Economic Mitigation and Recovery Task Force Outreach Survey

Dear Vermonters & Partners:

The Local Support and Community Action Team of the Economic Mitigation and Recovery Task Force needs your help prioritizing high impact ideas and actions identified by diverse stakeholders for COVID-19 recovery.

Please share your views in this quick survey on or before Tuesday, May 12th.

We also encourage you to forward this survey to your peers and network, indicating the May 12th deadline.

Coordination, connection and collective action to prioritize and implement Vermont’s best ideas are the keys to a swift recovery, achieved together.

Thank you,
The Local Support and Community Action Team

Paul Costello, Team Chair & Executive Director, Vermont Council on Rural Development
Xusana Davis, Executive Director of Racial Equity, State of Vermont
Oliver Olsen, Former Legislator & Director, Workday, Londonderry
Maura Collins, Executive Director, Vermont Housing Finance Agency
Rich McSheffrey, Co-owner, Cornerstone Restaurant Group, Montpelier
Ed Vilandrie, Founder, Altman Vilandrie & Company, co-owner Kingdom Taproom, Peacham
Sarah Waring, Vice President for Grants and Community Investments, Vermont Community Foundation

Catherine Dimitruk, Executive Director, Northwest Regional Planning Commission
Nick Richardson, President, Vermont Land Trust

For survey assistance, contact jacob.hemmerick@vermont.gov.

Question Title

* 1. Participant Information

Name

Organization (if applicable)

City/Town/Village

Question Title

* 2. If you represent an organization, what is its category?

Not Applicable

Government

Quasi-Governmental Organization

Nonprofit

Private Business

Foundation

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 3. If you represent and organization, what is its primary service area?

Not Applicable

Local

Regional

Statewide

National/Multi-state

Other (please specify)

PRIORITIZATION OF HIGH IMPACT COVID-19 RECOVERY IDEAS

Recovery ideas are grouped into similar themes below. For each grouping, identify the top HIGH IMPACT ideas you think would make the biggest difference for recovery.

Consider HIGH IMPACT as ideas that:

Support and sustain impacted businesses, services, individuals and communities
Expand inclusive opportunities and equity for affected and vulnerable populations
Address unmet needs and fill gaps in recovery efforts
Accelerate consumer spending and the movement of capital
Can show measurable results

If you are unsure how to answer or short on time, you do not have to identify your top priorities in each group to submit the survey. You may skip groupings.

(The sequence of the ideas listed below are randomized for each survey taker.)

Question Title

* 4. TOURISM & MARKETING INITIATIVES. Select up to three (3)

Statewide strategy & campaign to support local business spending

Locally customizable tourism marketing toolkit & promotions

Coordinated tourism campaign & messaging (statewide & regional)

Outdoor recreation education/marketing campaign for health & commerce

‘Go downtown' marketing initiative to support downtown commerce

‘Relocate to VT' marketing campaign to attract new residents

Other idea:

Question Title

* 5. LOCAL ECONOMY & BUY LOCAL. Select up to three (3)

Community recovery festivals to reopen the local economy, once safe

Official statewide bartering system

Projects to support curbside services & commerce

Buy local gift/debit card w/option for rounding up charges to benefit a nonprofit

Online marketplace/sales platform accessible to local consumers & small business

Buy local gift/debit card for low-to-moderate income household stimulus

Other idea:

Question Title

* 6. HOUSING, HOUSEHOLDS & HOMELESSNESS. Select up to three (3)

Fund mortgage payment assistance for affected households

Affordable housing for young people

Fund affordable infill & 'missing middle' housing in & around downtowns/villages

Fund support services that helps vulnerable households maintain housing

Fund rental payment assistance for affected households

House homeless, provide support services & plan for comprehensive solutions

Build & rehab permanently affordable housing

Other idea:

Question Title

* 7. COMMUNITY & SOCIAL SECTOR. Select up to five (5)

Nonprofit response committee for coordinated response & guidance

Rapid response land access/protection fund

Crowdfunding for place-making, economic development & recovery efforts

Cultivate private-public partnerships to leverage resources & support recovery

Microgrants to support downtown organizations & municipalities

Recovery fund for grants & low-interest loans to affected organizations

Unified advocacy platform from the state to the federal government

Coordinated procurement of protective equipment & cleaning supplies

Flexible multi-purpose grants for nonprofits supporting community recovery

Other idea:

Question Title

* 8. BUSINESS & WORKING LAND ENTERPRISES. Select up to five (5)

Funding & tech. assistance to help businesses establish online sales & web presence

New small business loans

Local recovery navigators to sustain & assist w/business decisions/aid programs

Financial lending, counseling & tax support for vulnerable microbusinesses

Grants to support startups & new business, e.g. outdoor innovation businesses

One-on-one technical assistance for small business & working lands enterprise

Farm community emergency assistance

Public funding to put artists, humanists & creative economy back to work

Flexible, multi-purpose small business grants for operating costs, rent, etc.

Structured business support groups/committees for long-term recovery

Grants for businesses to source/buy local

Community Capital Fund to support long-term small business finances

Other idea:

Question Title

* 9. TELECOMMUNICATION & THE DIGITAL DIVIDE. Select up to three (3)

Universal, high-capacity broadband access for all

Expand broadband/cell/internet to under-served areas

Expand broadband/cell/internet to under-served people

Provide cell/broadband for remote education/learning

Provide telecommunications tech./equipment to under-served people

Provide cell/broadband for telemedicine/healthcare

Other idea:

Question Title

* 10. EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT & SECURITY. Select up to five (5)

Grow education-to-industry connections for trades & production careers

Student loan debt relief for students that stay in Vermont

Convene stakeholders to plan new business models & partnership for colleges

Re-imagine educational system from birth to career

Create childcare stabilization fund to maintain providers

Increase childcare subsidies for working families

Universal basic income: benefit decreases as income & capital gains go up

Shift education services delivery toward community-based learning

Fund school facilities, infrastructure & programming

Regional reverse hiring website (businesses see resumes of employment seekers)

Adequate security: healthcare, housing, sick leave, childcare, etc.

Summer employment opportunities for young adults

Financial lending, counseling & tax support to low-income households

Expand unemployment compensation period

Other idea:

Question Title

* 11. HEALTHCARE. Select up to three (3)

Expand access to mental health services

Universal healthcare

Expand funding for the care infrastructure

Fund care professionals for people with disabilities

Expand access to affordable healthcare

Enhance safety by funding testing & contact tracing

Other idea:

Question Title

* 12. GOVERNMENT. Select up to five (5)

Bold comprehensive planning, compact settlement planning & plan implementation

Open immigration & normalize status for all immigrants

Bridge municipal revenue gaps

Provide standard designs & health directive signage for businesses

Cut sales tax by 50% for in-state purchases/offer sales tax holidays

Develop clear policies & enforcement for re-opening the economy

Fund local green economy programs: renewable energy, food production, weatherization, etc.

Fund shovel-ready municipal capital projects to restart jobs & construction

Fund block grants for community economic development

Lower permitting barriers/modernize VT permitting system for recovery

Allow municipalities with local sales tax to keep more revenue for downtown businesses

Other idea:

Question Title

* 13. FOOD SYSTEMS & HUNGER. Select up to three (3)

Build a local, resilient & equitable food system

Deliver locally produced/purchased food to adress hunger & stimulate economy

Accelerate regional food system goals

Support emergency food system with local food

Support strong farmers markets

Cash benefits for food insecure to access online & delivery services

Conduct a needs assessment of food producers

Other idea:

Question Title

* 14. From the ideas listed above, are there one (1) to three (3) ideas you think would have the most impact overall? If yes, copy and paste them here.

Question Title

* 15. Are there any additional high-impact ideas for recovery missing from the ideas above? If yes, share them here.

Question Title

* 16. Finally, if the virus were to re-surge and re-closures occur, what would you need to be ready?

Question Title

* 17. Thank you for your time. If you have any other comments for the Task Force, please share them below.

Stay up-to-date on immediate updates for businesses, individuals, and communities by visiting the Agency of Commerce & Community Development’s Recovery Resource Center, and subscribing to the COVID-19 newsletter. If you haven’t already done so, please share ACCD’s business impact assessment form -- a separate survey on impacts to individual businesses. The Agency of Commerce and Community Development wants to hear from all Vermont businesses impacted by the response to the COVID-19 virus.

Question Title

* 18. Upload the budget using the [linked] budget form

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