Community Justice Center Advisory Board (CAB) — Burlington, VT
Date: 2025-05-08
Time: 15:30

Burlington Community Justice Center (BCJC)
 Community Advisory Board
 May 8, 3:30-5:00
 200 Church St, Burlington, VT 05401



 The Burlington CJC uses restorative practices and community values to foster healing,
accountability, and repair for people impacted by, and responsible for, harm, conflict and crime in
 our community.

 Meeting Agenda


 3:30-3:45: Introductions/Check In

 3:45-3:55: Updates

 3:55-4:30: Discussion of CAB role (see excerpt from by-laws below)

 4:30-4:45: Discussion for next meeting



From CAB By-Laws (last amended in September 2016):

 A. Purpose of the BCJC Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC)
 1. The BCJC CAC, in accordance with the BCJC mission statement and the
 values and principles of restorative justice, provides guidance and advice from
 the community to the BCJC Director, City of Burlington, and Agency of
 Human Services on issues related to community justice and the BCJC.
 Specific responsibilities include:
 a. Advise the City in hiring, evaluating, and terminating the Director,
 who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the BCJC;
 b. Provide support and advice to the Director;
 c. Collaborate with the Director to make policy and identify priorities for
 the BCJC, recognizing the partnership of the BCJC with the City,
 other agencies and community members;
 d. Assist the Director in educating the community and raising awareness
 about community and restorative justice;
e. Advise the BCJC Director on matters relating to BCJC operations such
 as budget, programming, staffing, and funding, to include engaging in,
 reviewing, and/or approving the BCJC’s strategic plan, operating plan,
 budget, grant applications, job descriptions and significant
 organizational changes;
f. Approve applications for individuals seeking to be considered for the
 Offender Reentry Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA)
 program;
g. Seek input from, give voice to, and report back to the citizens of
 Burlington regarding the work of the BCJC;
h. Commit to representing to the greatest extent possible the diversity of
 the Burlington community in these efforts;
i. Serve or support other duties as needed.

Burlington Community Justice Center (BCJC)
 Community Advisory Board
 May 8, 3:30-5:00
 200 Church St, Burlington, VT 05401

The Burlington CJC uses restorative practices and community values to foster healing, accountability,
  and repair for people impacted by, and responsible for, harm, conflict and crime in our community.

Attendees: Rachel, Ken, Phil, Randall, Sparks ​
Note-taker: CB

1. Updates

Changes to city staffing & org structure: CEDO is merging with Business and Workforce
Development. More details to come from the Mayor’s office.

Act 180/AGO funding: AGO has confirmed a 3% COLA increase for FY26 grants. Additional funding
may come pending Act 180 amendments.

 ●​ Governor’s Office has not weighed in on budget changes re pre-charge.
 ●​ Public Safety Commissioner Jen Morrison: Public Safety in Vermont Requires Rebalancing
 Priorities | Office of Governor Phil Scott

Pre-charge centralization: AGO and town manager meeting planned to discuss phased
implementation over 2–3 years.

 ●​ Rachel may attend if another representative from BTV is unavailable.
 ●​ Identify needed FTEs through a draft org chart.

2. Discussion - CAB Review

Bylaws last updated in 2016; currently out of compliance. Major update needed, especially with
regionalization in mind.

Current role in CAB bylaws:

 ●​ Hiring/firing the Director
 ●​ Supporting and advising the Director
 ●​ Shaping policy and priorities
 ●​ Approving COSA applications (no longer required by DOC)
 ●​ Representing the community and ensuring diverse input

Reflections:

 ●​ Ken: Need for meaningful advisory input. Suggested listening sessions during
 regionalization planning. Approval of COSA applications no longer relevant.
 ●​ Phil: The importance of two-way communication with the public; increasing public
 understanding of CAB and CJC work.
 ●​ Randall: Advisory body most needed, could be worthwhile to improve communication
 between CAB and community w/out it being an express function of the role.
 ●​ Sparks: Is this group meeting the needs of advising the director? What does the BCJC
 Director need from a CAB?

Other towns are awaiting Burlington to take lead on proposals of governance model, community
input, staffing, etc.. Main goals of a draft include:

 ●​ Ensuring equitable representation
 ●​ Avoiding Burlington dominance
 ●​ Maintaining strong ties between CJC and local PDs
 ●​ Preserving existing staff where possible
 ●​ Vetting and accountability for staff

Ideas:

 ●​ Interest in a self-governing board (e.g., with its own chair and committees), rather than one
 solely managed by the BCJC Director. Montpelier CAB is a model where volunteers run
 meetings independently.
 ●​ Past BTV CABs had 1 person from every ward, but also addressed more localized
 concerns like noise/graffiti. What could that look like in a regionalized model, especially
 when some CJCs currently represent multiple cities already?
 ●​ Embedding a CJC staff member w/in each municipal office
 ●​ Sending survey to other towns to help draft CAB proposal

Concerns:

 ●​ DOC is no longer funding community referrals; future funding may need to come from
 municipal partners. Community referrals and staffing decisions may require local
 investment.
 ●​ Need to ensure board operations are not overly burdensome on the BCJC Director as the
 system expands-- Data/Coms/Ops Specialist could support CAB and community liaising.

Next Meeting: ​
Scheduled for July 3rd but moving to Tuesday, July 10th. Rachel to send out new Outlook invite and
copy Tim (BSD).