 We have a very long list of people who will be testifying so we have a timekeeper representative Lanford will go through the rules with that we're going to get started and we will have some of the requirements of today and how we will be able to get through the rules. So with that, we're going to get started and we will have some of the requirements of today and how we keep on schedule. We have a representative Harrison will call your name and if we can't pronounce it correctly we apologize, but sometimes it's sometimes difficult. So I'm going to go to my colleague on the left. So I'm going to go to my colleague on the left. Thank you, Senator Kitchell. So I'm representative Lanford here and I share the house appropriations committee with this. Terrific team. I think we just spoke of the fact that representative Harrison to my left will call the names mostly because I don't even trust myself with that. To annunciate them rights and we apologize in advance and please help us if we get it wrong by just simply giving us your, your, your correct annunciation. For the timing each person is going to have two minutes going to be strict to that two minutes because there's a lot of people and we don't want to cut you off, but we will. So that will be my job that at watch the watch online because if you're at on zoom and watching you can see the clock. You can see it out here with people who are in person. We find it kind of disruptive if we start saying there's 30 seconds because then it really disrupts your flow. So we'll watch for the timer. So people who have never attended a public hearing before and this may be their first, first time. We do not have discussion we are here to hear. So if we're not asking you questions don't feel like there's something wrong. The public hearing is just that we're here to hear and not talk. We have written testimony and would like to submit it or if you don't fit it in in your two minutes. You are very welcome a matter of fact I even encourage it once you you've stated to email it to Aaron our committee assistant the same email address where you signed up and we keep a public hearing folder. And we do we do read them. Yeah, I think we can get started. Okay, so I'm going to call the name and as my two colleagues have already gave me an excuse on a mix of mispronouncing your name. I'm sorry I apologize up front. And then I'm going to say who's on debt. I do not know whether person is online or if they are in the room so if you're in the room. If you could if you're on debt after the person's justifying please be ready to go into the seat immediately so first off is Chelsea leaders and on deck is Laura Glenn, the video. Hi everybody, I am online and trying to start my video, but the host needs to allow that. Okay. Should I go ahead anyways. Please. Please. Okay. Hi everybody my name is Chelsea Levis and I direct the arms Vermont, a nonprofit organization that provides peer support for families grieving pregnancy and infant I'm here today to ask you to support our budget requests of $40,000 in one time funds empty arms fills a gap in our system of care for families who have had a baby die in pregnancy and infancy. We know that 20 to 25% of pregnancies end in a loss, yet there have never been services available to support the critical need for these families. There are no statewide funded supportive programs for parental loss. The latest maternal mortality review panel reports submitted by the Vermont Department of Health recognizes the shortfall and specifically recommends that the state should address this need and quote sustainably invest in statewide resources for pregnancy loss support through empty arms Vermont. The EDH has provided some federal grant funding to support our work. We are asking legislators to consider the review panel's recommendation and provide needed funds to allow our organization to continue the service to Vermont families. Let us not underestimate the need for support after pregnancy and infant loss, birthing people who experience loss in a pregnancy are four times more likely to have major depression and seven times more likely to screen positive for PTSD. We know these individuals are at greater risk for substance abuse and suicidality. Our work is stepping in and providing timely assistance to grieving families. The modest funding we request will strengthen and expand sustainability for empty arms Vermont, allowing us to help dozens of more families in need. I ask you to support our $40,000 one time funding request. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. Next up is Laura Lauren Glenn Davidian and on deck is Margaret health. Aaron, is she there. Let's be going. Okay. Okay, so now is Margaret. And on deck is Betsy Rosenblum. Hello, please. Please. Please. Margaret you're all set. I apologize. I was here. It wasn't letting me on mute. My name is Margaret Talbot, and I am also here testifying in support for empty arms Vermont. Thanks for giving me the chance to speak this afternoon. Should I wait for the timer. I just started it on my phone. I am here testifying today to advocate for funding for empty arms Vermont, an organization that provides peer support for families whose babies have died through miscarriage still birth early infant loss or termination of a pregnancy for medical reasons. As you have heard, please support empty arms request for $40,000 in one time funds. Before my living son Henry was born in September of 2023 my husband and I have had years of challenges in our journey to start a family. I have had four miscarriages in the last three years. While pregnancy and infant loss impacts one in four pregnancies recurrent miscarriages are much more rare. The isolation and stigma that I felt with each additional miscarriage was overwhelming. Those years were some of the darkest of my life. After my third miscarriage I reached out to empty arms looking for support. Over the last two years I have attended multiple support groups through different phases of my journey to Henry. While I could speak at length about the benefits of empty arms peer support groups I want to emphasize the following. One empty arms peer support groups provide a unique opportunity to connect with others who have shared experiences in Vermont. Finding others who had experienced recurrent miscarriages or others who had wrestled with a deeply personal decision to have a termination for medical reasons like we had was critical to processing my medical trauma. Empty arms support groups also provide a way for peers to validate varying emotions without fear of judgment. While these emotions can be shared with medical providers discussions with peers processing together was critical to my healing. Third and final groups provide a critical space to grieve together. I found solace in connecting with others who knew the deep pain that I was experiencing. I truly believe the support that the groups provided me buoyed me on my path to having my now five month old son. I have found deep community and comfort in the peer support groups that empty arms has facilitated the support groups are filling a critical need in the state. I ask for your support in this one time funding request. Thank you. Thank you. Next up is Betsy Rosenbluth and on deck is Greta point. Go ahead. Okay. Good afternoon. My name is Betsy Rosenbluth and I am the Farm to School director at children farms and I'm a member of the Vermont Farm to School and early childhood network. And we are asking you to support the governor's budget proposal for both the Vermont Farm to School and early childhood grants program and the local foods incentive for schools with level funded base appropriations of $500,000 each. What makes Vermont's Farm to School program successful is the integration of food access with local food purchasing and agriculture and food education. The programs provide the financial and technical support to schools to integrate farm to school. Vermont passed the local foods incentive so that more of the $20 million that schools spend each year on food stays here in the Vermont economy and with Vermont farmers and over 100 Vermont farms across the state now sell to schools and early childhood programs. In the last few years over 100 early childhood educators and after school programs received grants to support CSA shares to utilize local nutritious food directly from farmers and that demand is growing. Farm to School is a win-win win so that while we provide our children critical nutrition they're understanding what that food does for the health of their bodies and their communities while benefiting our local farmers and building healthy habits and a connection to Vermont foods for a lifetime. So, again, we're looking for your support of level base funding for both the local purchasing incentive and the Farm to School in early childhoods grant program at $500,000 each. These programs support Vermont farmers and Vermont children. Thank you so much. You're welcome. Thank you. Okay, up now is Greta Quinton and on deck is Claire Kendall. You should I speak from. Right up. You didn't get a model before. So, come and take the chair. Anyone else who's on deck. You can start. Prepare to take the seat. We're one of us. Good afternoon. My name is Greta Quinton and I'm a resident of St. Johnsbury Vermont and a mother deeply invested in the health and well being of my community. Today, I am for before you to advocate for the allocation of $478,500 as base funding for NOFA Vermont's crop cash, crop cash plus and farm share programs for FY 25. This funding is crucial not just for families like mine who rely on it to access a nutritious local food but for the very fabric of our local food system. Firstly, these programs are a lifeline for families on food assistance. Cash crop enabled us to afford fresh local produce at farmer's markets and with cash crop plus we got local milk, eggs and meats to all of which would otherwise be out of reach. They are essential in teaching my children about helping eating and supporting local farmers, setting the foundation for a healthier future. Secondly, our local farmers and the Vermont economy directly benefit from these programs. They provide vital support to small farmers allowing them to connect with more community members fostering a robust local food economy and which is our state. Lastly, by supporting crop cash and farm share we take a stand against the increasing corporate control over our food supply. This funding is an active resistance promoting a diverse and sustainable food system that benefits all Vermonters not just the profit margins and multinational corporations. Without this crucial funding, families like mine would be left with little choice but to spend our food assistance on cheaper, less nutritious options at Walmart, Costco and Amazon. Where for every dollar spent on food, only 15 cents goes to farmers and non-local. This scenario would not only diminish our health but also erode the very foundation of our local food economy. I urge you to consider the profound impact your support for these programs would have and what the past support has done for our family. It is an investment and our children's health, our local economy and the preservation of a food system that values quality accessibility and sustainability. Thank you for your time and for considering the central support for our community. I'm done. Thank you. I'm up now is Becky. And Claire Claire. Great myself. Sorry. I'm sorry, Claire. You're up now and on deck is Becky. Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Claire Kendall co-director of the family center of Washington County and Montpelier and co-chair for the Vermont parent child center network parent child center budget requests for increased funding for FY 25 integrated grant to cover to cover health insurance costs increases and support the PCC and administration. With that 250 the PCC network has facilitated a strengthening of the state PCC partnership. We've been working to ensure the network and HPCC meets the requirements outlined in the statute. Legislative support has been critical to the parent child center network, giving PCC is the ability to ensure consistent, high quality family focused services across the state. Last year the legislature supported a base funding increase for integrated grant, which was spread across the 15 PCCs to benefit all children, all families with young children in Vermont. Thank you. Increases went directly to staff compensation addressing the gap between compensation packages and market rates. This was welcomed by our staff. 100% of parent child centers across the state increased their salary and benefit rates and the family center has seen success and recruitment and retention, filling four positions recently, leaving us with two vacant positions. This results in increased services to families and reduced wait lists. However, after increasing wages and benefits we are now absorbing a 12% to 14% increase in health insurance rates. We are asking for $721,945 for network administration to ensure we are aligned with Act 150 and to cover health costs increases to prevent cuts to direct services or cuts to benefits to our staff. July 1 or integrated grant will run through the network and we are asking for a one time base increase so that the programming portion of the integrated grant is not affected while needing to cover the small administrative costs of the network. Thank you so much for the opportunity to testify before you're committed today. Thank you. Okay, after Becky is Joanna. I'll mute yourself there she goes. Good afternoon my name is Becky or Bella. I am the director of sash and residents services at shares housing. We oversee not only our residents but the sash program in both Bennington County and the Deerfield Valley of Wyndham County. I'm here today on behalf of the Vermont food bank requesting base funding for $5 million to continue their great work. In 2014, I started with the sash program and partnered with the Vermont food bank. I was surprised and very naive to learn that many of our older Vermonters had to choose between groceries, or their medication. For me is unacceptable in the world we live in today. I have made it one of our missions to work with the food bank and helping our older Vermonters have food security. We have partnered with the Vermont food bank since 2015. The food bank was very instrumental during the pandemic, helping us at shares housing in the town of Dover open a food shelf in the valley. This is why food desert caused by influx of people coming to the towns during COVID. Without this food or assistance, many would have gone unfed. In 2023 alone we were able to distribute 131,978 pounds of food throughout Bennington County and the Deerfield Valley. The gas prices have skyrocketed, groceries have skyrocketed, and people should not have to choose between food and medication. Food should not be a luxury for only those that can afford it. So for this I ask for the funding of $5 million base to the Vermont food bank. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, next up is Joanna Lidback and on deck is Stephanie Carby. Hi, good afternoon. My name is Joanna Lidback. I'm the chairperson of the Board of Supervisors for the Orleans County Natural Resource Conservation District. My husband and I have a certified small farm in Westmore. I'm here today to request an increase in base funding for the Natural Resources Conservation Council by $2.5 million for a total base budget of $3 million to address the chronic underfunding of Vermont's Natural Resources Conservation Districts and support our state's conservation delivery system. Vermont's Natural Resources Conservation Districts work with landowners, businesses, municipalities, and farmers like me to help build climate resilience for our state. Particularly, we have worked closely with our district manager on my farm to address compliance with the required agricultural practices that added increased but necessary regulatory burden on my small farm. We have improved our own practices as it relates to climate resilience through no-till planting and spreading manure solids and liquid manure in a more timely and efficient manner. And we have embarked on our own conservation projects, such as participating in the trees for streams program, shoring up our stream banks and protecting our water quality. Without the conservation district's help in identifying our deficiencies, as well as opportunities, and then also navigating the generous grants and funding programs that are available to us through the state, working lands, federal programs, and others, we may not still be here today. Certainly not having turned the table in building our own climate resiliency and embarking on our own conservation projects. I'll restate again my request. Please increase the base funding for the Natural Resources Conservation Council by 2.5 million for a total base budget of 3 million to address the chronic underfunding of Vermont's Natural Resources Conservation Districts and support our state's conservation delivery system. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Next up is Stephanie Carvey and Han Deck is Sam Mayne. There we go. Good afternoon everybody. My name is Stephanie Carvey. I live in Rutland City and I'm the co-executive director of the Rutland County Parent Child Center. I'm also here to request an increase in base funding for the Parent Child Center integrated grant by $721,945 to cover health insurance cost increases in support PCC and administration. Our agency supports a plethora of services including learning together a high school program for pregnant parenting and at-risk youth, multiple food pantries available to all families regardless of income, gaining ground a new program ready to boost families to the next level of their education and careers, children's integrated service teams, families up with caseworkers who provide a wide array of early intervention services and family supports, and my personal favorite and area of expertise early childhood education. I'm a licensed educator. My heart will always belong to the young children we serve, but I've always felt there's so much more to do outside of the classroom to help their families who are ultimately their foundation. Even if we create all the magic during the day in our ECE programs, if we are sending them home to an unsupportive environment, what's the point? The PCC is dedicated to removing barriers. We want to see families get to the next step. This two generation approach is what our community needs to positively pave the way for new opportunities for our children. Our staff are our family too. They deserve the same support, which is why we are working equally as hard to provide them with benefits equal to other fields, such as access to affordable health care. Just one tiny piece of the puzzle and why we're asking for your support in increasing the base funding to the parent child center integrated grant by $721,945 to cover health insurance cost increases and support PCC and administration. Thank you for your ongoing support for Vermont's children and families and thank you for your time today. Welcome. Okay, next up is Sam main and on deck is Susan. Are not. You can come over and get ready. Sam. Okay, Susan, you're up on deck is Dan. Hi. Good afternoon. My name is Susan. I am the senior planner and policy analyst for the Vermont developmental disabilities council. It's a pleasure to see you here today. And thank you for the opportunity to testify. I will be submitting a written statement in the meantime. I'm just going to be reading from it. And looking up every now and then to make sure you're still with me. So the developmental disabilities council is unique in state government. You're entirely federally funded. You'll see a live for us in your budget, but we get some in kind services from the state state offices being paid for more and more of our state support our it support but anyway, emails for me you will note come from a Vermont dot gov address. I need to start all of my testimony with a disclaimer that while I'm housed in the agency of human services, secretary's office. We're entirely federally funded and a creature of federal law, every state and territory has a developmental disabilities council in exchange for that federal funding. The state has to enter into some memorandums of understanding and one of those is that we agree to advocate advocate for our council members 60% of whom are people with disabilities and their family members. And we might take positions that are 100% you know lined up with the governor's recommended budget, but we are free to disagree and reasonable people can disagree. And it won't surprise you to know that we disagree with the governor's recommended budget that's here before you today and I'm just going to focus on two key areas. So services, the department of disabilities aging and independent living their motto is make them out the best state to grow old and live with a disability. It's level funded. That's a cut. Our people are approved for 30 hours of services week 20, they're getting two and three, they're coming here to talk to you and housing, you know, here from all the people with the housing grants. The actual money, not just the planning grants, 10.5 million is our ask and we'll submit the details soon. Thank you. And thank you for your service. I'll look. Okay, Dan. Afternoon respect members of the legislature. My name is Dan Kutu. I'm from Newport City. And I'm here today as a member of the land access and opportunity board, the LA OB. I'm the appointee to the board from the Vermont commission on the American affairs. This confers support of the LA OB with an appropriation of 1.97 million and fiscal year 25. In order to provide support of our baseline operational expenses and to allow us to build on momentum of our programming. The LA OB is made up of a really outstanding group of leaders from Vermont communities that have historically been marginalized and sometimes overlooked completely. Many have lived experience with the difficulties of attaining access to housing and land. This brings very valuable practical experience to bear on the mission of the LA OB. As you're all aware, the state has a serious problem with being able to provide housing for our citizens. Recent VT Digger article from February 6 reports of Vermont has the second highest per capita rate of homelessness in the country. There are organizations that are seeking ways to help with addressing short term needs of our unhoused citizens. And it's important that they continue to do their work. I see the responsibility of the LA OB to be applying a different perspective with a goal of establishing long term solutions. Three essential elements necessary for survival, water, food and shelter. The infrastructures for providing water and food are largely provided by the government like roads and water systems. It's been our observation that the existing infrastructure for housing has some significant flaws and they can only be addressed by changing those systems. The LA OB has a unique mandate to review existing efforts related to housing and land and to recommend changes that will benefit our citizens aid in their survival. The importance of this cannot be overstated. Thank you. Okay, so up now is Laura Len. And on deck is Nicole. I said that right. Thank you very much. Can you hear me? All right. I can't see myself. So, good afternoon members of the corporations committee house and Senate. My name is Lauren Glenn Davidian. And I'm representing Vermont access network. I work as the. Public policy director for CCTV center for median democracy. I appreciate your past support for Vermont access network and the work of community media across the state in FY 23 and FY 24. And this year we are requesting another 1 time. Bridge funding request of $1 million. That would support for months 24 community media centers that provide. Direct links to local democracy in the form of of live and interactive meetings. Community media education community archiving and basically serving the communications needs of so many communities across the state. More than 70% of Vermont's communities are connected through Vermont's community media centers. We hope that you will consider this request in light of the fact that our. Major revenue source, which is cable television subscribers is declining. As Vermont cable subscribers. Cut the cord in the favor in favor of the internet, which has no corollary public benefit. And also the increasing costs the corollary increasing costs of running community media centers. At the same time, as we expand our service areas to beyond cable to internet subscribers across the community. Thank you very much for your consideration. We really appreciate the opportunity to be considered and hope that you will consider our request for FY 25 million dollars for Vermont access network. Thank you very much. Welcome. Hey, next up is Nicole. Center. We said that right in our deck is Joanna. Hello, everybody. My name is Nicole senior. I'm a resident of s extension. The proud mother of a widely two year old boy and days away from being a mother of two. I'm also the executive director of Milton family community center, one of the 15 state designated parent child centers focused on strengthening families in Vermont. I'm testifying today to request the funding of startup costs for a universal state run paid family and medical leave program with $37 million in one time funds. When my son was born, I returned home grateful for an ultimately healthy outcome after a long traumatic birthing experience. Unfortunately, we came home to a phone call for my husband's employer, making it clear that he was expected to be back in the office on Monday. Earlier than we anticipated this meant that I was faced with figuring out how to take care of the baby on my own, often breaking medical advice for my healthy recovery. My husband was forced to miss critical moments of early bonding with our child. And we added the stress of immediately starting to look for new jobs and seek out employers that explicitly support families. Yet, despite my passion and the organizational support I can offer my hardworking team and my now new role as a parent child center director for paid leave. The benefits I can offer still fall short. The same team of staff that I think about supporting are regularly supporting households. We see the impact and stress of caregiving and we only see this impact growing as more families than ever access our food shelf diaper bank and other family supports. In fact, we saw a 65% increase in individuals accessing our food shelf in January 2024 compared to January 2023. My family had the social capital to overcome a combination of underfunded or non existent leave and are in a much different position as we await our second child's arrival. I'm reminded every day through my work at the parent child center that this opportunity does not exist for the majority of Vermont families. Every child, every family deserves a strong start. Please fund the startup costs for a universal state run paid family medical leave program. Thank you. Thank you. Joanna. Doran is up now. And that is amala. Promise. Hello, my name is Joanna Doran. I live in the new ski and I am the local food access coordinator at the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont. Also known as NOFA Vermont. My name is Joanna. I administer the crop cash plus and farm share programs. Thank you so much for listening to my testimony. I'm here to ask you to please support $478,500 and base funding for NOFA Vermont's crop cash plus and farm share programs to strengthen farm viability and address food security. Farm share programs provide financial financial assistance to low income Vermonters to buy fresh food from their local farmers. These statewide programs are truly a win-win because with every dollar low income Vermonters can purchase more healthy fresh local food from their farmers that they would not be able to purchase otherwise. At the same time, Vermont farmers are receiving a reliable fair price for their goods. Investment in these programs through NOFA has quadrupled between 2019 and 2023 and the demand has increased even more than that. This is it's been a much faster rate of growth than our current funding sources can keep up with and we need state funding to fill in those gaps. The state of Vermont to make policy choices that will ensure food security for everyone who lives here while ensuring farmers can profit from growing the food that we all need. Crop cash plus and farm share are key to Vermont's food security and a viable agricultural sector. So once again, please support $478,500 and base funding for NOFA Vermont's crop cash plus and farm share programs to strengthen farm viability and address food security. Thank you so much for your time. Welcome. Thank you. And now followed by Kate Lutton. Good afternoon. My name is Pamela Krause, and I'm the executive director of Vermont companion animal neutering also known as BT PAN Spain Neuter Clinic. And I'm a member of the Vermont Humane Federation. I wanted to speak to you today about the need to fund an animal welfare division as proposed in age 626 and s to 292 acts relating to animal welfare. In late 2022, the warden service took on significant new responsibilities related to animal cruelty. In September of 2022, for example, they handled over 200 animal cruelty cases. And that's about an average of three a week. These involved numerous species including pets, dogs, horses, pigs, goats and more. There's countless other situations, many that I'm aware of that a lot of people are not in the general public and they're never investigated due to lack of resources. And what we're finding is that private citizens are taking this upon themselves at great risk to them financially and also their physical health. It's not safe for somebody from the general public to investigate animal cruelty cases or to take in the animals. The FY 25 budget proposes $299,000 to the Department of Fish and Wildlife to add another game warden position. So help with operating expenses. If this sum was real allocated to the new animal welfare division, it would be partially covered. In addition to other fees already being generated as proposed in these bills, such as licensing shelters and rescues, and also a slight increase of a dollar for rabies. And if this was allocated to a new department, it is going to help other law enforcement agencies, control officers, the Department of Ag and the general public. And I don't believe Vermont can afford not to fund this. Thank you so much for having me here and allowing me to speak. Thank you. Yeah, next is Kate Blutman and on deck is Kyle. Good afternoon. My name is Kate Gluckman, and I am the director of serve learn earn a workforce development collaborative of nonprofits, including Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, Vermont works for women, Audubon Vermont and resource. For the last three years, we have benefited from one time public funding for our paid service and training programs, and we are grateful and I want to thank you for that support with that funding. We have been able to serve over 1300 Vermonters provide 9500 weeks of training and service. We have benefited over 370 Vermont employers connecting them with trained and eager employees. And we have paid 3.84 million dollars in wages and stipends to our participants on top of that our participants have completed critical service projects in the areas of conservation flood recovery food access and education. The critical needs and workforce development in the state, we were not included in the governor's budget. And so I am asking today. And we are rallying our champions in the legislature to include a 2.37 million dollar base budget allocation this year. Sustained funding in the base budget would enable our programs to serve more Vermonters to expand to new areas of the state, complete larger and more complex service projects, and to help more employers connect with trained folks in their critical open roles. Our programs are moving folks out of poverty and into family sustaining work. And while helping Vermont address are really important climate energy and housing goals. For us serve learner and is a win win for Vermont. Thank you so much for your past support and for the opportunity to testify today. You're welcome. Thank you. So you have now is Tom Bruton, followed by Amanda Hollins. Go ahead, Tom. Hello, my name is Tom Bruton and I work at food connects nonprofit that provides farm to school coaching services in southern Vermont and distributes 100% source identified food to more than 80 schools throughout Vermont New Hampshire and Western Mass. Thank you for your time today. Please support the governor's proposal for level funding for both the farm to school and early childhood program in the local foods for schools grant or LFI each at $500,000. Since the implementation of this grant sales of Vermont beef have drastically increased. Prior to the LFI it was really difficult to sell Vermont local proteins public schools, primarily due to food service budgetary constraints. Now that now that schools have a financial incentive to source Vermont products this barrier to entry has been reduced. Boyden Farm in Cambridge, Vermont is food connects primary beef supplier. Mark Boyden is a fifth generation family farmer and cares deeply about serving public schools. He says, the big thing is getting kids to expect local food, and they keep that when they grow up. That's more important than sales. Thanks to the LFI, Boyden Farm beef sales have significantly increased from 35,000 in the school year of 2021 to 2022 48,000 in the following year and already to 50,000 this year with still five months remaining. Food connects is one of several food hubs across the state that is driven to offer local foods to Vermont public schools. In fact, every school food authority in the state now has access to a food hub. This year, more than 150 Vermont public schools have been serviced by Vermont farmers food centers in Rutland, a corn food hub in Middlebury, cream on farm direct and Newport or food connects in Brattaburro. In conclusion, by supporting the farm to school and early childhood program in the local foods incentive grant each of $500,000. You will help ensure that our children have access to diversified range of local nutritious foods while providing us a sustainable market for Vermont farms. From our farmers to our children, the LFI is a win-win. Thank you for your time today. Welcome. Hey up now is Amanda Haas and followed on deck by Kaylee Williams. Hello, my name is Amanda Haas. I live in Montpelier and I'm a teacher and community coordinator at Central Vermont Adult Education. We have six learning centers in Washington Orange and Memorial County and are one of four statewide nonprofit organizations in the adult education and literacy network. Please support and enact the legislative changes recommended in the adult education and literacy high school completion student access report. Our students are at the center of our work. And we know that success looks different for every student, which is why our programming and activities are specifically tailored to each student's unique needs and goals. For example, I work with English language learners and one of my students is working diligently to obtain her GED. Though her English speaking skills are high intermediate, she did not attend formal school past the third grade in our home country. Therefore, we've had to adapt the standard GED curriculum to her current learning level and needs. This will help bridge the gap of her being a non native English speaker. Once she obtains her GED, she plans to take business classes to fulfill her dream of opening an Asian grocery store and deli here in Montpelier. Meanwhile, I'm helping a group of Afghan men read through the CDL commercial drivers license manual. We're also teaching their wives how to read and write for the very first time, with hopes of one day being able to obtain their own high school credential. We know that increasing literacy and reading, writing, math and technology will open doors for students. So, we help them acquire the specific knowledge and confidence needed to achieve their goals and have agency and owners. Through these support and enact legislative changes recommended in the adult education and literacy high school completion student access report. Thank you for listening. You're welcome. Thank you. My name is Haley Williams, followed on deck by Charlie Clishman. Hi there, thanks so much for having me. My name is Haley I'm from Croftsbury Vermont and I work as the local foods coordinator and hardware farmers market manager through the Center for an agricultural economy. In the last two years, I have helped implement the crop cash and crop cash plus programs at our local farmers market. I've witnessed firsthand how impactful these programs are. And I've also seen them grow the need for them exponentially crop cash and crop cash plus help individuals and families meet their food needs while simultaneously supporting our local producers and strengthening our state's agricultural economy. The support of NOFA's request for 5478 $478,500 in base funding for crop cash and the farm share programs. A little bit of data or background just from our market specifically in 2022 we made 155 individual transactions which resulted in just over $4,000 in sales for our vendors which is about 6% of our markets total. Here in 2023 we about doubled the number of transactions being just over 300 that resulted in about $15,000 worth of money flowing through the market to our producers, which was about 16% or 10% jump in total sales was huge for our market. I'd also like to share with you a short testimony that was written by one of our regular weekly customers who's a friend of mine, share with permission of course. Two senior citizens struggling to make ends meet on a very low fixed income due to age and disabilities we were relieved to have been found eligible for the snap or three squares program. However, as grocery prices climbed ever higher due to the COVID emergency and beyond, we worry that it was getting harder and harder to afford the healthy foods which we had relied upon being able to access, which help us maintain our lifestyle and dietary changes that we were that we knew were helping us remain as healthy as possible. Additionally, our local food pantry the Hardwick area food pantry offered us means to obtain high quality produce while we were in an emergency but we did not want to take food from those from many of our neighbors, which may have been an emergency rations provider that caused consideration for us to use that service service sparingly even as occasion of volunteers. So we started with the crop cash program by doubling and even tripling sometimes our EBT is card buying power we were able to purchase fresh high quality usually organically grown local produce from our neighbors and friends in enough quantity that we even put some of it by to see a doctor. We are confident and saying that it saved my husband's life as a formerly morbidly obese type to diabetic with high blood pressure and now a 200 pound lighter survivor of colon cancer. Hey Lee, I've got a timer went off here. You apologize for the timer on the screen was didn't start on time, but no worries. You got a bonus. Yes. Thank you. I'll submit the written testimony. Thank you. Next is Charlie followed by Johnny Gippard. Good afternoon. My name is Charlie Glisserman and I'm the advocacy director at ARP Vermont. On behalf of ARP Vermont 112,000 members want to thank you for the opportunity to provide comments today. ARP supports policies that enable older adults to age in their homes and communities with the care thing. One of these policies is paid family medical leave. We request that the FY 2025 budget include $37 million in one time funds to start up a state run universal paid family medical leave program. Right now, nearly one in four Vermont workers do not have paid family medical leave benefits. This leaves workers one family or medical emergency way from losing their pay and for some even their job. Vermonters can't wait for paid leave. Caring for a loved one can be expensive, isolating, and stressful. It's a common Vermont experience. Across Vermont, 70,000 family caregivers provide critical assistance to their parents, spouses, and loved ones, most while juggling full or part-time work. Vermont's family caregivers save the state and taxpayers money by providing $1.23 billion annually and unpaid care. Parenting costly hospitalizations and caring for loved ones at home where they want to be. These caregiving demands can lead to years of challenges including lost jobs, debt, and reduced social security benefits or retirement savings. Many of us are or happen or will be a family caregiver. That's why research shows that nearly 80% of Vermont voters 40 plus support creating a universal state run paid family medical leave program. That includes the majority of voters in every political party income level and county in the state. Investment standing up this self-sustaining program will deliver invaluable benefits to family caregivers, realize savings across the state budget, and reflect the will of Vermonters. They will make our community stronger. Please include $37 million in one-time funds in the FY 2025 budget to start up a universal paid family medical leave program. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Up next is Johnny Gifford. On deck is Ian Wheeler. Hey there. My name is Johnny Gifford. I'm the executive director of Brattleboro Community Television. We serve eight towns in Wyndham County. So please, I'm out here to ask you to please support the Vermont access network with $1 million in one-time funding. While a permanent funding source is discussed in the legislature, we appreciate your past support. I do want to emphasize that the way in which public access TV is funded is becoming very antiquated in the age of streaming and internet access. But yet we have adapted with programming widely available on many internet-based platforms. I personally have been involved with public access TV stations in 13 of the 26 years I've been alive. I've seen firsthand the ways in which it brings people together. It's a way for underserved and underprivileged people to utilize the First Amendment rights and to artistically express themselves through multimedia. It's a platform for local governments, schools, and press to deliver vital information to their constituents. It's a method for citizens to stay connected to their communities and to feel a sense of local belonging. It keeps eclectic cultures alive. And in my eyes, these are all just very vital parts of what it means to be a Vermonter. Working at a community media center is a great way to keep your mind open to new ideas. And you know, you better believe that there's so many unique individuals with great ideas coming through our door. In the last month alone, I've seen four new members at my station who are all excited to pursue different projects using our resources, like a talk show about healing from trauma, films from local live music shows, individuals who are filming local youth sports. We have a new artist creating music videos, and we also serve the youth of our communities through camps, internships and workshops, which help build artistic, technical, team building and career building skills. And community media has quite honestly changed my life. And a personal goal of mine is to share that impact with others. Offering state-of-the-art technology and services are vital to keep our stations thriving. And at the moment, the way for us to keep up is to ask for your help. So again, please support the Verma Access Network with $1 million in one-time funding while a permanent funding source is discussed in the legislature. Thank you for your time. You're welcome. Thank you. Yep. Now is Ann Wheeler on deck. Is Becca Warren? Ann, you're up. There you are. Good afternoon. Please allow myself to introduce myself. I am Ann Wheeler, and I work for Easter Seals Vermont as the post-permanency program coordinator. I'm here to request you consider base funding for post-permanency services programs by $300,000. Adoption of a child is often one of life's most rewarding yet challenging decisions. Children who have been adopted through the Department of Children and Families DCF system often have significant challenges regarding adjustment issues, psychological scars and relational deficits. Post-permanency services can be instrumental in helping parents weather the storm of caring for special needs adopted child and preventing adoption failure. Adoption dissolution is a particularly tragic event for adopted children giving the fragility of their relationship, history and frequent experiences with attachment disruptions. Adoption dissolution is also fraught with feelings of failure and guilt for families. Because the field has come to understand that many adoptive families struggle long after the adoption, Vermont offers post-adoption services as part of the continuity of care for traumatized children. Our program is free and voluntary for any adoptive or guardianship families statewide. The most common family to reach out to us for assistance are raising children with severe behavioral or emotional problems. Often the caregivers are fatigued and resource poor. This program, so important to these family, is also resource poor. Without any rate increase since 2011, we have struggled ourselves to keep this program in our Vermont communities. Once again, I'm requesting you please consider increasing the base rate for post permanency services program by $300,000. Thank you for your time. You're welcome. Thank you. Next up is Becca Warren. On deck is Grant John Porter. Good afternoon. My name is Becca Warren. I manage the Vermont Food Security Coalition, which is a new part of Vermont Farm to Plate Network at the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund. I have heard about the recently published Vermont Food Security Roadmap, which lays out the path to achieve full food security in Vermont by 2035. We are already on the path to food security. Thanks to your work. And I'm here to highlight the appropriations requests before you which will keep us on that road to food security. These appropriations are all important to move us toward food security in Vermont. We support the following fiscal year 2025 appropriations requests coming before you, some of which we've already heard about today. Please fund the Vermont Food Bank's request for $5 million in base funding. Please fund the Vermont Association of Area Agencies on Aging's appropriations request with $3 million in base funding for meals on wheels. Please provide Vermont 211 with the full support it needs to connect everyone in Vermont to the emergency and everyday services we need. Please fund NOVA Vermont's request for $478,500 to support crop cash and farm share. Please fund Working Lands at $1.5 million in base funding. Please continue to fund the Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food and Markets Agricultural Development Grant Program at $2.3 million. Please fully fund the local food incentive and the Farm to School and Early Education Grant programs as you've heard by appropriating $500,000 for each program. And please fund the Land Access Opportunity Board with $1.97 million. With your support of these projects and appropriations, our collective action on food security can be successful. Thank you. Okay, up now is Grant John Gorton and on deck is Gene Hamilton. Good afternoon now and thank you for the opportunity to testify. I'm John Gorton from Fairfield and I'm here to ask you to support the Vermont Food Bank's request for $5 million in base funding to address the sustained increased need for access to food and communities throughout Vermont. I'd like to take a second and describe how important the budget of the Vermont Food Bank is to those of us who are boots on the ground working to combat food insecurity. Along with about 20 other volunteers, I run the Sheldon Methodist Church food shelf as a network partner of the Vermont Food Bank. We are currently serving between 350 and 400 families, a thousand people distributing between 20 and 25,000 pounds of food per month. To put that effort into a very sobering financial perspective, for the year 2023, the food I distributed represented between 60 and $70,000 every month, north of three quarters of a million dollars of food for the year. I did that on the budget of $35,000. Before the pandemic, we were serving about 100 families a month. The pandemic double that and recent inflation over the last year or so has doubled that again. Over 85% of the food that we provide for our clients comes from and through the Vermont Food Bank. Their funding is the foundation which I leverage to accomplish what we do at our food shelf. Collectively, the Vermont over 200 network partners of the Vermont Food Bank would multiply the $5 million in food bank funding into tens of millions of dollars of direct food aid going to families and children in every community all across this state. It's a return on investment that you can't beat. In closing, I'd like to share a story of what I think is really the story. 30 years ago, we called ourselves an emergency food bank. People came a few families. Now we're a grocery store, several hundred families who on a bashfully state, they wouldn't be able to feed their families if it weren't for what they get at our food shelf. I encourage you to include this money, this $5 million for the Vermont Food Bank. Thank you very much. Welcome. Thank you. Up now is Jean Hamilton and on deck is Angel like contests. Hi, my name is Jean Hamilton and I'm the director of program development with the land access and opportunity board. I'm here to ask you to support the L a O B with an appropriation of $1.97 million in FY 25 to support our baseline operational expenses and to allow us to keep the powerful momentum of our newly launched programming. Two years ago, you and your colleagues in the legislature created the L a O B in response to calls from the community to address systemic marginalization and oppression that continues to disadvantage certain communities from having safe and reliable access to housing and land. Last year, you designated $1.2 million to empower the L a O B to carry forward the actions laid out for you in our sunrise report. With that investment, the L a O B has built a sturdy foundation, including active board engagement, a clearly defined M O U with our administrative hosts, the V H C B and our newly staffed co-directorship. With staff now in place. The L a O B is launching our programming, including engaging the wisdom of our communities and their lived experiences through community events. And working with partners across the state to identify and alleviate the barriers that create persistent gaps in home ownership and land access for black and brown communities. For the L G B T Q I a plus community and those with stigmatized differences like developmental disabilities and survivors of mental illness. Resourcing the work of the L a O B is an important step we can all take towards fulfilling the equity goals laid out by the state of Vermont. Please support the L a O B within with our appropriations ask of 1.97 million dollars. Thank you so much for your time and your service. Welcome. Thank you. Up now is Angela Contis. Hi, I'm a Gala key contest, the resident of Jericho and board chair of the Vermont access network. So please support our 1 million one time fiscal year 25 funding request while a permanent funding source is being discussed right now in the legislature. We're made up of 24 community media centers, and this funding will make us able to continue to say yes, instead of maybe or no, when our communities reach out for support. At Mount Mansfield Community Television in Richmond or at work for 12 years, we say yes. The MMU high school band director access to stream their winter concert. Yes, we will definitely hire a student to do it. If the local select board has a special budget meeting before town meeting day. Of course, yes, we'll cover it. After all we processed 369 meetings last year but who's counting. If our if our library is hosting a talk on Jericho's own snowflake Bentley for his birthday. You guessed it. It's a yes 1000 times. The same goes for camp scholarships, candidate q&a's 24 seven hybrid meeting tech support and live streams from venues, including fields and barns. We are still saying yes, and despite the threat to our main revenue source cable funding, as yours shift to watching us online. We don't want to start saying no when it comes to helping our state count cities, schools and countless nonprofit organization partners over 100 of which signed a letter which we're submitting the Vermont access network. We're maybe most visible on town meeting day or graduation, but every day my colleagues throughout the state are behind the scenes. Notting yes when it comes to supporting Vermont civic cultural and community life. So please support the Vermont access networks fiscal year 25, one time funding request of 1 million. While the permanent funding source source is worked out in the legislature. Thank you. Okay, I'm now as market Redmond and on deck is Karen price. Good afternoon, my name is Mark Redmond on the executive director of spectrum youth and family services spectrum has been in existence since 1970 and our primary mission is to work with teenagers and young adults who are homeless. We were founded and is still based in Burlington almost three years ago, we received a private donation and a federal grant to create a drop in center in St. Albans similar to the one we have in Burlington. This would be a safe space where you can come in and receive the basics of a free out lunch and dinner, clothing, homework help and help finding employment. We're building on Lake Street in St. Albans. We'd originally wrote a grant when we open stating that we expected to work with about 80 different youth in year one. We instead saw 189 come to us and 304 in the last year alone. The next component we wish to add to our work in St. Albans is shelter and transitional housing in Burlington we have 26 beds for youth ages 18 to 24, who have nowhere to live. The average stay is 18 months, during which time they not only have a place to stay but help with finishing school and finding employment. This is what we now wish to create in St. Albans. We meet youth age 18 and above in our drop in center who are living in cars, garages and tents in cold weather they may qualify to live temporarily in a hotel, but it's usually very far away in places like Bennington or Brattleboro, they have no way to even get there. Our St. Albans staff estimate that there are about 18 youth who could benefit from such shelter right now. Given that the only adult shelter in St. Albans has 20 beds and it has a waiting list of 50 I checked yesterday. I would like to create a youth specific supportive housing program to meet this demand. I'm appealing to your committing for operating funds in the budget to continue the work of our drop in center in St. Albans for $200,000 per year. And the annual operating course for residents will be approximately $454,000 per year. Thank you. Okay, next up is Karen Price and on deck is this name is familiar. I'm very familiar. Marty Belvin. Hi, I'm Karen Price from Essex. I am in the developmental disabilities housing initiative or DDHI, along with over 100 parents who like me have an adult child with an intellectual developmental disability, and who will need a safe, stable home to live in. When his father and I can no longer care for him. My 26 year old son has a rare syndrome and will never be able to live independently due to his intellectual and medical needs. He requires help in all activities of daily living and supervision 24 seven. Please support DDHI's request for 10.82 million for the implementation of three pilot planning projects under Act 186 and the continued annual development of service supported housing for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities until there is sufficient housing. When the Brandon training school closed 30 years ago, Governor Dean said, I'm proud to maintain the commitment of the state to the very kind of services that we still owe to the population that was once at Brandon, and it's now the community. We will continue to assure that individuals receive support and services. We will continue to assure that these services meet acceptable levels of quality. We will continue to assure that persons receiving the services are free from abuse, neglect or mistreatment. To assure that the folks taking care of the people needing these services have adequate training and support. So our commitment does not end with the closing of this institution. This promise has not been kept. Please support 10.82 million for the implementation of the three pilot grant projects and the annual development of service supported housing for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. These are our most vulnerable citizens. Please do not abandon them. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, next is Marty and I'm very sorry. Good afternoon, House and Senate Appropriations Committee. I'm Marty Feltes from Linden, and I, as being a former member of your hardworking group, I know that you will take everyone's participation in serious consideration. I'm here today to support the Adult Education and Literacy Network, not in support of a specific budget line item, but rather in support of legislative changes that will be proposed in the Miscellaneous Ed Bill. These changes relate to the definitions and the funding streams for our adult education services. The changes that are recommended by the Adult Education and Literacy High School Completion Student Access Report, which you required in last year's budget. They are important to the Appropriations Committee because their adoption will result in a much more streamlined delivery process of the services and implementation of a fixed funding mechanism. All in the years that I served on the Appropriations Committee, there was always confusion and concern regarding the stability and the sufficiency of the funding streams for this important work. The changes being proposed will result in a fixed revenue formula that will yield approximately $6.3 million each year versus the current disparate funding streams that have variable and uncertain yields. And as we all know, having stability and financial resources leads to better planning and delivering services. In my retirement from the legislature, I have joined the Board of the Northeast Kingdom Learning Services, which is one of the organizations in the network. First hand, how many of the students in my area use the services offered by any KLS to help them qualify for one of the numerous workforce training programs Vermont has created in recent years. As you consider the FY25 budget, I hope you will see that this modest change in the program definition and funding stream will be one of those no brainer decisions that will help us all. Thank you. Thank you, Marty. It's good to hear your voice. Hey, Kerry is up now in on deck is Suzanne Ruthier. Hi committee thanks for your time today. My name is Kerry Taylor and I'm also calling in from Lyndon and I work for the Vermont Food Bank. I continue to support the food banks request for $5 million in base funding to address the sustained increased need for food access throughout Vermont. Vermont has experienced drastic and devastating events in 2023 that had lasting impacts on food security. The end of the increased three square benefits record high inflation and food costs and catastrophic flooding just to name a few recovery from these cascading crisis is more than any of our community organizations partners or neighbors can do on their own. Just explain this better. I'm going to share the words of Emily Atenon, a Montpelier resident shared with her permission. She's also submitted written testimony to you. He says, as a disabled Vermont term I connected this causes rooted in the reality of relying on food assistance, weaving together resources like three squares Vermont meals on wheels for the Montpelier meals program and weekly home deliveries from the Montpelier food pantry to sustain me through each week and month. At the end of pandemic EBT benefits, there's been a drastic monthly decrease in my three squares assistance. Consequently, my dependence on my local food pantry and meals on wheels has significantly increased. Previously, I received $281 a month in three squares, allowing me to purchase healthy month long food supplies. Now with just $23 a month, I rely on meals on wheels five days a week and a weekly home delivery from the Montpelier food pantry. Unfortunately, her experience isn't unique. A team at UVM found that two in five or 40% of people in Vermont had experienced food insecurity in 2022. That was before all of the challenges of 2023. In fact, we hear from our partners that more people are visiting their sites more frequently now. The food bank and its network are the safety net to put food on neighbor's tables and we stand ready to continue to partner with the state of Vermont, but we need financial support to continue to purchase and distribute food to meet the increased need. I ask that you support the food bank's request for 5 million a base funding to address the needs for food access throughout Vermont. I've also submitted a letter for your review signed by over 100 organizations from around the state. Thank you for your time. You're welcome. Thank you. Next up next is Suzanne Routhier and on deck is Jim Trenger. Hi, I'm Suzanne Routhier. I'm the director of outreach for Essex County in the Northeast Kingdom community action. I also live in Bloomfield. NECA is a partner organization with the Vermont food bank and helps support our multiple food shelves of which I managed to. I have been in my position since July of 2018. And over those years I have seen the price of food steadily increase the demand on our food shelves steadily increase and the amount of food available through the Vermont food bank steadily decrease. I want to share with you the story of Harry named changed. Harry came into my office in October for help with another issue that NECA assists with. He is the father of four and the only source of income for his family because it is less expensive for his wife to stay at home with their youngest and then to pay for childcare. During our time together I discussed with him about utilizing our food shelf. Harry was elected in first Harry has become a weekly visitor. Last week he told us that prior to his regular visits to our food shelf by the end of the month their snap benefits were gone. And he and his wife would often skip meals so that their children had enough food to eat. Now thanks to our food shelf, they never have to worry about skipping meals again. Harry's regular snap benefits last the full month and his whole family is thriving. I'm the daughter of a Vermont dairy farmer. I know the hard work sacrifice and cost of providing food. I have nearly 20 years of experience in the medical field. I've seen what diseases of poor nutrition due to a body. I am a single parent and like Harry I have had to decide whether or not to eat a meal so my child had enough. Access to food is a human right, not a privilege. Please support the food banks request for $5 million in base funding to address the sustained sustained increased need for access to food in the communities throughout Vermont. Thank you. Thank you. Next is Jim and followed on deck by Martin. Good afternoon. I'm Jim Pinger, President of the Vermont Ambulance Association. Thank you for the opportunity to speak on funding for EMS. First, I want to thank the legislature for past funding. The last year funding for education and Medicaid reimbursement were vital to the ambulance services and first response services. These are difficult times for EMS across the nation and here in Vermont recruitment and retention, being the largest problems, all volume has increased. And there's a person personnel shortage via my EMS is the safety net for all the monitors will respond to and treat and transport patients regardless whether they have insurance or not. In addition to the personnel shortage inflation has affected all amateurs. It was not long ago you could purchase an ambulance for $150,000 now it's 250,000 plus our personnel have received over 20% increases and pay in the last couple years. And it is well deserved. We have to continue on this path to retain our personnel for volunteers are also a shortage many people in Vermont are working two and three jobs and I have the time to volunteer. They would also not be able to afford $1200 or more for a class just to begin to volunteer. We can't give up on volunteerism we need to strengthen the numbers and encourage people to help their fellow citizens. I ask you prioritize and continue to fund EMS training at $1 million funding and increase to a possible 1.5 million. This is vital to EMS's ability to serve the citizens of Vermont. The second priority will be continue increase Medicaid funding if possible. And in the perfect world, the third priority would be to increase funding staffing of the Vermont EMS office to help services and district. And I thank you for your time. Thank you, sir. Hey, Martin is up now and on deck is Karen. He is specific. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. I'm Martin Han. I'm the director of common good Vermont. Common good Vermont is a statewide program of United Way Northwest Vermont. It is a trusted resource and nonpartisan advocate for the state's nonprofit organizations. We support the success of these organizations through education, training and advocacy. Common good Vermont serves as a representative of the nonprofit sector to government and a connection between the two sectors. More than 6300 nonprofits provide services, good jobs and civic engagement that make our community stronger. Nonprofits employed one in seven remote workers and contribute over $5.7 billion per year to the economy, making the nonprofit sector the second largest industry after state government. In the year 23, the state of Vermont had 13,000 active grants outstanding using state and federal funds, totaling $3.4 billion. Common good Vermont supports nonprofit grantees with training and education, including grants management, financial management, workforce development, short and long term program planning and valuation. We also provide data on the sector that is used by nonprofits and the state alike, such as our biennial Vermont report on workforce and the nonprofit wages and better. Common good Vermont provides services for Vermont's nonprofits again to those provided by the SBA for businesses. It is not currently supported by any public funding. Currently, we can request games to address this gap. Common good Vermont seeks general fund support to continue to build our capacity to invest in Vermont's nonprofit sector. We request that the committee consider a grant of $200,000 and FY 25 just support this critical cohort. Thank you for your time. Thank you, sir. Okay, so up now is Karen and I'm deaf, but I'll probably get this wrong. Joseph. Joseph. Okay, thank you. Hi, everyone. My name is Karen Parker and I live in Sharon Vermont. I serve as the regional director of Vermont adult learning and Windsor County. I'm here today on behalf of the adult education and literacy network. We are asking that you please support and enact the legislative changes recommended in the adult education and literacy high school completion student access report. These important legislative changes include sunsetting that high school completion program and moving adult education literacy funding into one grant program under the adult diploma program. The eligible age of a student of a student consistent across all sections of the legislation at age 16, eliminating the test of adult basic education of the funding mechanisms, and honoring this funding mechanism in our governing governing statute that says that each job we paid quote, an amount equal to 26% of the base education amount for each student who completed the diagnostic portion of the program and quote, which should result in an appropriation of 6.3 million. These changes to how we are funded support a sustainable future for the adult education and literacy network, a future in which we do not have to continually return to the state house, asking for one time funding each year. Currently, these legislative changes make our programs and funds more accessible to students across the state. When students have access to our services they're able to build assets that they need to move out of poverty and into jobs that serve Vermont workforce. One example from this and Windsor County is a recent Vermont adult learning graduate who as of today passed her licensed nursing assistant certification and is currently applying for jobs. When this student came to us she was low literacy and had several learning disabilities to traditional school had never worked for her. But our programs changed the course of her life and set her on a different path where she feels empowered and has the confidence and training to achieve her goals. Please support and enact the legislative changes are commended and middle education and literacy high school completion student access report. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So far is up now and on deck is Teresa here. Thank you for having me here today and thank you for all the work you do here. Appreciate it. My name as you heard is Joe Chris for her. And I'm a resident of Middlebury, Vermont. And I'm here as the program director of Vermont adult learning, one of the four adult education and literacy providers here in Vermont. I would like to ask you to please support and enact legislation of changes recommended in the adult education and literacy high school completion student access report. As Karen just explained those changes streamline our funding and provide a more stable funded going forward. Vermont's four nonprofit adult education and literacy providers are for a broad range of services that build assets and help people change their lives. Every year I attend our graduation ceremonies across the state, and the consistent message I hear from students is gratitude for the opportunity for a better life for themselves and their families. And what that looks like varies from student to student. For some it's a chance to go on to college or other post secondary education for others it's job opportunities that she just heard from Karen with this. For some it's the opportunity to finally understand English well enough so they can speak with their children's teachers or read and write to their children read and write with their children and teach them math when they're doing their homework. It really varies. But what's consistent is that the adult education and literacy network opens up doors to things that these students only dreamed of before. Please help us continue to open that door by supporting the and then acting the legislative changes recommended in the adult education and literacy high school completion student access report. Thank you for this time. Thank you. Teresa is up next and on deck is Anna. Yes, you're on. Anna. Hi, I'm here. I'm sorry if I got it wrong. Go ahead Teresa. Hello. My name is Teresa and I reside in Canaan Essex County. There is a chronic underfunding of Vermont's natural resources conservation districts. I am asking you to support conservation districts with a base appropriation of $3 million to support our state's conservation delivery system. To keep Vermont's notoriety of beautiful and pristine land, water and other natural resources, more money should be awarded to the conservation districts to be the stewards of this portion of what makes Vermont, Vermont, especially here in the most northern portion of the Northeast Kingdom. My relationship with the conservation district began in February of 2021 with a conversation with Heather Johnson, former Essex County district manager. At that time, she stated in an email, I have been wanting to work at Wallace pond for a while because of the shoreline degradation. I can see several issues from the main road and the Jackson Lodge road. Unfortunately, we never met that spring as I was dealing with cancer treatments. However, in June of 2023, contact was made with Sam main who provided guidance on getting a meeting together along with shoreline assessments of interested parties. We had a great turnout for the meeting, even though Sam had met with the proprietors during the assessments and had already garnered information and had answered questions. It was a very productive meeting and Sam is helping us set up a laywater quality monitoring program on the lake through Vermont DC. Much work is needed at Wallace pond slash Lake Wallace. We look forward to continuing working with him to save our shorelines. In closing, please address the chronic underfunding of Vermont's natural resources conservation districts with a base appropriation of $3 million to support our state's conservation delivery system. Thank you so much for your service, time and consideration. Thank you. Okay. I had my timer that worked. Okay. And it's up now. And that is Gary Dylan. Hello, my name is Anna, I live in Windsor County and I represent the Vermont every town project on the land access and opportunity board. The every town project seeks to create access to land through alternative to land ownership for those most impacted by systemic racism, and we've been forced off their land and homes for generations. I'm here to provide testimony and support of the leob's appropriation requests as a state we need to resource the work of the leoby in a sustainable way that allows for future success and independence so that we can fulfill the state's equity goals. In the last few months, the leoby has heard from various housing and economic development agencies about their programs and how they're integrating equity in those programs. This includes the Vermont Department of Housing, Housing and Conservation Board housing and finance agency economic development authority, agricultural credit core and more. One key takeaway from this is the majority of these agencies have not taken intentional steps to promote equal access to their programs or track how equitable they've been in distributing program assistance. Some are oblivious to the barriers and access that marginalized communities face, which is a natural result when an agency lacks staff representation of those with marginalized identities. It makes no effort to solicit feedback from those communities or designate staff and resources to investigate the disparity and access. This is where the leoby is uniquely positioned to fill that critical gap. The leoby will investigate where state programs and investments are falling short of the state's equity goals and recommend how we can make different and targeted investments in those communities who have been long deprived of the opportunity to reap the benefits of those programs and investments. This year, the leoby will lead a statewide equity assessment to continue to measure programs impact on housing and land access. The result of this assessment will inform the leoby's own grant making programs and provide critical insight and recommendations to the full spectrum of organizations who play a role in the state's housing and land enterprise sector. Please support the land access and opportunity board with an appropriation at 1.97 million and FY 25 for baseline operations and allow us to continue our critical work. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, Mr. Dylan is up now and on deck is Julie. Good afternoon. Thank you for giving the opportunity to speak with you today. I want to talk with you and encourage you to support. Senate 310 section 48 urban search and rescue team. My name is Gary Dylan and I'm the fire chief in Waterbury. Waterbury and the surrounding communities were one of the epicenters during tropical storm Irene. We encountered massive flooding property damage in serious risk to lives. Like many other communities, we needed a swift water rescue team to retrieve 2 members of our community. This is the same throughout the state. July of last year. Our state was hit with another storm and severe flooding water. We did not have the same level of flooding, but had an increase in the need for swift water rescues. Waterbury alone needed swift water rescue teams for 4 different incidents. One of those rescues was for a driver who attempted drive through white cap river flooding. And that split around a bridge. The water pushed the car up against the large boulders and stopped there from immediately going down river. 2 New Hampshire teams were required to respond to be able to affect the rescue. Thereafter, the car spun around the boulder and had the operator been in the car, it likely would have been a different outcome. The very same thing happened in Madison County where 3 lives were saved swift water rescue teams. Both tropical storm Irene and the July flooding were federal declarations. Again, in waterbury during December, like other communities, we had additional flooding. And again, these teams save lives in Madison County. Currently, the Department of Public Safety urban search and rescue team receives federal funding through grants. When they get their grant money from the federal funding. Then other smaller communities who don't have grant writers are unable to get that funding. So if the state. At least partially funded this, the state team, and that would allow other smaller departments to go after some of the federal fund. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Thank you. Joey. And on deck is Regina. As. Your mayor may not. Hello, my name is Joey. My husband Tony and I own and operate the footwork farm in Johnson Vermont. We grow certified organic vegetables and fruit. And we work very closely with the Northeast organic farming association known as NOFA. That organization, their staff and their programs that they run are a vital part of our business. We have seven greenhouses. And we have about 30 acres in production of vegetables and fruit every year. We have an onsite farm stand open from May until November. And it's fully staffed and open seven days a week. I am urging you today to please support and fund the $478,500 for NOFA Vermont's crop cash and farm share programs. My reality is that the families that need and receive the support for their CSA shares will choose my farm stand, given the opportunity. But without that incentive, I don't believe and I have noticed in the past that they, they won't even come into the farm stand unless they're incentivized by that. Once they do visit, however, I've seen them return year after year. And for the foreseeable future, Johnson will not have a grocery store. It was lost in the flooding last July. My farm will be the only place in town to purchase healthy local fruits and veggies. Our demand is going to be much higher than normal. And as the farm, I wish I could help more and I wish I could donate more. But we are also trying to recover from the flood and need the next few seasons to go really well in order for us to recover. Thank you for taking the farm share program, the $478,500. You are helping not only our farm, but also the people in our community. Thank you for taking the time to hear me today and for all the hard work you're all doing. Thank you. Next up now is Regina and on deck is Elizabeth Tyler. Hello and thank you to the appropriation committees for this opportunity. My name is Regina Zimea and I'm originally from Afghanistan, but I now call Vermont home. I arrived in this country in April 2022 with only my backpack. I'm deeply grateful I ended up here in Vermont. I first arrived before me and spent 10 weeks living and learning on the World Learning or SIT campus in Brattleboro. While also receiving support from the local resettlement organization, the Ethiopian Community Development Council, ECDC and dozens of community volunteers who introduced us to our new community here. Being first to welcome into transitional housing made it easier for refugees like us to connect with other refugees being resettled here and to support each other. Transitional housing on the campus allowed us time to heal as well as possible from having to leave our entire family and everything we knew behind. Most of the refugees who come to Vermont are choosing to stay here and I believe a big reason for that is the transitional housing we have been offered. ECDC World Learning and UCRI welcome us with transitional housing for several weeks or months while we improve our English and sign up for health services and job training. Then we move to in our long term housing, find jobs and become active community members. I'm now a case manager working with ECDC and I'm living in permanent housing in Brattleboro. I'm also part of organization called Art Lords, a group of Afghan artists who paints mural in support of human rights and other social causes. Without your support for funding to enable transitional housing to continue this coming year, I'm concerned that future refugees will not thrive in Vermont and not stay. Thank you again and I sincerely hope you will support refugees like me coming to Vermont and becoming even Vermonters. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. Last one, right? Well, we're just checking to see if there was any, you know, sheets get updated and you want to make sure that we don't get that wrong. But welcome a little bit. Thank you. So I'm Beth Seiler. I'm the executive director at Champlain Community Services. We are a specialized service agency, certain people with developmental disabilities in Colchester. Thank you for the opportunity to be here. CCS is part of Vermont Care Partners and we're asking for a 6.5% increase, which is $14.6 million. Legislative support over the past several years has been essential to our ability to keep people safe and housed and receiving the support and care that they need. In my written testimony, which I think you have, I included a table showing the effect of your investment on turnover and vacancy rates for the last five years. I also included a graphic showing the impact of Vermont Care Partners on Vermonters. I was stunned that there was not a recommended increase for DAs and SSAs in this year's budget. As you probably know, no increase means a cut and we are facing unprecedented pressures in workforce. We're going through comprehensive system reform right now. There's increased accruity and we have a housing crisis. The 5.5% ask is not arbitrary. Our CFOs looked at five categories, salaries, health insurance, other fringe, other insurance, and other operating expenses. Methodology is broken down in my written testimony. Last week CCS was recognized as one of Vermont's best places to work. We, like all network agencies, are doing everything we can to keep our staff stable and satisfied. However, if we can't pay them fairly, we can't keep them. We hire frontline staff at $20 an hour. Colleagues are now paying $25 to $30 an hour. A typical home provider for a person with complex needs earns about $82 a day. I know this because my husband is one. This is about $14 more than they were learning. They were earning 15 years ago. At CCS, I'll skip right to the end, which is one more final ask. 6.5%. Please. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for coming down. So that is it. Well done. We just had one person that was not that was Sam. That is not online or here. But we had testimony from the conservation minister at multiple times. So I don't think that request is. So, that's a good. Do we need to stand Senator before you exit the room? No. Since we've completed the testimony, I think we could adjourn. Yeah.