Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Brothers and co-owners Jason and Shaun Patnaude announced that they have sold their mechanical and building automation contracting company to their employees in Vt., N.H., and N.Y. The sale is partly intended to attract more employee-owners to fast-growing Alliance Group, which provides heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and building automation services and support.

“The reason why we’ve been successful has been customer service, care, and engagement from our hard-working team,” said Jason Patnaude, the older brother and President of Alliance Group. “We’re betting that as an employee owned company, we will have an even greater opportunity to build even longer relationships with our employees, customers and our community.”

Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) released the following statement in reaction to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s statement earlier today.  Welch is a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

“Robert Mueller’s statement today underscores the urgent need for Congress to thoroughly investigate Russian interference in our elections as well as actions taken by the President and his associates to thwart the Special Counsel’s investigation. And it sheds further light on the disgraceful lengths Attorney General Barr has gone to protect the President rather than our country. In spite of the President’s determined effort to mislead the American people and stonewall Congress, we will follow the facts wherever they lead us.” 

Every baby born in the Women’s & Children’s Unit at Rutland Regional Medical Center creates a buzz and plenty of excitement but babies born on May 29 receive an extra gift. Thanks to a partnership between the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems and Vermont Student Assistance Corp., babies born on national 529 Day received a $100 deposit into a college savings account.

This year, a total of five babies were born May 29 at Rutland Regional Medical Center and will receive the $100 savings account. Additionally, all 5/29 families throughout Vermont that submit a completed form by August 29 will be included in a drawing for an additional $529 contribution.

Vermont’s Killington Resort, the largest mountain resort in Eastern North America and a POWDR company, announced that June 2, 2019 will be the final operating day of the 2018/19 winter season making it the longest ski and snowboard season in Eastern North America. The last time Killington offered lift serviced skiing in June was 2017 and in 2002 prior to that. 
The Superstar Express Quad will spin 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Friday, May 31 and 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, June 1 and 2. Lift tickets will be $30* for all ages each day. Complimentary commemorative t-shirts will be available to the first 500 guests to load Superstar Express on June 1, and the Roaring Brook Umbrella Bar will feature live music, free Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream for about 500 people starting at 3:00 p.m., an outdoor grill and views of the ski and snowboard action all day.

Attorney General T. J. Donovan and U.S. Attorney Christina E. Nolan announced today that eight men were arrested in mid-May for possession/promotion of child pornography. The arrests were made as a result of Operation Bada Bing. Operation Bada Bing, which was conducted by Vermont’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (VT-ICAC) and Homeland Security Investigations (H S I) involved executing search warrants on several residences during the week of May 13^th based on CyberTips that were received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. These CyberTips are typically generated by Internet Service Providers or social media platforms whenever they detect suspected child sexual exploitation material on their networks. These CyberTips are in turn sent to local ICAC task forces throughout the country.  

Operation Bada Bing culminated in the arrest of the following individuals:

Vermont Business Magazine Tuition for Vermont undergraduates in the Vermont State Colleges System (VSCS) will only increase by 1% this fall, thanks to a boost in state funding promoted by Governor Scott and advanced by the Legislature.

$2.5 million in new state support for the VSCS will reduce a 3% tuition increase for undergraduate Vermont students that was scheduled to go into effect for the fall semester. 

“We sincerely appreciate the recognition of our important role in Vermont.  We are especially grateful on behalf of our students, for whom college will cost a bit less next year,” said Chancellor Jeb Spaulding.

Company Credits Employee Empowerment with Record Profits

Vermont Business Magazine Woman-owned Nutty Steph’s announced that they have become an employee-owned cooperative as of April 1 of this year. The company says the change has fueled the chocolate and granola company’s profits, a shift that began in the months leading to its becoming a coop.

“The difference is stunning,” said Jaquelyne Rieke, Nutty Steph’s cofounder. “We were breaking even for the last nine years, and as soon as we had four people willing to embrace the employee-ownership path, everyone, including the entire business, perked up. Sales and profits are up, because everyone’s more empowered.”

“I was surprised how easy it is,” added Rieke, “I was speaking with another family-owned business who imagined all of these barriers to becoming employee-owned. But after talking with us, now they’re going down the same path.”

Click on image for interactive map

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Burlington International Airport (BTV) released its Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulated and funded Part 150 Noise Exposure Map (NEM). The NEM is a graphical presentation of the specific noise levels (noise contours) around the airport depicted over existing land use. The study, undertaken by The Jones Payne Group and HMMH, depicts noise levels for the current condition, as well as the 2023 forecasted condition. It was completed as part of the ongoing voluntary 14 CFR Part 150 update regulated by the FAA.

The University of Vermont (UVM) Master of Public Administration (MPA) program is pleased to announce a new partnership with the Vermont Department of Human Resources (DHR) to educate current and emerging leaders in state and local government and non-profit organizations through the Vermont Certified Public Managers Program (VCPM). VCPM participants acquire and apply best management practices and theory to their management activities enabling them to better serve Vermonters.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State Auditor Doug Hoffer on Tuesday released a broadly unfavorable audit that details the City of St Albans’ level of compliance with Vermont Tax Increment Financing (TIF) laws and rules. A TIF district allows a municipality to designate an area for development, incur debt to finance infrastructure improvements, and earmark a portion of new state and municipal property tax revenues from that district to repay the debt. St Albans is disputing the auditors findings. The auditor concludes that St Albans owes the TIF District $524,844 and the State Education Fund $111,886.

These incremental revenues would otherwise pay for public schools and municipal operations. In the case of the City of St. Albans, incremental property tax revenues have been insufficient to pay off the City’s debt, which precipitated some of the City’s non-compliance with Vermont statute. The auditor does not have enforcement powers.

Vermont Business Magazine Like other financial institutions, NorthCountry Federal Credit Union has seen a steady decline in demand for in-person transactions. But instead of closing branches as some competitors have done, it’s building its largest one ever. As online and mobile banking have grown in popularity, accountholders who use the Lyndonville branch are visiting it an average of 1.7 times per month – down nearly 50% from 2005, when the average was 3.2 visits per month. 

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), along with Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) introduced two pieces of legislation to help workers around the country form employee-owned businesses. The WORK Act – modeled on the success of the Vermont Employee Ownership Center – would provide more than $45 million in funding to states to establish and expand employee ownership centers, which provide training and technical support for programs promoting employee ownership.