This opinion piece originally appeared in Vermont Business Magazine on February 18, 2026.
By Frank Cioffi
A recent article in Vermont Public highlighted the success of Governor Scott’s “accountability court” in Chittenden County and its potential for replication in other parts of the state. We should all be celebrating that the court has not only moved through over 75 percent of backlogged cases, but has also connected people with social services related to housing, mental health, and addiction.
But the impact of the Governor’s short-term action plan for Burlington, launched just over 100 days ago, reaches much further. For the first time in years, there is restored confidence among the business community in downtown Burlington and a cautious feeling of hope that the city has turned a corner.
That feeling is partially a sigh of relief–that the streets feel safer, that shoplifting and petty theft seem to have slowed, that tourists and locals have returned to downtown, that there are fewer people in clear mental distress on the streets. But it’s equally about action following months of frustration—a response that matched the urgency businesses had been expressing.
Governor Scott approached the challenges facing Burlington with the same measured leadership I’ve seen him bring to other crises, including COVID-19 and the recent floods. He has ideas—and they are good ones—but before committing to a plan or holding a press conference, he listens. Over several weeks last summer, he met with business leaders, nonprofit service providers, law enforcement, youth advocates, representatives from the court system, city councilors, and community members. He built consensus quietly and crafted a comprehensive response.
As Al Gobeille, owner of Burlington Bay and the former Vermont Secretary of Health and Human Services said:
“In a country where we can’t agree on what to eat for breakfast, we had a Republican governor, a Progressive mayor, and the city’s Chief of Police agree on a plan of action.”
That is the truest form of leadership for Vermont.
Burlington’s Mayor, Emma Mulvaney-Stanek, and Chief of Police, Shawn Burke deserve thanks and credit for their significant role in advancing the Governor’s plan. Without that collaboration, it’s unlikely we would be seeing these emerging signs of progress:
The presence of state troopers on Church Street had a huge and immediate impact. John George-Wheeler, partner at Ski Rack and Patagonia Burlington says his stores were plagued by shoplifting and his employees felt unsafe coming to work. The state troopers’ presence, he says, “gave business owners confidence, which they then instilled in their staff, and it gave customers confidence that they could safely return to downtown. It trickled all the way throughout the community.”
At the same time, service providers and city officials stepped up efforts to address homelessness, mental health, and substance misuse. The Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) doubled its year-round shelter capacity with the opening of the Waystation on Pearl Street, and the Champlain Valley Office for Economic Opportunity expanded its low-barrier shelter on Shelburne Road to accommodate an additional 30 beds. Spectrum Youth & Family Services expanded mental health and addiction counseling for young people from 5 licensed counselors to 14 and established a partnership with UVM graduate students to provide additional support.
Coordinated efforts are also leading to a shift in treating fentanyl addiction. The extended treatment program at Valley Vista Recovery in Vergennes is helping to meet that need, offering the kind of long-term, intensive care that fentanyl addiction requires. “This is a major step in the right direction,” says Mark Redmond, executive director of Spectrum. “It won’t solve everything, but in combination with those other efforts, I believe the quality of life in our city will improve. Good things are happening.”
Among the more visual markers of change is the freshly-painted mural on the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies’ building on Main Street, covering years of graffiti and brightening the view for students across the street at Edmunds Middle School. The community project, led by Mission Murals Vermont, brought over 100 volunteers out last fall.
Ernie Pomerleau, president and CEO of Pomerleau Real Estate recently said:
“It’s a magical city that lost its luster. While we can’t change what happened, we can change the future.”
Community efforts like the mural project and Building Burlington’s Future weekly clean-ups demonstrate the impact and importance of grassroots efforts.
As much as I’d love to say that Burlington’s problems have been solved, we’re not out of the woods yet. The Governor’s response was a critical first step with immediate results.
Now it’s time to double down on sustaining the glimmers of progress we’re seeing, to move from response to long-term recovery with a sustained state police presence this spring; robust systems of support for people experiencing homelessness, addiction, and mental health crises; building more affordable housing; and replicating the Governor’s action-plan in other parts of Vermont experiencing similar challenges.
Frank Cioffi is the president of the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation in Burlington, Vermont.
