The Vermont Senate has advanced a flood recovery bill that would let some hard-hit communities hold on to more local tax revenue.

The Legislature’s latest response to the summer floods of 2023 and 2024 delves into the minutiae of municipal finances. It would give towns more time to pay off emergency loans, provide flexibility on how they structure their debt, and give select boards the legal authority to use unspent municipal funds for disaster-related expenses.

Barre City Rep. Teddy Waszazak, a lead sponsor of the bill, said it would also allow towns with so-called “local option taxes” to keep more of the revenue generated by those 1% sales taxes.

“It is a very technical bill,” Waszazak said Tuesday. “But the technical changes that are in the bill are very important in helping our sp

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