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The University and the City signed a new Payment for Services Agreement in September of 2007. 

Payment for Services Agreement -  Sept., 2007  (PDF - 1.7 MB)

Overview of the University City Agreement:

The success of the City of Burlington and University of Vermont are closely linked and mutual benefit is at the heart of our relationship.

The University gains significantly from the City in many ways:
•    Student, faculty, and staff recruitment where Burlington is a key draw and competitive advantage
•    Academic programs, where the city acts as a learning landscape for many disciplines
•    An enhanced quality of life for the Univesity community

The University also brings clear benefit to Burlington, enhancing its success as a thriving, sustainable, livable small city, including:
•    Talented and vibrant faculty, staff, and students
•    The cultural and intellectual opportunities and vigor the University brings to the community
•    Successful graduates in the workforce
•    The beauty of our historic campus
•    The many contributions to regional economic development

Although the University has been making a voluntary payment for services to the city for 20 years, we recently began to ask – in partnership with city administrators – if we could do more
•    Provide meaningful support to the city in its efforts to become sustainable
•    Ensure that the University has the level of services a major research university requires
•    After more than a year-long process of productive, positive, and collegial meetings, negotiators arrived at the new terms of the agreement
•    The result is an annual payment that by 2010 will exceed  $1.1 million, about four times what was previously paid

After looking at the variety of services the city provides, the negotiating teams focused on two that were based in fact and based on the University’s impacts on the City
•    Fire services and impacts on services like public works

The net effect is a significant increase in the support UVM is providing the city and is based in fact and lays the groundwork for future agreements
•    For the first time, UVM and the city have developed a systematic basis and method for determining University fees
•    The agreement is both fair and forward looking, taking growth into account and will be adjusted for inflation using a municipal index created by the US. Department of Commerce

The agreement also extends beyond fees to other cooperative ventures such as police services
•    Over the past several years UVM and Burlington police have made headway on quality of life issues in the city by working together as a team
•    The new agreement solidifies and formalizes this team approach through mutual assistance agreements in such areas as non-emergency assistance and joint patrols of city neighborhoods adjacent to UVM

City and University representatives described the proposed agreement as fair and representative of the important, cooperative relationship between Burlington and the university.  Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss stressed the importance of the fee-for-services agreement in maintaining Burlington as a sustainable city.

“UVM and the city have long-appreciated a mutually beneficial relationship,” said Mayor Kiss.  “Payment by UVM for essential city services is an important element of the city’s ability to maintain a level of services that all city residents, including those associated with UVM, should expect.”

"The University of Vermont has always strived to be a responsible citizen and good neighbor within the Burlington community," said UVM President Daniel Mark Fogel.  "The proposed agreement reflects that spirit, and the university is proud to have participated in the process that brought it about."