Scott administration proposes extension of hotel-motel program

MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – As temperatures dip, Vermont lawmakers are once again considering extending the homeless hotel program past April. State leaders and the governor have sought to end the pandemic-era program for the past two years but have not yet found a better alternative for housing the hundreds of people in need of shelter.

In front of key lawmakers Friday, Scott administration officials presented proposed tweaks to last year’s budget, which include an extension of the hotel-motel program and the creation of more overnight shelters.

“We have options for people who will no longer be eligible for hotel rooms on April 1st,” said Miranda Gray with the Vermont Department for Children and Families. They’re proposing lawmakers set aside $8 million to extend hotel rooms for a year, $4 million to create over 200 shelter beds in five communities, $20 million to make up for money allocated for flooded business grants, and $30 million to match FEMA funds from this summer’s floods.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the hotel voucher program has been extended several times while the state has searched for an off-ramp. But finding one has been a challenge as the state’s housing crisis has left people with nowhere to go. In his State of the State address Thursday, Governor Phil Scott again called for regulatory reforms to expedite building more homes. “We can put homeless Vermonters in real homes, not overpriced hotel rooms we can’t afford,” he said.

DCF officials say they have been able to bring down room prices but are still paying on average $132 per night, or just shy of $4,000 a month.

Democratic lawmakers acknowledge the program needs to be extended but they are concerned those evicted already have disabilities and that some will avoid congregate shelters. “We know people can’t be warehoused. They need to have places to stay, to have places to stay to look for good housing, to look — for their children — where they feel safe,” said Rep. Rebecca Holcombe, D-Norwich.

Scott administration officials acknowledge not everyone will want to stay in a shelter but add that lawmakers last year set aside money for more caseworkers. “To see if something has changed, to see if they do want to seek more permanent housing or get into a shelter. But Vermonters have choices in what works best for them,” Gray said.

Lawmakers will now spend the next few weeks considering the governor’s ask, but the bill is expected to pass later this winter.