Vermont's $9 Billion Budget: Making Sense of Where the Money Goes
Updated: 4 days ago
Do you enjoy math word problems?
Most people don't. And when it comes to understanding how Vermont spends billions of dollars each year, the challenge is considerably greater than anything we ever encountered in school. Following my October 12 appearance on WVMT radio, where I discussed Vermont's finances with former Governor Jim Douglas, I wanted to take a closer look at the state's budget and share what I found.
Vermont's original fiscal year 2026 budget, enacted through Act 27 (H.493), totaled approximately $9.09 billion in unduplicated appropriations. That's an enormous amount of money, and I believe Vermonters deserve to understand where it comes from, where it goes, and what we're getting in return.
Now try making sense of the legislation.
The budget is presented through pages of appropriations, funding sources, transfers, statutory references, and financial figures. The information is publicly available, but making sense of it requires considerable time and familiarity with government accounting. Public information isn't necessarily understandable information.
Watch: Vermont's $9 Billion Budget
Stephanie Mack joins former Governor Jim Douglas on The Morning Drive with Anthony Neri on WVMT 103.3 FM, October 12, 2026, for a conversation about Vermont's budget, government spending, and financial accountability.
Putting My Financial Experience to Work
I've spent more than 25 years working in business operations, accounting, and financial management. One thing I've learned is that numbers become useful only when they're organized in a way that helps people understand what's happening. In business, we use financial statements to answer basic questions:
How much money is coming in?
Where is it going?
What are our largest expenses?
Are we getting the results we expect?
Why shouldn't we approach government finances with the same curiosity?
I decided to take Vermont's FY2026 budget information and reorganize it into a more familiar financial format. Using AI as an analytical power tool, I developed a workbook with a Profit & Loss-style statement, a breakdown of funding by government function, and supporting departmental tables. It took some experimenting to get the information presented the way I wanted. AI can help organize complex data, but knowing what questions to ask, how to evaluate the answers, and how to present the results is what really matters.
The goal wasn't to replace the state's official budget documents. It was to make the information more accessible to people who don't spend their days reading appropriations bills.
Understanding the Numbers: Gross vs. Unduplicated
One important distinction is the difference between gross and unduplicated budget figures. Gross appropriations include amounts recorded across the state's various funds and departments. Some of those amounts involve transfers or transactions within government departments, meaning the same money can appear in multiple places. Unduplicated figures remove overlapping amounts so they aren't counted more than once in the final statewide analysis.
Think of a business transferring money between two of its own accounts. That transfer doesn't create new revenue. Counting it twice would distort the financial picture. My workbook used unduplicated figures drawn from the Vermont Joint Fiscal Office's Fiscal Facts information.
For example, the workbook presents approximately $211.8 million for General Government on an unduplicated basis. That figure differs from the gross appropriations shown in the legislative tables because the two presentations use different accounting treatments. Understanding that distinction is essential when comparing government spending figures.
What the Budget Tells Us
The workbook organizes approximately $9.09 billion in original FY2026 appropriations into major government functions. Among the largest categories in the analysis are:
Human Services: Approximately $3.66 billion
General Education: Approximately $2.91 billion
Transportation: Approximately $808 million
Protection to Persons and Property: Approximately $641 million
Natural Resources: Approximately $333 million
These figures are drawn from the workbook's unduplicated presentation of the original FY2026 budget. They are not figures for the subsequent budget adjustment, and the detailed allocations remain subject to verification against official fiscal records. Looking at those categories provides a starting point for asking more meaningful questions.
What programs account for the largest expenses? How much funding comes from Vermont taxpayers, and how much comes from federal sources? Which expenditures are growing? Where are we achieving measurable results, and where should we look more closely? These questions matter regardless of political affiliation.
Transparency Is the Beginning of Accountability
Making a budget easier to read doesn't automatically tell us whether money is being spent wisely. A large expenditure isn't necessarily wasteful. A smaller expenditure isn't necessarily effective. But until we can clearly see where the money is going, it's difficult to have a productive conversation about spending priorities, affordability, and accountability.
My hope is that presenting Vermont's financial information in a more familiar format will encourage residents, business owners, and legislators to examine the numbers and ask questions. I am making my analysis available so anyone can explore it, discuss it, and examine the underlying sources.
No matter what side of the aisle you're on politically, we must look at the numbers and review them together. After all, it's public money. We should all be able to follow it.
Review the Documents
Editor's note: The financial workbook was developed with AI assistance using FY2026 budget information and references to the Vermont Joint Fiscal Office's Fiscal Facts. It is an independent presentation, not an official state financial statement. Some departmental allocations are estimates and may require additional verification.
Paid for by Stephanie Mack VT
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