sarahBy City Councilors Adrienne Gil and Pelin Kohn
Montpelier is navigating one of the most significant periods of transition in recent memory. Leadership changes, budget pressures, and operational restructuring are converging all at once. While moments like this can create uncertainty, they also offer an opportunity — if we choose it — to build a stronger, more resilient city.
As two councilors with complementary backgrounds in organizational leadership and public-sector change, we want to help our community understand what this moment really is, and what it is not.
This is not a crisis of failure.
This is a moment that many public organizations face when financial realities shift and systems that once worked no longer serve current needs. Research from public-sector workforce studies shows that when employees hear about budget cuts, morale and job satisfaction often dip — even before any changes occur. That reaction is normal and human.
But the same research also shows a hopeful path forward: organizations that pair fiscal responsibility with innovation, communication, and staff engagement ultimately come out stronger. They retain more talent. They rebuild trust. They improve performance.
Montpelier is preparing to hire a new city manager, a new finance director, and potentially shape an assistant city manager role that fits our current challenges. This is not a setback; it is a rebuilding moment. It gives us a chance to bring in a leadership team aligned around modern, efficient systems and long-term sustainability.
Yes, there will be growing pains. Studies of high-reliability public organizations show that any transition brings stress, questions, and temporary disruption. But the same studies are clear: when leadership commits to transparency, communication, and shared purpose, organizations don’t just survive transitions — they improve.
This is our city. And this is our moment — all of us. Let’s move through it with steadiness, honesty, and a shared commitment to Montpelier’s future.
That is why we believe Montpelier’s conversation must shift away from blame, speculation, and bickering. These dynamics sap community energy, erode trust, and distract from the real work ahead. What our city needs now is unified, forward-focused leadership — from elected officials, from the city staff, and from the community.
We are committed to that path: To renewal over retrenchment; to collaboration over division; to a culture that encourages innovation rather than fears it. Montpelier can emerge from this phase stronger than it entered — but only if we move forward together.
Now, we ask you — our neighbors, colleagues, and community partners — to join us.
Show up. Stay engaged. Ask questions. Share ideas. Support our staff. Participate in meetings. Help shape the hiring processes. Choose collaboration over conflict.
Montpelier’s next chapter is being written right now, and every voice matters.
Let’s write it together.
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