Yesterday the House of Representatives passed an amendment to the Department of Corrections portion of "Challenges for Change" that allows for the early release of nonviolent offenders. The point is to try to lessen the impact on communities like Rutland and Barre that are already overburdened.
Mayor Louras, however, told me yesterday he doesn't think the amendment does enough.
Rep. Paul Poirier of Barre responded with an email to Louras (cc'ed to a Times Argus reporter and me):
Dear Mayor Louras,
I am saddened by your negative remarks regarding the huge effort exerted by the Rutland
delegation to finally statutorily recognize the failed policy of placing over 4000 individuals under the direct supervision of the Department of corrections in 15 communities. Your complaint that there is no money for additional policing is correct, but for many of us who represent the overburdened communities, money was not our focus. The number one objective was to work to reduce our correction populations and distribute the correction population geographically balanced. There is 500,000 dollars that Rutland and other minded communities will be given priority status to apply for to meet community public safety needs.As a former state representative, you should be aware how difficult it is to pass legislation in which the majority of the members represent communities that will potentially see increasing numbers of correction individuals living in their communities. It is to the credit of the Vermont House of Representatives put aside the "not in my backyard" philosophy. If you think that this amendment was such a small step, why did you not do it when you represented Rutland City in the legislature?