 Maddie Clark, you're a reporter with the other paper base in South Burlington. We're so glad to welcome you to the Care Mongers. Thanks for joining us today. Well, thank you so much for having me, Lauren. So, I know that the news never sleeps even in the city of South Burlington, so we're curious to find out what kind of stories you've been covering and what it's like to cover them during this COVID-19 period. Definitely, yeah. So, it has been an adjustment. I feel so lucky that much of what I do for my job works pretty well at home. People have been really kind of amenable to phone calls and Zoom meetings. Of course, I miss interviewing people in person, but it's been going pretty well. And we're so lucky to have a fabulous editor and production manager who have gone in to lay out the paper each week. So, it's worked pretty well so far. So, you're actually mailing the newspaper to everyone in South Burlington. Is that right? Right, yeah, pretty much. So, it's right in the mailboxes, and I keep joking that people have more time now than ever to be reading the paper, so hopefully they are. So, what are some of the stories that you've been covering and the issues in the community right now? Sure. Yeah, I think what's kind of front of mind right now is the school budget. So, it didn't pass on town meeting day. And so, the school district has been working on a new proposal. They haven't officially, you know, approved or warned one yet, but the current version that they're working on is about a 4% increase over last year and about a 6% tax rate increase. So, you know, they've had quite a bit of public comment during their Zoom meetings from locals who are concerned about, you know, the economic downturn with COVID-19 and concerned about being able to afford this increase. They had a community proposal from a group of about 20 people looking at maybe how to level-y fund the budget while trying not to impact the student experience. The district did kind of go through that community proposal during one of its meetings and explained some of its own limitations. But now, you know, there are definitely some residents who have asked for level salaries for the teachers. Right now, the district's in negotiations with its three collective bargaining units. So, they aren't really at leisure to talk about those negotiations right now, but that's definitely something that's been kind of called for in the community. But you also do, you have the flip side where there are people who say, you know, the school needs everything it's asked for in the budget and also might need additional resources next year after this unfortunate circumstance we're in with the pandemic. Some people are afraid, you know, educational differences from this continuity of learning online and if students might need additional help next year and things like that. So, it'll be interesting to see how that plays out. And I think that people have really been tuned in. And what accounts for the 4%, 6% increase, 4% in the budget, 6% in the tax rate? Is that right? 6% in the tax rate. So, 4% of the increase right now is from the common level of appraisal. So, homes right now in South Burlington are in general selling higher than they're appraised. So, the difference is kind of made up in educational taxes. So, that's part of it. Another part is there was, you know, a large increase on health care premiums this year. So, that's part of it too. And then, you know, additional things are just maintaining the services they have and, you know, school stewardship and things like that. So, yeah. Yeah, so there's, and are they planning on voting on the budget when? Right. So, that's an interesting thing too, because unfortunately, you know, to vote that that's really congregating a large group of people, which doesn't really work with social distancing. So, right now, the date that I think they're looking at is May 28th. The district's spending conversations with the Secretary of State Jim Condos as well as the city clerk for South Burlington. And so, it looks like maybe May 28th would work. And I think that last I heard they were looking at maybe a combination of mail-in ballots as well as possibly one polling place with social distancing guidelines. But I think that that's still very much in the works. So, how's the clerk responded to the possibility of so many right mail ballots? How's that going to work? You know, that's a really great question and one that I haven't had the opportunity to ask yet, but I bet it would be quite a few more mail-ins than normal. So, what's your observation of how city government is operating? Yeah, so, you know, I guess the big news on the city and right now is that they did have to furlough about 30 workers. It's a mix of full and part-time staff. And, you know, the city has said that they're committed to trying to keep these employees as financially whole as possible. Some may be able to work reduced hours at home, but still receive unemployment benefits and the $600 per week federal boost. I know that the city also set up like a help desk to aid its employees in applying for unemployment insurance. And I was able to speak to the union chair for the employees and he said that he felt like as far as lead time the city handled it as best it could and he felt that employees were really being supported as far as, you know, navigating the application process for unemployment. And I think that the timing was another key point that Kevin Dorn, the city manager, talked about. You know, the city was aware that the state had plans to clear its backlog of unemployment, you know, last week. And so he was hopeful that employees would fall into a good sequence and be able to receive their benefit, you know, as seamlessly as possible. And why are these folks being laid off? Yeah, so, you know, I think that the city is anticipating a downturn in revenue because of the economic impacts of this pandemic, particularly in the local option tax. So annually the city gets about, I think, 3.7 million from local option tax and with hotels closed right now and with restaurants, you know, they're not able to seat diners. It's, I think they're anticipating that there will definitely be some loss there. And what impact would that have on service delivery? Sure. So I did talk to Kevin about that and he said that right now the city has a budget freeze on the current FY20 budget on discretionary spending. So that's, you know, things like paving that might not happen or be delayed, some vehicle purchases that could be delayed. And then as far as, you know, the recent budget that voters approved on town meeting day, he said it's a little too early to tell what will happen. Because that starts July 1st. Right, it does. Now have you heard from South Burlington residents about their experience of this period of time and, you know, there are a lot of statistics of people who are unemployed or lost their jobs, their businesses aren't operating. But do you have some real anecdotes of what's happening in South Burlington? Right, yeah. So I have spoken with a couple local restaurants and, you know, I keep hearing similar sentiments that unfortunately they had to lay off, you know, waiting waitstaff and hosts and things like that. But they're really trying to pivot and adjust to this curbside model. And a lot of them have found that the community has really supported them. So that's been great to hear. And at the same time, I think that we've heard a lot of uplifting stories lately of residents really, you know, kind of stepping up and trying to help the community during this challenging time. You know, we have Lyric Theater in South Burlington and they're sewing masks right now and helping coordinate that effort to donate to Burlington's essential workers. And then Frontline Foods, while it's like a national organization, locally, you know, the chapter in Chinden County was started by Chermie Sy and she is a South Burlington resident, a former nurse at the IBM Medical Center and a current nurse in the school district. And that's really brought in like just a bunch of people in the community. We've had a restaurant owner who's also an art teacher in South Burlington and she was part of the, you know, effort of making the food to donate to the hospital and then a couple local businesses who donated funds to cover the meals. So it's really a win-win is what everyone's been saying because it helps local restaurants and helps the medical workers. So that's been great to see. I think there are people all over the country who are suffering deeply. And it's hard to know how much they're suffering. I mean, we see lines for food shelves. We see, you know, especially in other parts of the country in Vermont. So I'm wondering, what do you think the longer term impact will be on South Burlington given the reporting you've done and what you know? Sure. I think that's a great question. And unfortunately, I think it's just so early and hard to tell. But I mean, statewide, you know, record numbers of people applying for unemployment insurance and like you said, inclusive local food shelves. Those are definitely things I've been hearing about. So yeah, I think it'll be hard to tell what the long term will be. Yeah. So how are you managing? I mean, you're doing social distancing and working from home. How are you doing? You know, I think sometimes it's harder than other times and I feel incredibly grateful for the beautiful outdoor spaces that we have in being able to get outside. I think that's been a saving grease. It's just a wonderful opportunity to get exercise and clear my mind. Lots of reading, you know, catching up on some shows that my friends have recommended. So definitely, you know, trying to turn to things I really enjoy to help get through this time because it is challenging and I think it can be just scary in a whole range of ways to think about this. How so? What would be an example of that? Sure. I think like you said, economically, I'm worried what the future will be. But I, you know, I take comfort in that we are all in this together. So, you know, I think we will see through it. And then of course, health, worried about getting the virus. I mean, definitely practicing social distancing, but of course have to go to the grocery store and things like that. So that's definitely on my mind. Yeah. Do you get a little anxious when you go to the supermarket? I do. Yeah. Well, it's just strange. I mean, everything, some people have masks and some people don't and hand sanitizers and gloves and everyone's very serious. There's not a lot of lightness to the experience anymore. Right. Definitely. And are you in touch with your family in different parts of the country? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So that's been good. And that's another thing too. Talking to family and friends has been really comforting and really enjoyable. I've had a lot of time to catch up with people who I haven't talked to in a while from college and so that's been really nice too. That's great. What story are you working on for next week? Sure. So I don't know how much I can get into things, but I am actually, I'm looking at the food shelf right now and demand there and what volunteers have been helping out with. And then just looking at the city council meeting from Monday and trying to do kind of a recap of what happened there and then just looking towards the community and what folks are doing to cope with this. I've talked to a couple of local businesses. So I'll be writing a little bit about how they've had to change and what they've had to change during this time. Well, we'll look forward to that. And if we don't live in South Burlington and don't receive the paper in the mail, what's the best way for folks to plug into the stories and the coverage? Definitely. So we have a website and we have a Facebook page and both are the other paper. So easy to find and our contact goes up there after the paper comes out in print. So every Thursday. Wonderful. Maddie, thank you so much. Madeleine Clark for joining us, reporter with the other paper in South Burlington. Thank you. Glad to have this time to visit with you. Thanks. Thank you.