Burlington City Councilors Propose Lifting Police Roster Cap

Democrats on the Burlington City Council are seeking to remove the controversial 87-officer “cap” on the police department roster, a limit imposed following contentious debates over policing and racial justice in 2020.

The proposal would not set a higher roster cap; rather, it asks city officials to submit a report recommending a new one.

The proposal is tucked into one of four public safety-focused resolutions that the caucus will introduce at Monday’s council meeting. Two of them ask officials to study the possibility of building both a new police station and a downtown public safety “kiosk”; a third would strengthen gun laws in the city.

The resolutions come in response to increasing concerns about drug use and crime downtown, including a fatal shooting on Church Street, that have overburdened first responders.

“We’re hearing from our constituents that we need to do something more,” Council President Ben Traverse (D-Ward 5) said. “At every city council meeting, until we get this more under control, we owe it to our community to be talking about these issues.”
For Dems, that includes the roster cap. Councilors voted in 2020 to reduce the allowable head count from 105 to 74 officers but raised that number to 87 in 2021 after consultants recommended a larger force.

Dems say the current cap is outdated and doesn’t account for the significant spikes in overdoses, theft and illegal gunfire in recent years. They argue that raising the cap will accelerate officer recruitment in a department that has struggled to hire. Just 68 officers are on the payroll, even though the council has approved generous pay raises and hiring bonuses.

Progressives, however, are crying foul. Suggesting a higher cap will bring in more cops “is lying to people,” Councilor Melo Grant (P-Central District) said.

“I think we have to be honest,” she added. “We are in dire straits where we don’t even have people applying.”
Indeed, just 26 people have applied for police jobs this year, compared to 112 in 2023 — a trajectory that the department’s recruitment officer recently called “insanely low.”

Grant's colleague, Councilor Carter Neubieser (P-Ward 1), said in a statement that until the department is fully staffed, the Dems' resolution amounts to "political theater."

Hiring will take time, he said, "but we have concrete steps we are taking to create a safe and healthy community."

The measure is likely to sail through over Progressives’ objections. The six council Dems, along with North District independent Mark Barlow, hold a majority on the 12-member council. All signed on as sponsors of the resolution.

It’s unclear whether Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, a Progressive, would consider vetoing the measure. She hasn’t directly answered questions about the roster cap in the past, saying instead that she supports “right-sizing” the department. A spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to questions from Seven Days about her reaction to the Dems' proposal.

Mulvaney-Stanak has taken other steps to combat conditions downtown, such as directing police and social workers to focus on hot spots for misbehavior and hiring a public safety adviser. Retired Vermont State Police commander Ingrid Jonas, who was named to the adviser role last month, is charged in part with finding ways to streamline the city’s emergency response.
The council resolution directs Jonas, Police Chief Jon Murad, police union members and unnamed “community partners” to analyze staffing levels, benefit packages and recruitment trends at the department. It also asks the group to consider whether fewer officers could be assigned to the Burlington airport or whether a cutback would hurt hiring efforts. A report would be due back December 9.

The gun measure urges Vermont lawmakers to ban firearms from city establishments that sell alcohol — a charter change Burlington voters approved in 2014 that has stalled in the legislature. It also lobbies for harsher penalties for possessing stolen firearms and seeks to impose a $500 fine or yearlong prison sentence on people who discharge guns recklessly in the city.

The police station resolution would ask a committee to study whether the building, at 1 North Avenue, should be renovated or abandoned for new digs. A modern station could help efforts to hire more officers, the resolution says. The public safety kiosk resolution directs a council subcommittee to identify possible locations for such a hub, which would presumably be staffed by police.

But neither spells out how the cash-strapped city would pay for the amenities. Mulvaney-Stanak started her tenure this spring by closing a $14.2 million budget shortfall, warning of tough budget seasons to come. And the city has maxed out its borrowing limit.

Selling “all or part” of the existing police station could help pay for a new one, the resolution says, noting that the property — with its stunning lake views — is valued at $4.8 million. The kiosk resolution, meantime, directs city staff to start looking for funding opportunities.

Correction, September 6, 2024: A previous version of this story misidentified Ingrid Jonas' rank when she retired.