support agency. I'm here today in strong support of a $450,000 appropriation to fill the deficit in Vermont's domestic and sexual violence special fund and to level fund services. There's a great need for domestic and violence services in our community, particularly during this time. Statewide, domestic and sexual violence programs responded to over 23,000 hotline calls in 2025, 5,000 of which were from Washington County. Circle only has five staff to respond to this overwhelming amount of need. Without fully funding DBSV services, we are left with little to no resources to help survivors. No budget to buy security cameras, to pay for car damages done by abusers, to give gas cards for our service users to get to their appointments, and various other needs. No one else does this work. We have a true understanding of domestic and sexual violence and can successfully assist traumatized survivors to negotiate the many barriers to fleeing what has become the reality of their life. Not only does fully funding DVSV programs allow us to provide the full range of services to survivors, it also allows us as service workers to have the ability to continue the work. As an advocate with a college education, I now make less than I did at my barista job in high school, forcing me to step away from this work in the upcoming months. This is not sustainable. The limited funding we receive lends itself to a very high amount of staff turnover, the inability to find new hires, and an incredible gap between the services that we are able to provide and the needs of our community around us. Fully funding essential DVSV prevention and response services is crucial to keeping Vermonters safe. At a minimum, please appropriate $450,000 to support Vermont's Domestic and Sexual Violence Special Fund. Thank you for your time and willingness to consider my testimony as you make your decisions about the state budget.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Thank you. Next is Phil Pedliken followed by Christian Bolton.

[Phil Pedlikin]: My name is Phil Pedlikin. I am with the Developmental Disability Housing Initiative. I live in Middlebury, moved here a year and a half ago. I have three children, ages 29, 27, 23, and one grandchild. The middle child is named Ethan and he has Down syndrome. We moved here from Northern Virginia after much homework because of the services available to Ethan in Vermont. We knew that the services for adults with disabilities in Virginia are terrible. We chose Vermont instead and chose to bring almost our entire family here just to support Ethan. The problem is that Vermont has a significant hole in its system for Ethan and people like it. Housing. When we first moved here, I was warned that permanent service supported housing was rare. Ethan will need to live in his own place at some point soon. As of today, he does not have good options. The Act 69 Road Home report outlines these problems. I wanna ask for four things to come out of that report. We are asking for a strong start to solve the problem. Number one, a new permanent position at Dale to support housing development and housing process for participants in home and community based services. This position is included in the Senate Housing Committee bill and is recommended by the Road Home Report. Given the housing problem across Vermont, I am amazed this position does not already exist. Number two, new funding for the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board to develop IDDC over supported housing. There is no money in the governor's recommended budget. The senate housing bill includes 3,000,000. The Road Home Report recommends 5 to 10,000,000 per year. Number three, new funding for bridge rental assistance. State funded rental assistance is needed for participants in Dale's HCBS programs. The Road Home Report recommends 1 to $2,000,000 a year. If number three is not funded, then number four, there is an immediate need for 25 to 30 state funded rental assistance vouchers to support the tenants in the limited service support housing that the legislature has already invested in. $400,000 is estimated in the report as the annual best investment. I ask that all of these be fulfilled in the bills that get passed in this session. And let me add, failure to act will be notes. Thank you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Next up, I'm not sure, Kristen's not here or she's here. Kristen here. Hi everyone. Chad Simmons. Okay, thank you.

[Unknown speaker (Adult Day Programs representative)]: Okay, thank you. Thank you so much listening to all the testimony from everyone else. I just so appreciate all that you are all doing to hear all of our needs and make judicious decisions. And it's not an enviable job. So I really appreciate it. I'm representing the adult day programs. So we keep people out of nursing homes and in their communities. We are the most affordable way to care for the increasing population of frail elders and people living with dementia. We provide access to healthcare. We provide social work supports, food, and a fun and loving environment. One of the caregivers said that she couldn't have done it without us. And her husband changed from someone who was getting weaker and more depressed on the couch to being full of fun, stimulation, and ready to get up and face the new day. So we help caregivers as well cope with the challenges of taking care of someone who is frail or living with dementia. We help them keep their jobs. We give them a break and we allow people to stay at home. So we have two requests. Please don't cut the specific funding for day health and rehabilitative services. That's what the governor wants. And what we want you to know is that this is not the choices for care funding. This is a different pot of Medicaid dollars and it serves the people with the lowest income and the fewest assets. These people are gonna fall through the cracks. Please don't cut that funding. And adult day, it's such great and easy funding for them to get for us. So that's our first request. Our second request is to support a 3.5% Medicaid rate reimbursement. We've got to keep our employees. And if we don't get that reimbursement, everybody knows the cost of living increases are affecting everyone's budgets. So I know you've got tough choices to make. I just would say that for home and community based services, we need that rate increase. And if you can't do 3.5%, make it fair across the board. Again, adult day services keep people out of nursing homes. Thank you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: All right, thank you. Chad Simmons and then Danielle Wallace.

[Chad Simmons]: Good evening. My name is Chad Simmons. I'm with the Housing and Homelessness Alliance of Vermont. HHAV exists to build Vermont where the fundamental right to housing is enjoyed by all. I'll be honest, this was a tremendously difficult difficult memo, and request to write. The needs of our monitors are too great and too overwhelming right now. People are scared, and providers are holding on by a sliver, and it feels like the challenges are coming from every direction. The legislature is in an impossible position to choose between one need or crisis over another. While I considered coming to you tonight this evening with a truncated list of requests, I could not in good conscience do so and shortchange the critical state investments that are required and needed for programs that save lives and provide safe, decent, affordable homes for people. So I ask for your consideration for the suite of requests that we have. I'll provide in writing a full list of those requests. But to start, for housing development, preservation and rehabilitation, we're looking for $40,000,000 one time investment in Vermont Housing Conservation Board to support permanent affordable housing of all types. For rental assistance, which is required and needed to be able to house the lowest income Vermonters, we're looking for a $3,000,000 one time investment in the Vermont State Housing Authority's Bridge Rental Assistance Program, and a 1,500,000 one time investment in CVOEO's only family rental assistance. For homelessness response and prevention and shelter, we're looking for a $41,000,000 base in one time investment for the HOP housing opportunities program, dollars 35,000,000 base in one time for general assistance hotel motel, and $11,000,000 one time investment for shelter expansion. Finally, we're also looking for the homeownership down payment assistance program for BHFA for a five year expansion. Thank you so much.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Great. Thank you, John. Next up Danielle Wallace and then Lex Arthurs.

[Danielle Wallace]: Good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Danielle Wallace and I'm the director of the Turning Point Center of Addison County and also the president of the board of Recovery Partners of Vermont. So we're a peer led recovery organization serving individuals and families impacted by substance use disorder. I'm here today to respectfully ask that you level fund 800,000 in prevention funds for Vermont's recovery centers in FY twenty seven with language specifying how those funds shall be allocated. Recovery centers are local self directed inclusive organizations that provide a dynamic set of peer led services and supports. Recovery looks different for every individual, and our role is to meet people where they're at and connect them to the support they need when they need it. In Addison County, we are seeing a steady and significant increase in demand As other community partners reduce services or close, more individuals are turning to recovery centers, not only for recovery support, but for stability and connection. We're serving more people experiencing homelessness, more individuals navigating complex systems, and more community members who need a safe, welcoming place to be during the day. At the Turning Point Center, prevention happens in real time. It happens when people walk through our doors instead of relapsing. It happens when a recovery coach, happens when a recovery coach, someone with lived experience helps a person build a recovery plan before a crisis escalates. It happens when someone finds belonging instead of isolation. State investment in recovery organizations is an upstream investment in prevention with long term cost savings. When individuals are supported early and consistently, they are less likely to access emergency departments, inpatient treatment, or the criminal justice system. This is a prevention that reduces harm, reduces costs and strengthens communities. Level funding at 800,000 will allow recovery centers to maintain core services at a time when demand is rising and other safety nets are shrinking. Thank you for your time.

[Senator Andrew Perchlik]: Thank you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Next up is Lex Arthurs followed by Beth Davis.

[Lex Arthurs]: Good evening, my name is Lex Arthurs. I live in Middlesex, Vermont, and I serve as the Community Relations Manager for Vermont Foundation Recovery. Vifor is a proud member organization of Recovery Partners of Vermont and is the largest recovery housing operator in the State of Vermont. I am here today to strongly support the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee's recommendations to invest in recovery residences across Vermont. These recommendations include $1,750,000 to maintain the current level of support for a growing number of recovery residence operators and $200,000 for scholarships to help cover initial fees for individuals entering a recovery residence. In my role at Vifor, I work closely with individuals and families who are navigating early recovery. I see firsthand how critical stable supportive housing is during this period. Recovery residences are often the bridge between treatment and independent living, and without them, many people are left with limited options in the very moment that they are trying to rebuild their lives. Treatment helps someone break free from addiction, and recovery helps that person maintain that freedom for life. Recovery residences provide the structure, peer support, accountability, and connection that people in recovery need to take what they learned in treatment and turn it into lasting change. The homes are not just places to live they are environments where people learn how to show up for themselves and for others every single day. As Vermont continues to face an overdose crisis, we cannot afford to underinvest in the supports that help people stay well after treatment ends. Recovery supports are the long term solution and recovery residences are a cornerstone of that system. I respectfully urge you to support the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee's recommendations, including 1,750,000.00 for recovery residents operations and $200,000 for recovery residents scholarships. Thank you for your time, your leadership, and your consideration of this important request.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Thank you. Great. Next up is Beth Davis followed by Ryan Newswanger.

[Beth Davis]: Good evening. My name is Beth Davis. I live in rural Addison County with my husband, Mike, and our adult autistic son, Craig. I am one of the 175 plus parents in the Developmental Disabilities Housing Initiative. Craig has lived with us now for four years because there are currently no housing choices in our community. My husband and I are both retired in our seventies, and we urgently need service supported housing for our son. And the 2025 legislative session Act 69, the omnibus housing bill was passed. Section five of this bill created a committee to write, quote, an actionable plan to develop housing for individuals with developmental disabilities. The committee brought together leaders in the disability housing and human services communities, as well as a member each from the state house and senate. These talented people came up with a solution for the estimated 600 plus adults with developmental disabilities who need housing. Their report entitled The Road Home summarizes their findings. The report includes new funding for rental assistance for adults with developmental disabilities, similar to the state funded rental assistance for participants in the Department of Mental Health Programs. Two, new funding for the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board to fund developmental disability service supported housing. Three, a new permanent position at the Department of Disabilities Aging and Independent Living to support housing for adults with developmental disabilities. Four, the creation of a permanent advisory board for the implementation of the road home. Items two through four are included in proposed bill s three twenty eight. This is the actionable plan that you asked the Act sixty nine Committee to create. Now it is time to fund it, and I strongly encourage you to read The Rome Road Home, which has been submitted to you as written testimony with specific funding requests. Thank you.

[Reverend Beth Ann Meyer]: Thank you. Thank you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Next up is Ryan followed by Susan Walker, who's online.

[Ryan Neuswanger]: Thank you for the chance to speak tonight. My name is Ryan Neuswanger. I live in East Barnard. I have been a transportation volunteer with Bridges to Health since 2023. I am here tonight because I'm asking you to please support Bridges to Health with a $500,000 appropriation for fiscal year 2027. Over the past three years, I have assisted many people with rides to medical appointments through Bridges to Health. I have met them at dairy farms and other places of work. I have translated for them in medical offices, at pharmacies, at dental clinics, and with their employers. In some cases, we have become friends. They have invited me to dinner in their homes and reach out to me regularly with updates on their lives. Many of these folks doing some of the hardest jobs imaginable suffer from depression and other health issues caused by being isolated from their culture, their friends and their families. They now feel an added burden of fear and worry, given our current politics. The assistance that Bridges to Health offers makes a huge difference in the lives of people who have come to Vermont to work. These workers are trying to support their families while dealing with a different language, different weather, different customs, and a healthcare system that is complicated to navigate, even for native English speakers. This is why this program is so important. As one person said to me as we left the pharmacy where I had helped him obtain medication for his wife, It is so much easier when people help us. So please support Bridges to Health with a $500,000 appropriation for fiscal year 2027. Thank you for considering this request.

[Reverend Beth Ann Meyer]: Thank you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Next up is Susan Walker followed by Emily Ray.

[Susie (Susan) Walker]: Thank you for hearing my testimony on behalf of Vermont's Peer Recovery Centers. My name is Susie Walker, and I'm a woman in long term recovery. It's my privilege to serve as the executive director for the Recovery Partners of Vermont. Our membership represents 14 peer recovery centers and residences across the state. Recovery centers connect people to services and people with lived experience who guide the way to healing and purpose. Funding recovery centers with 800,000 in prevention funds would preserve current services at a time when recovery centers are facing increased demand. We expect this trend to continue as federal actions make it harder for individuals who are struggling with substance use to access resources and services. Recovery centers are also seeing an increase in visitors who are accessing recovery spaces for more general support as other community partners and local agencies downsize or close. In particular, we have seen an increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness who access our space. We do everything we can to support any individual who comes through our doors. As the former Recovery Center director, I know the impact Peer Recovery Services can have. One impact we see over and over is that people who once sought recovery support and resource connection become trained recovery peers themselves. Their lived experience with overcoming substance use and related problems provides a skill set and a sensibility that no one else can offer. Their experience overcoming painful and seemingly insurmountable problems provides tremendous hope for program participants, and their insights help improve the system they now serve. The recovery system pays it forward in profound ways. This essential work is why we're asking to fund recovery centers with another $800,000 in prevention funds. Thank you for your time and support.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Thank you. And last but not least is Emily Ray.

[Emily Ray]: Well, good evening. I'm Emily Ray. Thank you very much for opportunity to testify today about digital accessibility for Vermonters. In the governor's proposed budget, the agency of digital services appropriation grows by 3895%. When an agency grows at that scale, oversight must grow with it. This appropriation is necessary as Vermont centralizes its IT governance, which is a modernization effort that I support. But with this centralization, the state will face compliance and revenue risks that it simply cannot afford. Vermont law requires that state digital services meet certain accessibility standards. I've submitted written testimony that documents some systemic non compliance across the state's primary digital portals. Those failures, they cascade down stream to designated agencies and to families that are navigating disability services, including mine. This is more than a technical glitch. It's a statutory compliance issue. The ADA's Title II Modernization Rule takes effect this April. And if Vermont cannot demonstrate its compliance, it risks avoidable legal liability and it may also jeopardize its federal funding. As ADS centralizes IT governance, this committee has the authority to gate appropriations on proof of compliance with state and federal accessibility law. And it also has the opportunity to require periodic reporting and independent verification of accessibility compliance. And I urge you to exercise that oversight authority because embedding these guardrails now will help ensure that modernization dollars reduce long term remediation costs and legal exposure. Modernization is a choice, accessibility is a choice, and Vermont has the opportunity to choose wisely. Thank you.

[Representative Robin Scheu]: Thank you.