Here’s the announcement from the Vermont Association of Broadcasters of new state funds for community radio. This means that Brattleboro’s WVEW will be able to apply for these new funds eventually.
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“VT Community Radio Network,
I have news that is too good to wait until our monthly ZOOM meeting May 15th. Without further ado…
the state legislature committed $150,000 to the Vermont Community Radio grant program!!!
I cannot express enough just how significant and incredible this is for so many reasons:
First, this was our first attempt as a group to try to get funding and we succeeded where so many others have not. That in and of itself is remarkable!
Second, nothing about how this funding came to be was “usual and customary”. Although we found a bill sponsor in Rep. Bob Hooper quickly (thanks to Jim Holway!), the creation of the bill (H.307) language got hung up in legislative counsel for weeks, got introduced late and before we had a chance to see it or find additional cosponsors, got assigned to the wrong committee (where it is still sitting on the wall never relieved from nor taken up by the House Energy & Digital Infrastructure committee.)
The grant would have stalled there if it wasn’t for getting it on the radar of Rep. Lisa Hango, which Llu did by introducing it during a (very inconveniently timed) evening meeting of the VT Rural Caucus. Rep. Hango, Vice Chair and Rep. Matt Birong, Chair of the House Government Operations committee (where the bill was supposed to go) helped us tremendously by including the $205,000 grant in the committee’s budget priority letter to the House Appropriations committee. In addition, even though they didn’t have possession of H.307, they incorporated its language into an emergency response flood bill (H.397) moving though their committee that was sponsored by Rep. Teddy Waszazak, who was also very supportive of the community radio grant. Together, these two elements revived our chances. Despite all that, House Appropriations removed the grant from H.397 and didn’t include the appropriation in their budget bill, which again, could have been the end of the road for getting money this year.
But, Llu saved it thanks to WGDR/WGDH’s connection to Senator Andy Perchlik, the new Chair of the Senate Appropriations committee, who proposed the community radio grant be tied to Vermont Access Network (VAN) funding and be administered through the Secretary of State’s office. Thanks to Johnny Gifford’s advocacy for community radio among the VAN board of directors, VAN was supportive of this proposal. Although ultimately, the grant reverted back to being tied to emergency response through VT Dept. of Public Safety, that proposal and Johnny’s advocacy made VAN recognize the value proposition community radio station’s collectively provide, which is good for everyone long term.
I’m not sure how the grant reverted back to being tied to emergency response and administered by the VT Dept. of Public Safety, but it did. Which made getting the Senate to put the grant language back into H.397 a crucial step. Even though they were on vacation and traveling, Llu made time to testify remotely(hosted by WOOL-FM in Bellows Falls) and made the case for community radio’s role during emergencies with the Senate Government Operations committee who had the power to add it back in.
Another thank you goes to Senator Perchlik, who, despite H.397 (the vehicle for the grant) not moving out of the Senate Gov Ops committee, included the grant in the Senate’s budget bill, which, although it was lowered to $150,000, passed the Senate floor vote about 10 days ago. Another hurdle overcome thanks to Llu and WGDR/WGDH’s connection to Senator Perchlik!
Then the fate of the grant was tested the most this week when the series of Budget Conference Committee meetings took place. These negotiations between key members of the Senate and House Appropriations committees were nail-biting to watch. The Chair of House Appropriations made it clear that whereas “all new programs are worthy”, there were $7 dollars in asks for every $1 they had to invest and signaled she was ready to cut the community grant altogether on Tuesday, which is when I reached out to all of you. But two things happened to save it; 1) Senator Perchlik did not give in during negotiations and 2) you all stepped up at a moment’s notice, activated supporters and let members of the House Appropriations committee know that this grant matters. This must have put pressure on the House Approps Chair to negotiate, because at the next budget conference committee meeting on Wednesday, they announced a compromise of funding the grant at $100,000!
But then another miracle happened yesterday. Our champion Senator Perchlik “found” some money from another program and got the House side to agree to bring the community radio grant funding back to $150,000!!! The budget was signed this afternoon at 2:20PM and as far as we know, is a done deal. If you want to read it, the community radio grant mention starts on Page 166.
I don’t think any of us expected the grant would stay fully funded at $205,000 and after all the time and energy and work of finding ways to keep it alive, having both sides agree to $150,000 is a massive win!
The VAB’s lobbyist, Lucie Garand from MMR, who has decades of experience working in the state house, is suprised by the unusal way this all happened and attributes our success to two things; the connections community radio leaders have with influential lawmakers that championed our cause and the fact we never gave up and kept on fighting!
There are so many people to thank for the role(s) they played in getting us to this point. Llu, Jim and Johnny got shout outs above – and all of you deserve a huge thank you for activating and sending emails to law makers quickly when asked. Lucie Garand from MMR (the lobbying firm the VAB has on retainer) did a lot of work in the background, having conversations with the right law makers at the right times and finding out what was going on with the grant when it wasn’t clear as well as providing guidance to Llu and me every step of the way. Rep. Bob Hooper who got the grant introduced in the first place. Rep. Lisa Hango and Rep. Matt Birong for moving it forward even though it was never assigned to their committee. Rep. Teddy Waszazak for supporting the grant language being added to his flood bill. Rep. Tom Stevens and Rep. David Yacovone who publically spoke in support of community radio when the grant was discussed in House Appropriations. Senator Brian Collamore, Chair of the Senate Government Operations committee who allowed Llu to re-introduce the idea of the grant on the Senate side and was in constant communication with Senator Perchlik about the appropriation. We also believe Rep. Tiff Blumle who was on the House side of the Budget Conference Committee quietly encouraged her colleagues Rep. Scheu and Rep. Harrison, who were against it, to negotiate. But the person who we owe the largest debt of gratitude to is Senator Andy Perchlik. Not only did he add the approporation to the Senate budget even though it didn’t pass the house and the bill that could be its vehicle was stuck in committee, but he also didn’t give in during early negotiations within the Budget conference committee. And then, he pushed to get $50,000 added back into the grant funding. Senator Perchlik is truly the champion of this grant – all chances at funds this year would have ended in the House if it wasn’t for him.
I’m sure you’re all wondering what happens next and the answer is, I have no idea because we’re in uncharted territory! I imagine since the VAB is named in statute, I will work directly with the VT Dept. of Public Safety to develope a grant application. When I get any sort of definitive information, I will most certainly pass it along to this network!
Congratulations on our little network’s very big success! Enjoy your weekend – I know I will 🙂
With gratitude,
Wendy
Wendy Mays
Executive Director
Vermont Association of Broadcasters
4 Carmichael St. 111-106
Essex Junction, VT 05452
802-233-0296
vermontbroadcasters.org”
