Burlington City Council condemns UVM cuts, postpones CityPlace settlement

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - The Burlington City Council Tuesday condemned recent cuts made by the University of Vermont to the College of Arts and Sciences.

To address UVM’s nearly $9 million budget deficit, the school announced last December it would consider cutting 12 majors, 11 minors and four master’s programs.

Though the City Council has no control over what the university does, they unanimously agreed to send the UVM president and trustees a statement condemning the cuts and asking them to be reversed. Councilor Jane Stromberg, P-Ward 8, a UVM grad, sponsored the agenda item.

“As an exemplary model of Burlington values to prioritize protecting jobs, to respect staff’s right to organize, to work with UVM faculty and staff to reverse regressive austerity measures aimed at vulnerable educators and staff,” said Stromberg.

The council also decided to table a vote on whether to accept a CityPlace settlement between the city and the developers that calls for reconnecting St. Paul and Pine streets within the next two years. Councilors said they wanted more time to absorb everything that happened with the settlement to decide how to vote. Mayor Miro Weinberger says he would like to do this sooner rather than later.

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