Treasurer Pieciak Announces Statewide Tour of Disaster-Impacted Communities

What this means

A factual summary is pending editorial review. The complete official release is reproduced below with issuer attribution and a direct link to the original publication.

Official release

Montpelier, VT – Treasurer Pieciak will visit communities impacted by natural disaster during a statewide tour to assess ongoing recovery needs, highlight resilience investments, and gather input as part of the Climate Superfund cost assessment.

The Flood Recovery and Resilience Tour will include regional roundtable discussions with community leaders and visits to major recovery sites. The tour will help ensure local perspectives continue to inform the State’s disaster response as needs evolve and lessons emerge from past recovery efforts.

Roundtable discussions will be facilitated in partnership with the Vermont Council on Rural Development.

TOUR SCHEDULE:

Wednesday, September 2 - Central Vermont: Montpelier, Barre, and Plainfield

Friday, September 4 - Lamoille Region: Waterbury, Cambridge, Johnson, Morrisville, and Hardwick

Monday, September 21 - Northeast Kingdom: Details TBA

Tuesday, September 29 - Southeastern Vermont: Details TBA

The announcement comes on the 15-year anniversary of Tropical Storm Irene and following years of repeated flooding and natural disaster across the state.

“The climate crisis is an expensive problem that we cannot afford to ignore,” said Treasurer Pieciak. “Building back can take years, if not decades. I thank Vermonters for sharing their stories to help shape a more resilient and affordable future for our state.”

CAPTURING THE FULL COST OF NATURAL DISASTER

Perspectives gathered on the tour will provide additional context for the Climate Superfund cost assessment. Treasurer Pieciak is leading that assessment, which will calculate Vermont’s climate adaptation costs and form the basis for recovery from fossil fuel companies.

While that report is solely focused on measuring quantifiable expenses to the state, the tour will examine the less-measurable impacts of natural disaster, such as fear of future weather events, loss of community, strain on local governments, and more.

INVESTING IN MORE RESILIENT COMMUNITIES

The tour will also highlight solutions that have accelerated local flood recovery and resilience, like the Municipal Climate Recovery Fund (MCRF).

The MCRF was launched by Treasurer Pieciak and the Vermont Bond Bank immediately following the 2023 floods. The fund has since deployed nearly $50 million in low-interest loans to disaster-impacted communities awaiting FEMA assistance, including $20 million from the Treasurer’s Invest in Vermont program.

As interest rates remain at their highest levels in decades, the MCRF has enabled dozens of impacted municipalities to rebuild quickly, while protecting taxpayers from millions in unnecessary borrowing costs.

PRESS AVAILABILITY

Roundtable discussions are not open to the media, though members of the press are invited to attend visits to major recovery sites with the Treasurer. Details will be publicized well in advance of each day of the tour.

For questions, please contact david.kunin@vermont.gov.

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Release text attributed to Vermont Office of the State Treasurer. Consult the official publication for any subsequent corrections or updates.