Burlington in Crisis Mode: Senior Staff Departures Compound Homelessness and Safety Challenges
The current wave represents the near-complete collapse of senior staff less than two years into a first-term administration, suggesting different dynamics than normal municipal personnel changes.
The Departures
Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak’s administration has lost its entire senior leadership team in less than a year. Chief of Staff Erin Jacobsen resigned in February 2026, marking the final departure in a wave that began with the simultaneous exit of three key advisors in October 2025: Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Magee, Special Assistant on Homelessness Sarah Russell, and Senior Advisor on Community Safety Ingrid Jonas.
The losses followed 18 layoffs in May 2025 that eliminated 25 full-time positions to address an $8 million structural deficit. Together, these departures have hollowed out the city’s executive capacity during a period of escalating demands for municipal services, particularly regarding homelessness and public safety.
The Scissors Crisis
Burlington finds itself caught between two opposing forces: growing service demands and shrinking resources. On one side, the city faces a 62% increase in unsheltered homelessness following Governor Phil Scott’s decision to end the motel voucher program, an ongoing search for a permanent police chief, and persistent public safety concerns. On the other, the “ModernGov” restructuring initiative is systematically reducing the workforce and consolidating departments to address consecutive years of multimillion-dollar budget gaps.
This collision between expanding needs and contracting capacity has created what city employees describe as a “fast and furious” operational environment where remaining staff must absorb the work of departed colleagues while managing increasingly complex crises with diminishing support.
The May 2025 Layoffs
The destabilization began when the administration announced it would eliminate 25 positions—18 through immediate layoffs and seven by cutting vacant lines—to close an $8 million gap in the FY2026 budget. The cuts disproportionately affected AFSCME Local 1343, the union representing the city’s operational workforce.
The administration justified the reductions by noting that the city had added nearly 100 positions between FY2015 and FY2024, many funded by one-time sources like federal COVID-19 relief. However, the process generated significant backlash. Laid-off workers described being “escorted from their workplace” immediately, a procedure some characterized as “disrespectful, insulting and humiliating.”
For remaining employees, the layoffs meant absorbing the workload of 25 eliminated positions while maintaining identical service expectations—establishing conditions that would contribute to the executive departures six months later.
The October Wave
Three members of the Mayor’s inner circle resigned within days of each other in October 2025. While Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Magee characterized the timing as “largely coincidental,” the simultaneous departures occurred as the city was projecting another $10-12 million budget gap for FY2027.
Magee, a former Progressive City Councilor for Ward 3, had served just 18 months as Deputy Chief of Staff. His departure to pursue other opportunities with “no immediate plans” suggested acute burnout rather than attraction to a new position.
Sarah Russell, who managed the city’s homelessness response since 2022, left for a community-based nonprofit. Her portfolio had become increasingly untenable as state policy shifted hundreds of vulnerable households onto Burlington’s streets while her office operated with only one other city staffer and a handful of temporary workers.
Ingrid Jonas, a retired Vermont State Police commander serving as Senior Advisor on Community Safety, completed approximately 13 months of what a September 2024 memo described as a “temporary position for the next two years.” Her premature departure occurred during the ongoing search for a permanent police chief, leaving the administration without its primary advisor on law enforcement.
The Chief of Staff
Erin Jacobsen’s resignation in February 2026 completed the disintegration of the senior team. A former professor at Vermont Law & Graduate School and the Mayor’s campaign treasurer, Jacobsen cited a “values-driven decision” to return to immigration law.
Losing a Chief of Staff less than two years into a first term, immediately following the loss of the Deputy Chief of Staff, signals profound instability at the administration’s core. The position has been filled on an interim basis by Kara Alnasrawi, who simultaneously serves as director of the newly consolidated Community & Economic Development Office.
The Financial Fundamentals
The personnel crisis cannot be separated from Burlington’s structural fiscal challenges. The city has faced three consecutive years of major deficits: $14.2 million in FY2025, $8 million in FY2026, and a projected $10-12 million in FY2027.
These gaps stem from multiple factors. Health insurance costs are rising 10-11% annually. Union contracts recently approved include approximately 20% raises for police, 19.5% for fire, and 15% for AFSCME—necessary to retain staff but expensive to fund. Most significantly, 37 positions added during the pandemic were supported by one-time federal relief funds that have now expired.
The result is a mathematical squeeze: the city must pay higher wages to fewer employees while facing ongoing pressure to maintain service levels established when temporary federal funding was available.
The ModernGov Initiative
The administration’s response to the fiscal crisis is the “ModernGov” restructuring initiative, which consolidates departments to achieve operational efficiencies. The initiative merges the Community & Economic Development Office with Business & Workforce Development and Church Street Marketplace, and creates a new Department of Finance & Administration by centralizing financial functions.
While aimed at cost savings, the restructuring process creates institutional uncertainty. The administration conducted a comprehensive “Service Inventory” requiring every department to itemize and justify programs—a process that puts existing positions and functions under scrutiny and contributes to employee anxiety about future roles.
The Homelessness Portfolio
Sarah Russell’s resignation illustrates the impossible position of staff managing the city’s most visible crises with inadequate resources. When Governor Scott’s motel voucher program ended in June 2025, hundreds of vulnerable households lost emergency shelter, many relocating to Burlington.
Russell’s small team attempted emergency responses, including a proposal to allow overnight car camping at Perkins Pier. The plan was canceled within 24 hours due to “overwhelmingly negative feedback” and threats of violence, leaving Russell to manage a state-created crisis with limited municipal resources and no viable solutions.
The Public Safety Gap
The departure of Ingrid Jonas left the administration without dedicated expertise on police-community relations during a period of ongoing law enforcement leadership transition. The Burlington Police Department has operated under interim leadership since Chief Jon Murad announced he would not seek reappointment, and current Interim Chief Shawn Burke has stated he will not seek to stay in the role permanently.
Jonas was tasked with managing the search for a permanent chief and implementing community oversight mechanisms. Her departure a full year before her intended tenure ended suggests the challenges of managing the police-city relationship proved more intractable than anticipated.
Historical Context
Executive turnover is not unprecedented in Burlington city government. The Weinberger administration also experienced significant departures in 2021, when Director of Planning David White and Chief Innovation Officer Brian Lowe resigned after long tenures.
However, that turnover followed “pandemic burnout” after Weinberger’s multiple terms in office. The current wave represents the near-complete collapse of senior staff less than two years into a first-term administration, suggesting qualitatively different dynamics than normal municipal personnel changes.
What Happens Next
The administration faces immediate challenges stabilizing its leadership structure while managing the ongoing budget crisis. With Kara Alnasrawi serving dual roles as both CEDO Director and Interim Chief of Staff, the city is concentrating significant authority and workload in a single position—a temporary arrangement that cannot indefinitely substitute for dedicated senior leadership.
The structural drivers of the personnel crisis remain unresolved. Without a sustainable revenue source to replace expired federal funds, the city will continue facing the choice between reducing services, raising taxes, or further cutting personnel. The FY2027 budget gap of $10-12 million looms over any stability efforts, potentially triggering another cycle of departures if senior staff anticipate implementing additional layoffs or program cuts.
The administration must also address the operational reality that escalating demands for homelessness services and public safety responses cannot be met through restructuring alone. Whether the city can rebuild its executive capacity while managing these twin pressures will determine the viability of the current governance model.