Current News

A Summit on the Future of Vermont is scheduled for May 11 (yesterday) at the University of Vermont. The summit is the final step in a nearly two year long effort by the Vermont Council on Rural Development to take the temperature of today s Vermont and plan for tomorrow s Vermont. VCRD created the Council on the Future of Vermont to accomplish this task. I was one of the members and truly enjoyed the opportunity to listen to Vermonters talk about Vermont. The Council heard from some 4,000 Vermonters in one form or another.
The experience reminded me of a comment by Supreme Court Justice Wendell Phillips Stafford when he spoke before the Commission on Country Life in 1931: It is always a perilous thing to let a Vermonter get started on the subject of Vermont.
If we learned one thing in our 18-month journey it was that Vermonters love Vermont and have some very strong feelings about their state.

Northfield Savings Bank (NSB) continued its strong financial performance in 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 as evidenced by asset growth, strong capitalization and consistent earnings.
Total assets at year end were $588 million, an increase of $25.5 million or 4.5% from 2007. Capital increased to $71.7 million on net income of $2.9 million. The Bank s capital remains more than twice the regulatory requirement to be considered well capitalized.
During the first quarter of 2009 a new milestone was reached as assets exceeded $600 million. Earnings for the quarter were $801,000.
NSB s performance remained strong in 2008 despite the banking turmoil and economic recession impacting the United States, and this trend continues in 2009, stated Thomas Pelletier, President and CEO. We believe the Bank s continued success is reflective of Vermonters commitment and confidence in local community banks.

Vermont s business community is comprised of a myriad of companies, both large and small that provide economic stability to the state. This community offers quality jobs, products and services to consumers in Vermont, the United States and world-wide and holds a strong grasp on employee well-being representative of the Vermont quality of life.
In an effort to recognize and honor Vermont s best companies, Vermont Business Magazine and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce created the Deane C. Davis Outstanding Business of the Year Award in 1990. Named for the former Governor of Vermont, this annual award honors a Vermont business that shows an outstanding history of sustained growth while displaying an acute awareness of what makes Vermont unique.

The Legislature finally adjourned late Saturday night after passing a $4.5 billion budget. Governor Douglas had urged lawmakers to reduce appropriations to ease the tax burden during this recession. Legislative leaders countered that the recession itself was leading to greater demand on state services because of unemployment and that state spending, much like the federal stimulus plan intends, could help support the economic activity.
The House passed the Fiscal Year 2010 budget on a 91-52 roll call vote. The Senate had passed it last Thursday on an 18-10 vote. If Douglas vetoes the bill, the Legislature would have to come back into session, probably in June ahead of the start of the next fiscal year on July 1.

Vermont s congressional delegation announced today $2 million in Brownfields grants for the state. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said the Environmental Protection Agency funding, $400,000 of which came from the economic stimulus plan, will go towards clean up of and reinvestment in properties blighted by hazardous waste.
The City of Burlington will receive a $200,000 grant; the City of St. Albans will receive $400,000 in cleanup funds, and the New England Youth Theatre in Brattleboro will receive a $200,000 cleanup grant.
There are also four regional recipients. The Windham Regional Commission will receive $400,000. The Lamoille County Planning Commission will receive $400,000. The Northwest Regional Planning Commission will receive $200,000. And the Rutland Regional Planning Commission will receive $200,000.

At approximately 2:30 p.m. today FairPoint Communications restored access to its customer service call centers. Customers are now able to call the Consumer, Small Business or Repair Service Centers. The company appreciates its customers patience while they worked through this problem. FairPoint will increase the number of technicians working over the weekend to respond to any backlog of customer service reports resulting from the call center outage. Though at this time FairPoint s focus has been on restoring access to the customer service centers, a full review of the root cause of the outage will be conducted.

The Vermont House is expected to take up the $4.5 billion state budget either today or tomorrow, with a possible legislative adjournment tomorrow. However, Governor Douglas is expected to veto the budget bill if it comes to him in its current form, which is also expected. Even though the bill cuts income taxes across the board ($22 million total reduction), the governor has stated that he does not support the increase in overall spending and that total taxes are increasing $26 million, most of which is being bourn by the statewide property tax. Taxes are also being raised on capital gains, tobacco products and being initiated on liquor. If the governor vetoes the budget bill, the Legislature would probably reconvene in June. Legislators leaders maintain that the economic recession raises the need for state services, on the one hand, while on the other, state spending provides economic stimulus.

The US Department of Labor today released $101 million to help states provide career training, job search and relocation assistance to U.S. workers who lose their jobs for trade-related reasons. Vermont's total base allocation is $328,825. New Hampshire's allocation is $564,903. Provided to 41 states, this money is the balance of the fiscal year (FY) 2009 Trade Adjustment Assistance(TAA) base allocations that were announced in October 2008. The Labor Department previously had provided $88 million for TAA activities under the federal government's continuing resolution. For those qualifying states that experience large, unexpected layoffs during the year, the department maintains a reserve fund.
"A revitalized Trade Adjustment Assistance program is an important element of our nation's economic recovery," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.

With new border crossing requirements coming on June 1, state officials are urging businesses to get enhanced identification cards for employees who regularly travel to Canada. Starting June 1, the federal Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) will require WHTI-approved documents for entry to the United States. That means that most U.S. citizens entering the United States by sea or land will need a passport, passport card, or WHTI-compliant document like a Vermont Enhanced Drivers License (EDL). According to Canadian government statistics for 2007, 17,500 Vermont jobs are supported by Canada–U.S. trade and Canadians made more than 765,900 visits to Vermont that year, spending $148 million here, while Vermont residents made 148,200 visits to Canada, spending $56 million.

tourism officials are expecting an excellent summer travel season and will launch an aggressive marketing campaign in major metropolitan markets to draw more visitors to the state. Commissioner Bruce Hyde pointed to the continued steady performance of the Rooms and Meals tax as one of the positive indicators of the strength of Vermont’s tourism industry, despite the current economic climate. Rooms and Meals tax revenues to date for fiscal year 2009 are down by only 3 percent compared with the same period in 2008, a year that had the largest increase in those revenues in a decade. Hyde said Vermont continues to outperform national travel statistics.
Vermont is also expected to experience a boost in visitor travel this summer during the 2009 Lake Champlain Quadricentennial, which marks the 400th anniversary of Samuel de Champlain’s exploration of the region. More than 100 events, exhibits and programs are scheduled for the Quadricentennial around the state.

The Legislature has included in the state budget language intended to keep open the prison in St Johnsbury. Among the Douglas Administration's budget reduction proposals was closing the Northeast Regional Correctional Facility and laying off most of the employees. The inmates likely would be sent to prisons out of state. It costs the state less to pay another state to house inmates than to incarcerate them in Vermont. The House and Senate Appropriations Conference Committee included language that would require the governor to get legislative approval before he could close the prison.

The Department of Labor announced today that it will begin paying Federal-State extended unemployment compensation program benefits (EB) next week. EB provides an additional 13 weeks of unemployment compensation to eligible unemployed workers. Vermont is joining 26 other states that have triggered on the EB program. As part of the federal stimulus package, the federal government will pick up all of the EB costs.
Currently Vermont’s three month average unemployment rate is 7.03 percent. An EB period exists in a state when the three month average unemployment rate exceeds 6.5 percent or the percentage of insured workers receiving benefits. While Vermont triggered into an EB period on March 22, 2009, payment of EB was delayed as Governor Douglas elected to continue paying Federal emergency unemployment to those that qualify for the additional benefits.