Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Beginning with the fourth quarter payment for 2017, the Vermont Department of Taxes will collect the Health Care Fund Contribution Assessment from required employers. The first payment to the Department of Taxes is due onJan. 25, 2018. The Health Care Fund Contribution was established in 2006 for employers who do not offer insurance to all of their employees. For 10 years, the contribution was paid to the Vermont Department of Labor. Under Act 73 of 2017, the collection of this assessment was transferred to the Department of Taxes. The due dates are on the 25th of the month following the end of the quarter, instead of the last day of the month. This date change was implemented to sync up the filing date to the withholding due date to prevent businesses from needing to file an additional form. No changes were made for eligibility of who is required to pay this assessment.

Vermont Business MagazineEvery two years since taking office in 2011 Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos has travelled the state as a part of his biennial Transparency Tour training government employees, elected officials and engaged citizens on the responsibilities and tools that all Vermont government officials have to serve Vermonters in an open and transparent manner.

Vermont Business Magazine As part of an ongoing commitment to give people the confidence and tools they need to budget, save, invest and be fiscally healthy, Citizens Bank is now accepting applications from nonprofits for crucial financial literacy services that help consumers better manage their money. From December 11- 29, 2017, organizations in Vermont throughout the bank’s 11-state retail banking footprint are invited to submit an application for funding as part of the bank’s Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money financial literacy initiative. Eligible financial literacy activities include:

by Stephen WhitakerGovernor Scott would be making a grave mistake were he not to Opt-Out of the AT&TFirstNet plan by the December 28th deadline. Vermont will still be eligible to participate andbe fully interoperable with the national FirstNet effort. Vermont can create a plan for a RadioAccess Network (RAN) partner with an LTE cellular carrier, maintain local control, stateregulatory jurisdiction over privacy of personal information traversing FirstNet, implementtower hardening and backup power requirements necessary to survive hurricane force winds orice, and regulate the rates charged to first responders for access to the FirstNet system.AT&T has reneged on prior promises made for hardening their network and towerseven as Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands have demonstrated the absolute need for same.

by Mike Smith The liberal advocacy group Rights and Democracy is calling on the Vermont Senate not to confirm Tom Pelham, GovernorPhil Scott’s recent appointment to the Green Mountain Care Board. The reasoning: He’s too fiscally conservative. The group describes Pelham as “a voice for more health care austerity” and lacking “an everyday patient’s perspective.” His sin: He was critical of former GovernorPeter Shumlin’s single-payer health care plan.

But Pelham was right to be critical. To fund single payer would have required massive tax increases. And the promised decreases in health insurance premiums to offset those costs didn’t exist. It simply was too high a price tag for Vermonters to pay.

Vermont Business Magazine Improved health, reduced growth in Medicare spending and more health-savvy older adults: these are the findings of the latest federally funded, third-party evaluation of older adults living in Vermont affordable housing communities and enrolled in SASH (Support and Services at Home), a statewide, collaborative program of care and support that helps people stay healthy and remain at home.

Montpelier SASH participant Eudora has experienced the benefits of the SASH program first-hand. Just shy of her seventieth birthday, Eudora lives alone as she has for many years, with no family in Vermont. In April of 2015, Downstreet SASH coordinator Jennifer was making her daily rounds, checking in with SASH participants. When Eudora answered her door and said she wasn’t feeling well, Jennifer noticed Eudora’s slurred speech and that her face was droopy on one side; it was clear that Eudora was in need of medical attention.

Vermont Business Magazine The foundation has been laid for a model home in South Burlington for a market-rate development between two of South Burlington's busiest thoroughfares. O’Brien Brothers officially cut the ribbon on a new residential community today on Hillside at O’Brien Farm, which over the next four years or so will become home to more than 100 families, featuring residences of architectural variety, a neighborhood recreational park, and sweeping views of the Adirondacks and the Green Mountains between Kennedy Drive and Hinesburg Road. Single-family and town homes will start in the $300,000 to $400,000 range.

O’Brien Brothers, center, with family and staff. Courtesy photos and renderings.

Vermont Business MagazineWeekly unemployment claims subsided somewhat last week after a big spike. Volatility is typicalof theholiday employment scene. However, claims are still significantly lower than at the same time last year.Claims have been lower than they were the same time last year for most weeks in 2017.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine Saint Michael's College has narrowed its search for a new president to three, according to Trustees Chair Mary-Kate McKenna. McKenna sent a letter to the St Mike's community Thursday saying the Colchester college has three current presidents as finalists for the position. Saint Michael's College President John JNeuhauser announced last May his plans to leave the college in June of 2018. The names of the three candidates were not revealed either in the letter or at the request of VBM.

Vermont Business MagazineCommunity Bank NApresents the 2017 Special Olympics Vermont Holiday Games December 10at StMichael’s College and Spare Times Lanes in Colchester. Nearly 500 athletes and Unified partners will compete in swimming, floorball, and bowling.“We are very excited to be the presenting sponsor of the first ever Special Olympics Vermont Holiday Games” says Anita Bourgeois, Community Bank N.A. New England Regional Manager. “We are thrilled to grow our partnership with Special Olympics Vermont and support people with intellectual disabilities and their families across the state.”

Special Olympics Vermont has reorganized its sports seasons to provide more high-quality sports training and competition opportunities to more athletes. The thirteen Olympic-type sports offered are now organized into four distinct sports seasons: Winter, Summer, Fall, and Holiday Games. This Sunday will be the first annual Holiday Games.

Senator Bernie Sanders I thank Leader Schumer for putting me on the so-called 'tax reform' conference committee. Let me be very clear: Both versions of the Senate and the House tax bills are morally grotesque and terrible economic policy. Both bills would provide massive tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, increase taxes on millions of middle class Americans, raise the deficit by more than $1 trillion, and lead to savage cuts in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.