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But she questioned the claim that the cap on officers was the cause of rising crime rates.
“There were a lot of things going on at the same time; a global pandemic and economic depression. Our community is not alone in seeing a rise in people looking for resources in less than legal ways,” she said.
Despite the unexpected impact of the officer cap, Ms Hightower, the first black woman to service on the city council, does not regret taking swift action in the wake of Mr Floyd’s murder.
“It was a moment in time. There was pressure to do something,” she said.
She added: “If you wait for that pressure to go away, you don’t know if you’ll get that [opportunity] in a year”.
‘Cutting the police department was a big mistake’
Ali Dieng, an independent councillor and another one of the city’s few black local officials, took a very different view.
“Yes, there are issues of racism within policing. But cutting the police department was a big mistake,” he said.
“And I’m very happy that my city council colleagues identified that they made a mistake”.
Back in the city’s downtown district, Mr Bouchett says this is a view shared by many business owners behind closed doors.
The “jewel in the crown” of the Queen City, as residents refer to Burlington, is the chocolate-box marketplace where hipster shops selling locally-made jewellery and upmarket independent boutiques sit side-by-side.
Many carry signs reading “black lives matter”. The flagship Ben & Jerry’s store carries a sign reading: “We must dismantle white supremacy”.
But few are prepared to openly voice concerns about the potential impact of cutting police officers.
After seeing shoplifting rates in his store increase four-fold, Mr Bouchett and a handful of local businesses wrote an open letter calling for more police resources.
It was met with an immediate backlash. “A group called Decolonize Vermont named us all by name on Facebook and said ‘these businesses want to criminalise homelessness’,” he said.
Mr Bouchett says he fears the implications of being criticised for voicing what he sees as legitimate concerns.
“I think that we find ourselves in a uniquely intense moment of vilifying those who disagree with us,” he said.
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