Burlington Mayor’s Wife Quietly Granted $16K Raise Weeks Before 25 City Workers Laid Off
Some city employees said they were escorted out of their workplaces with no prior warning — a process they described as abrupt and demoralizing.
BURLINGTON, VT — In a move now raising eyebrows across the city, Burlington officials quietly approved a $16,000 salary increase for the mayor’s wife just weeks before announcing the largest known round of municipal layoffs in city history — a one-two punch that city employees are calling “humiliating,” “tone-deaf,” and “politically toxic.”
On April 14, 2025, the Burlington Board of Finance and the City Council — in meetings where no discussion of the issue appears in the public minutes — approved a retroactive salary boost for Megan Moir, director of Water Resources and wife of Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak. Her annual pay jumped from $124,681 to $140,843, a 13% increase made retroactive to December 2024.
The raise was proposed by Public Works Director Chapin Spencer, a mayoral appointee, citing internal compensation guidelines and Moir’s qualifications. Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak recused herself from the Board of Finance vote, which passed 4-1, with the only dissenting vote coming from Progressive councilor Carter Neubieser. Hours later, the full council approved it unanimously as part of a consent agenda vote.
A Quiet Raise, Then a Public Purge
Less than four weeks after the raise was granted, Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak confirmed to the press that 25 city jobs were being cut to help close an $8 million shortfall in the city’s proposed $103 million FY2026 budget. Of the 25 positions, 18 were currently filled and seven were vacant. Departments hit included the Burlington Police Department, Community and Economic Development Office, and the Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Department.
Some employees said they were escorted out of their workplaces with no prior warning — a process they described as abrupt and demoralizing. Among the cuts was Melissa Cate, a 30-year veteran of Parks and Rec. “We weren’t part of the discussion. We weren’t given notice. It was just ‘you’re out,’” she told WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
Mayor’s Office Pushes Back
Responding to the outcry, Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak insisted the raise and the layoffs were entirely separate. “I recused myself, as required by our conflict of interest policy. I was not involved in the process or decision,” she told WCAX. She added that the raise was the result of an independent compensation policy, not personal preference.
Spencer, who recommended the increase, defended Moir’s raise as overdue and still below market averages for her role in comparable cities. “This was a data-driven adjustment,” he told NBC5.
Free Meal Backlash Resurfaces
This isn’t the first time the mayor and her wife have drawn scrutiny. Last summer, friends of the couple launched a MealTrain.com campaign soliciting home-cooked dinners for the mayor’s family — despite their combined $250,000 in annual taxpayer-funded salaries. The request sparked national criticism, with detractors calling it “tone-deaf” and “elitist.”
At the time, Mulvaney-Stanak, Vermont’s first woman and first mother of young children to serve as mayor, said the gesture was about managing the stress and time constraints of public service. But many, including some city employees, bristled — especially because departments like the police are prohibited from accepting any gifts, including food.
Media Coverage and the Silence That Wasn’t
Unlike many local controversies that fly under the radar, this story was covered by multiple outlets — including VTDigger, Seven Days, WCAX, NBC5, and WAMC. But despite the paper trail and the public blowback, Burlington’s public meeting minutes fail to reflect any deliberation, explanation, or recognition of the implications of granting a mayoral spouse a substantial raise on the same day the mayor was weighing mass layoffs.
Vermont state law requires that meeting minutes offer a “true indication” of what occurred — something noticeably lacking in this case. That omission has fueled suspicion about transparency and accountability under Mulvaney-Stanak’s administration.
A Political Test Ahead
As Burlington grapples with the fallout, questions linger: Why was the mayor’s wife’s raise pushed through so quietly? Why were the layoffs handled so abruptly? And why did no city official — Democrat, Progressive, or Independent — raise these issues in public deliberation?
As Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak prepares for her second year in office, what began as a procedural budget debate may well become a test of political trust — and whether Burlington's leaders can answer the public’s growing call for transparency and shared sacrifice.