Who’s in the House?

Independent Jerry Mullen of West Bolton is trying to unseat one of Waterbury’s Democratic incumbents — Rebecca Ellis and Tom Stevens — in the race for two Vermont House seats from the Washington-Chittenden District.

The district covers Waterbury, Huntington, Bolton and Buel’s Gore. The election is Nov. 4.

The candidates say that, in campaigning, property taxes are the biggest issue on constituents’ minds.

The tax system

Jerry Mullen

Mullen called the tax system “antiquated.”

“Our tax system forces land into development,” he said.

To learn more about that, Mullen ran for election to the Bolton Board of Listers and eventually chaired the board for six years.

Vermont’s tax system “made sense long ago when the state was mainly agricultural,” but times have changed and a new way of collecting taxes should be explored.

“Two farmers, one buying and one selling, could agree on a price for a farm. One knew how much he’d made last year, and the other could estimate what he could make, so the property was taxed on the basis of its value,” Mullen said. “It was sort of a crude income tax.”

By law, land is taxed on its potential value — its highest and best use — and development in the 1960s made every farm into potential house lots, which carry a much higher value than pastures.

“Cows don’t make enough milk fast enough to pay those taxes, so we don’t have 15,000 family-owned dairy farms in Vermont anymore. The ‘current use’ system that has been set up is only a patch job,” he said. “You can patch a leaky boat just so much, but it’s still going to sink. When this system is applied to a private home, it makes no sense. The home is not an income-producing property unless you sell it, and it seems to be forcing people to do just that.”

Mullen said he fears older folks on fixed incomes are being forced out of their homes.

“I would like to find and implement other ways to fund town services that would reflect folks’ ability to pay those taxes,” he said. “If I could be involved with reforming this antiquated system so that it’s fair for all Vermonters, I would feel that I’d done something useful for the state.”

Tom Stevens

Stevens, a House member since 2008, said constituents are telling him they want more attention focused on school financing and government reform.

The current statewide school property tax “clearly needs to be looked at, but in a way that doesn’t endanger the schools we have,” he said. “When we say we need to fix something, we have to make sure we’re not breaking it first.”

Stevens called the tax system “elegant and well-calibrated” and, while he’s happy to talk about possible changes, he thinks education governance and finance reform should be viewed as separate issues.

“We have a lot of stakeholders involved and they are not always given the same weight,” he said. “It makes for a difficult conversation.”

Rebecca Ellis

Ellis, who’s been a House member since 2011, said she’s heard a consistent message — “concern with property taxes” — while knocking on doors around the district.

“I am confident the Legislature is going to take a serious look at the statewide education property tax,” she said.

Ellis said the “fair and equitable” system offers equal opportunity for all Vermont students, but “it is very complicated and there’s a discernible difference between the tax rate and the budget that gets voted on during Town Meeting Day. There needs to be a closer connection for people who want to have a tax system that’s more transparent.”

Ellis said that, in looking at the history of education funding, there’s usually a shift about every 15 years and she thinks the next shift could occur this year.

Their main issues

Ellis

Ellis said she’s seeking re-election to continue to tackle climate change issues.

“We as a state are doing all that we can to both mitigate climate change and build resilience so that we can adapt successfully to climate change,” she said.

It’s all part of helping Vermont reach its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent by 2050 while reaching 90 percent reliance on renewable energy.

Ellis plans on continuing to work closely with organizations such as Efficiency Vermont to help educate the Legislature and to adopt more policies and incentives.

Mullen

Mullen favors adding more renewable energy sources to reduce the state’s reliance on fossil fuels and help combat global warming.

Stevens

Stevens said that, if he’s re-elected and remains a member of the General, Housing and Military Affairs Committee, he wants to push for updating the state’s liquor and lottery laws.

“They raise money for the state, but these are things that can cause trouble,” Stevens said. “People may say it’s not a big issue, but tell that to people with alcohol or gambling addictions. We are essentially selling items that are a controlled substance.

“I’d like to see a bill that merges the two departments so we can make money cleanly and feel good about how we’re doing it.”

The candidates