Tax Fairness Ad Hoc Committee — Burlington, VT
Date: 2026-04-30
Time: 11:30

City Council - Tax Fairness Ad Hoc Committee

 Thursday, April 30, 2026, 11:30 AM, Remotely via Zoom

Zoom Info: https://zoom.us/j/96774800261

Meeting ID: 967 7480 0261


1. Call to Order

2. Agenda
  2.1. Motion to amend/adopt agenda

3. Public Forum
  Subject 3.1. PUBLIC FORUM - Verbal Comments
  Meeting April 30, 2026 - Tax Fairness Ad Hoc Committee - Thursday, April 30, 2026, 11:30 AM,
 Remotely via Zoom


  Category 3. Public Forum

  Department


  Type Action
 Procedural


  Recommended Action Open public forum. Close public forum.

4. Consent Agenda
  Subject 4.1. Tax Fairness Memo - Proposal Modeling
  Meeting April 30, 2026 - Tax Fairness Ad Hoc Committee - Thursday, April 30, 2026, 11:30 AM,
 Remotely via Zoom


  Category 4. Consent Agenda

  Department Department of Finance and Administration


  Type Action (Consent)


  Recommended Action
5. Continued Discussion on Committee Priorities
  Subject 5.1. Scope of Tax Exemption
  Meeting April 30, 2026 - Tax Fairness Ad Hoc Committee - Thursday, April 30, 2026, 11:30 AM,
 Remotely via Zoom


  Category 5. Continued Discussion on Committee Priorities

  Department Department of Finance and Administration


  Type Discussion


  Recommended Action

  Subject 5.2. Additional Tax Classifications
  Meeting April 30, 2026 - Tax Fairness Ad Hoc Committee - Thursday, April 30, 2026, 11:30 AM,
 Remotely via Zoom


  Category 5. Continued Discussion on Committee Priorities

  Department Department of Finance and Administration


  Type Discussion


  Recommended Action

  Subject 5.3. Review of any other items
  Meeting April 30, 2026 - Tax Fairness Ad Hoc Committee - Thursday, April 30, 2026, 11:30 AM,
 Remotely via Zoom


  Category 5. Continued Discussion on Committee Priorities

  Department Department of Finance and Administration


  Type Discussion


  Recommended Action

6. Scheduling
  Subject 6.1. Scheduling for future meetings
  Meeting April 30, 2026 - Tax Fairness Ad Hoc Committee - Thursday, April 30, 2026, 11:30 AM,
 Remotely via Zoom


  Category 6. Scheduling

  Department Department of Finance and Administration


  Type Discussion


  Recommended Action
7. Adjournment
 Subject 7.1. Motion to adjourn
 Meeting April 30, 2026 - Tax Fairness Ad Hoc Committee - Thursday, April 30, 2026, 11:30 AM,
 Remotely via Zoom


 Category 7. Adjournment

 Department Council and Board


 Type Action
 Procedural


 Recommended Action Motion to adjourn.

City Council - Tax Fairness Ad Hoc Committee

 Thursday, April 30, 2026, 11:30 AM, Remotely via Zoom

Zoom Info: https://zoom.us/j/96774800261

Meeting ID: 967 7480 0261


1. Call to Order

2. Agenda
  2.1. Motion to amend/adopt agenda

3. Public Forum
  Subject 3.1. PUBLIC FORUM - Verbal Comments
  Meeting April 30, 2026 - Tax Fairness Ad Hoc Committee - Thursday, April 30, 2026, 11:30 AM,
 Remotely via Zoom


  Category 3. Public Forum

  Department


  Type Action
 Procedural


  Recommended Action Open public forum. Close public forum.

4. Consent Agenda
  Subject 4.1. Tax Fairness Memo - Proposal Modeling
  Meeting April 30, 2026 - Tax Fairness Ad Hoc Committee - Thursday, April 30, 2026, 11:30 AM,
 Remotely via Zoom


  Category 4. Consent Agenda

  Department Department of Finance and Administration


  Type Action (Consent)


  Recommended Action


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5. Continued Discussion on Committee Priorities
  Subject 5.1. Scope of Tax Exemption
  Meeting April 30, 2026 - Tax Fairness Ad Hoc Committee - Thursday, April 30, 2026, 11:30 AM,
 Remotely via Zoom


  Category 5. Continued Discussion on Committee Priorities

  Department Department of Finance and Administration


  Type Discussion


  Recommended Action

  Subject 5.2. Additional Tax Classifications
  Meeting April 30, 2026 - Tax Fairness Ad Hoc Committee - Thursday, April 30, 2026, 11:30 AM,
 Remotely via Zoom


  Category 5. Continued Discussion on Committee Priorities

  Department Department of Finance and Administration


  Type Discussion


  Recommended Action

  Subject 5.3. Review of any other items
  Meeting April 30, 2026 - Tax Fairness Ad Hoc Committee - Thursday, April 30, 2026, 11:30 AM,
 Remotely via Zoom


  Category 5. Continued Discussion on Committee Priorities

  Department Department of Finance and Administration


  Type Discussion


  Recommended Action

6. Scheduling
  Subject 6.1. Scheduling for future meetings
  Meeting April 30, 2026 - Tax Fairness Ad Hoc Committee - Thursday, April 30, 2026, 11:30 AM,
 Remotely via Zoom


  Category 6. Scheduling

  Department Department of Finance and Administration


  Type Discussion


  Recommended Action



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7. Adjournment
 Subject 7.1. Motion to adjourn
 Meeting April 30, 2026 - Tax Fairness Ad Hoc Committee - Thursday, April 30, 2026, 11:30 AM,
 Remotely via Zoom


 Category 7. Adjournment

 Department Council and Board


 Type Action
 Procedural


 Recommended Action Motion to adjourn.




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TO: Tax Fairness Ad Hoc Committee
FROM: Nancy Stetson, Senior Policy and Data Analyst
DATE: April 28, 2026
RE: Tax Fairness Proposal Dashboard Overview

At the April 14th meeting of the City Council Tax Fairness Committee, two proposals for
property tax reform were raised: limiting the previously proposed Homestead Exemption to
properties valued below a specified threshold and increasing the tax rate on second homes.

The dashboard linked below was built to help the Committee understand the effect of these
proposals on both overall tax revenue and individual properties.

Link to Dashboard
The dashboard has three pages, which can be accessed via the buttons under the main
headings or the arrow buttons at the bottom. It is best viewed in a full browser window on a
desktop or laptop.
Page 1: Status Quo

The first page provides an overview of how property tax burden is currently distributed across
property types in fiscal year 2026. While the majority of individual parcels are homesteads, the
total value of non-homestead properties is larger. Homesteads are primarily single-family
homes and condos, though some multifamily properties qualify as partial homesteads.

For reference, this page also includes the FY 2026 grand list, tax rate, and total property tax
revenue.




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Page 2: Homestead Exemption with Cap
This page explores a homestead exemption limited to properties below a certain value
threshold.
Users can customize the model by setting two parameters: the threshold above which the
exemption no longer applies, and the size of the exemption itself. The defaults are $400,000
and $30,000, respectively.
Raising the threshold makes more homesteads eligible for the exemption, which reduces the
taxable value of the grand list. As the grand list shrinks, the tax rate must rise to keep revenues
level. Similarly, increasing the exemption amount enlarges the discount for eligible properties,
reducing the taxable grand list and pushing the tax rate up.
The table at the bottom of the page lists actual Burlington properties with their assessed values
and calculated municipal tax, showing how each is affected by changes to the exemption
structure. The table can be filtered on the left by property category and value.




Page 3: Second Homes and Underused Residential

The final page presents a preliminary analysis of an additional tax rate on second homes and
other underused residential properties. Because the City does not have a direct marker for
second homes, the category was constructed by combining multiple City datasets. Using the
rental registry, the analysis separates residential property into rentals, homesteads, and "other
residential" (i.e. second homes). Residential property here is defined by land use code and
includes single-family homes and condos, multifamily up to four units, seasonal homes, and
vacant residential land.

This page allows users to explore how much revenue the City could raise by imposing an
additional tax rate on the "Other Residential" category, adjustable via the "second home rate"
input.



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Revenue estimates here are likely somewhat higher than what such a rate would actually
generate, because the underlying data probably undercounts both homesteads and rentals.

This analysis models the policy as an additional rate, but the Committee has also suggested
instead increasing the assessed value of these properties, as is currently done for commercial
properties. A 20% increase to the assessed value would result in the same bill as an
approximately 0.17 increase to the overall municipal tax rate. The difference lies in how the
resulting revenue is distributed across splinter rates.




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