Current News

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine Vermont once again is 49th (second worst) in the 2015 ALEC "Rich States, Poor States" report, which was released last week. New York ranked 50th (Vermont and New York have occupied the last two spots in each of the reports eight years). Meanwhile, Utah was first, North Dakota was second and Indiana third best. The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, as usual, took a beating in the report, despite having many of the highest-income states.

Public Assets Institute Warm weather and a lack of snow took a toll on Vermont’s tourist industry in December. The accommodation and food services sector lost 2,200 jobs from the previous month. With gains elsewhere, Vermont netted a loss of 2,100 jobs. Accommodation and food services jobs dropped significantly in December 2014 too, also thanks to rain and warm temperatures. Typically this sector sees a change of only a few hundred jobs from November to December.

Vermont Business Magazine Are you part of, or do you know of, a Vermont nonprofit or community organization in need of a small, year-round, sustainably-built and -operable, permanent or portable structure? Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Waitsfield seeks a client-partner for its fall 2016 Semester in Sustainable Design/Build program and offers pro-bono design and construction services for a building to serve an organization’s programmatic, mission-related operation. Yestermorrow’s structures are known for evocative design, energy efficiency, and quick completion.

Vermont Business Magazine The Green Mountain Care Board recently approved an amended Certificate of Need for an expansion and renovation of the Emergency Department at Rutland Regional Medical Center. The project will begin in February and is expected to take up to 18 months and will include 1,840 square-feet of new construction and partial renovations of the current 13,657 square-feet area. The Emergency Department will remain open during the entire project.

The number of emergency treatment rooms, currently 19, will be increased to 26 with the new addition designed for five behavioral health treatment rooms and two isolation rooms that can be converted to behavioral health rooms. In addition, the lobby area will be secured for the safety of patients, visitors and staff by creating a controlled access to public waiting areas. A new security office will be added along with enhanced security measures. Total estimated project costs are just over $6 million.

by Rob Roper This week (January 24-30) is national School Choice Week, celebrating the great steps forward school choice has made in states around the country. Confronted with many of the same concerns Vermonters are facing about the high cost and quality of their schools, sates from Florida to Texas to Wisconsin to Nevada have expanded options and access to resources for parents to choose the best educational setting for their children. Sadly, Vermont is heading in the other direction, throwing away a national leadership position we have held on school choice for a century and a half  -- by accident! At least that’s what our legislators are saying, and most seem to be sincere.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin and Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Richard Sears (D-Bennington) today detailed legislation to "cautiously and deliberately" legalize marijuana in Vermont. The move comes after the governor announced in his State of the State Address that he and Senator Sears would work to draft common-sense legislation to better regulate and eliminate the black market for a substance that over 80,000 Vermonters – almost one in eight – already report using on a monthly basis.

by David Coates Vermont's unfunded liability for the state workers and teacher pensions and retiree health care benefits (OPEB) increased in 2015 by over $500 million. As of 6/30/15, these liabilities total $3.8 billion versus $3.3 billion in 2014, a 15 percent increase in one year. By contrast, Vermont’s economy grew at 2 percent over the previous year. This is a remarkable amount considering General Fund revenues are expected to be $1.7 billion this fiscal year. In other words, Vermont would have to dedicate over two years of our revenues to just balance the amount due state workers and teachers as of 6/30/15 per the Actuary's Report. As you read below, even this $3.8 billion is likely understated.

Vermont Business Magazine The US Bankruptcy Court accepted the bid by Winston Prouty Center for Child Development to purchase The Austine School for the Deaf campus in Brattleboro. The Austine School, which was part of the Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (VCDHH), closed at the end of the 2014 school year. VCDHH, which included a number of support and educational programs, closed in September and the organization declared bankruptcy. Rather than pursue a long-planned $2.4 million expansion of its facility, including an early education center and community-based services, which is located across from Living Memorial Park, Winston Prouty decided to use its financial resources to purchase the Austine campus.

Vermont Business Magazine The Bernard Osher Foundation of San Francisco has awarded $1 million to the University of Vermont to support its Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI). OLLI of the University of Vermont is part of a national lifelong learning network for adults aged 50 and over, supported by the Bernard Osher Foundation, "architect" of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program operating on the campuses of 119 institutions of higher education from Maine to Hawaii and Alaska. The UVM program was first launched in 2003, and a $1 million endowment from the Osher Foundation in October, 2006, permanently established the program in Vermont. The first OLLIs were established in Brattleboro, Central Vermont, Lamoille Valley, Newport, Rutland, St. Albans, St. Johnsbury, and Springfield. The Osher Foundation granted additional funds to the university in 2010 to establish the program on the UVM campus, in Burlington, as well.

Vermont Business Magazine After hosting three public hearings and soliciting written comments from Vermonters, Attorney General Bill Sorrell is taking the question he posed to Vermonters - should Vermont reduce its reliance on incarceration as a response to criminal conduct? - to the Vermont Legislature. The resolution to be introduced in the House is a policy statement that the State should significantly reduce its reliance on incarceration so long as public safety is not compromised. See resolution below.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate fell one-tenth in December to 3.6 percent, the first time the rate has fallen since last April, when it fell two-tenths to 3.6 percent. The crucial numbers continue to show a falling Labor Force and number of Employed, as tourism hiring lagged with the slow start to the ski season. However, the number of Unemployed also fell, causing the rate to go down. The Vermont Department of Labor announced the results today. The national average in December held at 5.0 percent. Vermont’s unemployment rate was again tenth lowest in the country. North Dakota was lowest at 2.7 percent and New Mexico was highest at 6.7 percent. Based on preliminary 2015 data, eleven of twelve months during the calendar year were below four percent unemployment generating a preliminary seasonally-adjusted annual average Vermont statewide unemployment rate of 3.7 percent.

Vermont Business Magazine Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc (NYSE: BHLB), the holding company of Berkshire Bank, with branches in southwestern Vermont, reported a 13 percent increase in fourth quarter core earnings per share to $0.54 in 2015 from $0.48 in 2014. The earnings improvement was driven by 17 percent revenue growth produced by the company's expanded operations. Fourth quarter GAAP EPS increased to $0.52 from $0.46.  For the year, core earnings per share increased by 16 percent to $2.09 in 2015 from $1.80 in 2014, while GAAP EPS increased to $1.73 from $1.36. GAAP results in all periods included net non-core charges primarily related to acquisitions and restructuring activities. The dividend was increase one cent to $0.20. 

FOURTH QUARTER FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (comparisons are to prior quarter unless otherwise stated):