Welp, Gov. Phil Scott has unveiled his 14-point “short-term action plan” (his words, underlining the lack of sustained commitment) to improve public safety in Burlington. And, unsurprisingly, it’s a combo platter of disappointing, punitive, and cheap. It’s more political than policy, aimed at demonizing Vermont’s biggest and most important city and avoiding his administration’s culpability for the problems that beset all of our communities.

Kudos to Seven Days’ Courtney Lamdin for spotlighting, near the beginning of her story, the most crucial shortcoming in Scott’s plan:

Conspicuously missing from the plan is an expansion of homeless shelter capacity in Burlington or elsewhere in Chittenden County, despite the dire need for it. The plan also ignores specific asks that Burlington city councilors made of Scott in a resolution they passed in August.

Yeah, ignoring dire needs is kind of Phil Scott’s jam. Remember in June, when I headlined a post about his veto of H.91 “Phil Scott Doesn’t Give a Fuck About the Homeless”? His Burlington “action” plan validates my point. He is, quite literally, the Levite averting his eyes as he walks by a wounded traveler. His plan is heavy on the punitive and light on the humanity. The goal is to remove the unfortunate from his view shed, not to actually help them. The best outcome for Scott’s plan is some short-term cosmetic improvement while the underlying economic and social causes of our problems continue to exact their toll.

As with any politician’s multi-point plan, there’s plenty of filler designed to make the whole package seem more impressive than it really is. I mean, how can the Agency of Transportation speed the progress of downtown construction merely “as a consultant”? How will the Department of Mental Health “enhance orders of non-hospitalization”? How will the Department of Corrections do its part when it’s short-staffed, beset by low morale, and managed by people with little to no relevant experience?

Point number four promises to “immediately implement expanded substance use treatment… in certain DOC facilities; available when required by Court order.” This seems to promise action that’s already been ordered by the courts. Seems an unacceptably low bar.

And what commitment is the governor making to coordinate “a mass volunteer clean-up and beautification effort”? That sounds like Green-Up Day, our annual celebration of cosmetic improvement and Vermont exceptionalism. Will the governor show up on a designated Saturday, dab some whitewash on a graffiti-covered wall as the cameras roll, and head back to Montpelier?

The topper is point 14: “The State, City and other stakeholders will engage in ongoing communication to review how the response plan is working, employing data to evaluate outcomes and determinants of success.” Did that really need to be said?

There are some good ideas in his plan. The focus on serial offenders should reap some immediate benefits. The offer of “state law enforcement assets” was welcomed by Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak. “Another mobile addiction treatment van and the staffing to address [substance use] disorders” would help, although Scott does not offer any state assistance for that.

The Mayor welcomed Scott’s plan because, well, it’s better than the nothing he was consistently offering until now. And his rollout was mercifully short on direct attacks aimed at the city’s political leadership. But that was strongly implied in the plan’s narrow focus on Burlington. When Mulvaney-Stanak called on Scott to take action this summer, she didn’t ask for a Burlington-oriented plan; she made the ask on behalf of all Vermont communities beset by homelessness, substance use, housing shortages, and the entire array of crises that have gotten steadily worse during Scott’s eight-plus years as governor.

Scott, of course, conveniently ignored the Mayor’s broader request. To do so would have implicitly acknowledged that communities across the state have suffered during Scott’s tenure, not just the one that dares to elect Progressive leaders.