Current News

Vermont Business Magazine In the US, energy costs eat between 5 and 22 percent of families’ total after-tax income, with the poorest Americans, or 25 million households, paying the highest of that range. And lower energy prices don’t necessarily equate to savings. Where one lives and how much energy one uses are a big part of the equation, according to WalletHub, a national credit information firm. For instance, although electricity is relatively cheaper in Southern Louisiana, its scorching summer heat raises costs for residents compared with the temperate climate in more energy-expensive Northern California, where heating and cooling units stay idle most of the year. Vermont ranks 10th overall in energy dollars consumed, but this is not due to relatively high electricity and gasoline prices; it's because of our cold winters. Vermont ranks relatively low in total electric and gasoline consumption due to frugality and conservation, and because of the short summers.

Vermont Business Magazine Band leader, singer and award-winning songwriter Rick Norcross will kick off the first celebration of his 55th anniversary year as a professional musician with a multi-media concert at Burlington’s magnificent Willard Street Inn on Saturday evening, February 24th. Though there will be other 55th anniversary celebrations over the course of the year with his band, Rick & The All-Star Ramblers, none will be staged in a more intimate or opulent setting than the Solarium of the Willard Street Inn, Vermont’s premier Bed & Breakfast Mansion, built in 1881 in the Hill Section of Burlington by a prominent businessman and Vermont State Senator.

Vermont Business Magazine The National Endowment for the Arts announced its first round of grant funding for FY2018. Seven Vermont organizations received grants totaling $122,000. The grants were awarded to Kingdom County Productions, New England Center for Circus Arts, Marble House Project, President & Fellows of Middlebury College, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Yellow Barn, and Governors Institutes of Vermont.

Karen Mittelman, executive director of the Vermont Arts Council commented “I'm proud that Vermont received seven grants in this round of competition for scarce federal funds. It's a recognition of the diversity and richness of Vermont's arts landscape that the grants reach from small towns to galleries to college campuses, and support a wonderful variety of disciplines from literature to circus arts.”

Information on the grants to Vermont organizations is below, followed by the full press release from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) sent a letter Thursday urging President Donald Trump to fund the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) at no less than $5.1 billion in his upcoming budget.

This morning on his WDEV radio program OPEN MIKE, Mike Smith announced, with the following statement, that he will no longer do the radio show or his regular column, which ran on vtdigger.com, vermontbiz.com and in Vermont Business Magazine.

by Mike Smith This is a difficult announcement, but there’s no other way to say it, than to just say it: I am leaving WDEV and the OPEN MIKE program on February 19th. First of all this has nothing to do with the station or the change in station ownership. In fact, this station has been so supportive of everything that I have done. I will be forever grateful to Ken, Steve and everybody here at WDEV for their support and encouragement; and for giving me this wonderful opportunity over the last 2 ½ years. I have been blessed in life with this opportunity to be with you on a daily basis. Believe me when I say this: it has truly been an honor that I never take lightly.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the successful sale by Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) of Vermont’s first Sustainability Bonds. The bond sale raised $37 million in proceeds for affordable housing, exceeding the expected amount by $2 million. The bonds will fund the “Housing for All” initiative proposed by the governor and enacted by the Vermont Legislature in 2017. Proceeds from the sale of the bonds will be awarded by the Vermont Housing Conservation Board (VHCB) to construct 550-650 homes statewide over the next two to three years. Vermont investors played a critical role in the success of the bond sale.

Vermont Business Magazine The Criminal Division of the Attorney General’s Office received the investigation regrading former VTrans Aviation Program Manager Guy Rouelle’s expenditures as a state employee for review on August 17, 2017. The allegations regarding Rouelle were possible misappropriation of state funds. Having completed the review of the matter, the Attorney General’s Office announced today that it declines to prosecute due to insufficient evidence of criminal conduct. This matter was investigated by the Vermont State Police with assistance from the Attorney General’s Office and VTrans.

The findings of the Attorney General include the following:

Guy Rouelle, May 2015. VBM photo.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the appointment of four Vermonters to the state’s judiciary, filling existing vacancies. David A. Barra, Scot L. Kline and Megan J. Shafritz were each appointed as a judge to the Vermont Superior Court, which is the state’s trial court consisting of civil, criminal, environmental, family and probate divisions. The judiciary will make the specific court assignments once these appointees are sworn in.

The governor also announced the appointment of Alicia Sacerio Humbert as Family Division magistrate. The judiciary will assign this magistrate primarily to Caledonia, Essex, Orleans and Washington counties. The Family Division of the Superior Court has jurisdiction over all family-related legal matters, including divorce, separation, civil union dissolution and parentage. As magistrate, Humbert will preside over and make decisions in family-related proceedings.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine One of the earliest goals of Jay Peak receiver Michael Goldberg was to make the EB-5 immigrant investors who had been defrauded financially whole and, if possible, allow them the opportunity to complete the process of gaining a US “green card” for themselves and immediate family members. First, Goldberg and his team had to clean up the legal and financial mess resulting from the fraud that was revealed by state regulators and the US Securities & Exchange Commission in April 2016. He then had to get the resort businesses at Jay Peak and Burke Mountain back on firm footing. Then, he had to actually get the $200 million back.

by David Coates KPMG Managing Partner (Retired) More bad news has arrived for Vermonters, and especially Vermont taxpayers, with the release of the State Actuary's 6/20/2017 Reports. The reports cover Pension and Retiree Health Care Benefits (OPEB) for State Workers and Teachers, and results are, frankly, quite startling. The 2017 reports show that Vermont’s combined unfunded liability has increased by over $900 million (over 25%) in just one year. So as of June 30, 2017 our unfunded liabilities stand at $4.5 billion, an amount that is now three (3) times our General Fund revenues and seven (7) times our bonded indebtedness.

In other words, this is the biggest liability the state owes, is more than all of our other liabilities combined, and overwhelms the state’s balance sheet.

Vermont Business Magazine US Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) announced Thursday morning that he has secured significant improvements to a key dairy safety net program, which are to be included in a bipartisan budget deal package to be considered by Congress this week. The overall budget deal would avoid another government shutdown for two years. It was first announced Wednesday. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said he will vote against the budget deal. The deal was also met with opposition in the House from the left and right. But Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday morning that he believes he has the votes to push it through.

Vermont Business Magazine New England’s annual capacity auction for power system resources concluded Tuesday with sufficient resources to meet peak demand in 2021-2022, and preliminary results indicate the clearing price was the lowest in five years due to a surplus of capacity in the region. The auction is run by ISO New England Inc to procure the resources that will be needed to meet consumer demand for electricity in three years. The clearing price for the power is 12.6 percent lower than at last year's auction. However, because of the complex nature of what goes into the current cost of electricity, which includes transmission costs and other fees, electric bills might not necessarily go down.