Current News

Vermont Business Magazine As part of its $249 million makeover of Burlington’s Church Street mall, called the Burlington Town Center (BTC), mall owner Devonwood Investors, LLC today announced that it has entered into a preliminary agreement with The University of Vermont Medical Center to lease non-clinical office space for UVM Medical Center at the mall site in downtown Burlington. The expected occupancy is 2019. The lease would allow the UVM Medical Center to utilize the soon-to-be redeveloped site of the BTC to place downtown 350-400 administrative jobs currently located at sites used by UVM Medical Center in Burlington and outside of the city as leases expire.

Vermont Business Magazine A press release from the E-911 Board stating that the Department of Public Safety “will not be continuing to participate in the statewide 911 call taking system” is false. No decision has been made. Secretary of Administration Justin Johnson issued the following statement on the inaccurate press release issued this morning. “No decision has been made surrounding the participation of the Department of Public Safety in the statewide 9-1-1 call taking system. The attempt to mislead the media and public is completely outrageous and under-handed.”

Vermont Business Magazine VBSR members came out in strong support for H261 last week. The Ban the Box bill is now under consideration by the Senate Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs Committee. The bill eliminates the criminal history question on job applications for most jobs - allowing prospective hires to explain their past convictions and the steps they've taken to rebuild their lives. Employers can still conduct background checks and ask about criminal records during job interviews.

​Heather Wright, an employment attorney with WrightJones PLC. VBSR photos

Vermont Business Magazine According to a national report from an audit-defense firm, Vermont had the highest rate of IRS audits in the US in 2015. TaxAudit.com, a California-based IRS audit defense specialists, today announced the findings from their second annual IRS Audit Report which reveals the states with the highest chance of a tax audit. The study examined 1.5 million US tax returns for the 2014 tax year. The findings reveal Vermont and California taxpayers had a higher chance of an IRS audit than taxpayers in any other states, while Hawaii and New York had the highest chance of an audit of their 2014 state tax return. Taxpayers in Oklahoma were the least likely to be audited by the IRS while taxpayers in Texas were the least likely to be audited by the state.

Rankings are based on the percentage of 2014 TaxAudit.com Audit Defense users that were audited in 2015.

States with the highest likelihood of an IRS audit

by VT Secretary of State Jim Condos Smart, focused and efficient government helps Vermonters, so why does it seem that levels of frustration and distrust are at an all-time high? I believe that listening to your customers, cutting red tape, finding efficiencies, and increasing transparency are all keys to earning that trust. At the Secretary of State’s Office, we serve Vermonters in many ways, including: overseeing the state’s elections, registering its businesses, licensing its professionals, managing its records, providing information, assistance and educational materials related to municipal and open government laws. 

We balance these critical priorities with Vermonters’ ability to afford them – ensuring fee revenue is spent wisely.  Recent news about broken contracting practices, failed Information Technology (IT) projects, and budget deficits are discouraging and don’t inspire confidence.      

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont remains in the lower half of states ranked by bad mortgages, as it has for several years. When the mortgage crisis first hit in 2008 Vermont was at the bottom. The mortgage crisis is still embedded in the states worst hit, but the number and type of foreclosures and non-current loans has diminished significantly, accept for the lowest-priced homes, especially those in a  "negative equity" position. Vermont (21.1 percent) is among several states, including most of New England, that has seen non-current mortgages fall by more than 20 percent over the last year, as the national average is down 18.1 percent. Vermont's foreclosure rate is above the US average, while its delinquent rate is below average. The state's overall non-current rate is 5.5 percent, just under the US average of 5.7 percent.

Vermont Business Magazine After a nearly five-hour police standoff, Ralph “Phil” Grenon was shot and killed by a Burlington police officer. He reportedly lunged at police with two knives. The shooting of a 76-year old man, who many have said had mental health issues, has generated a public outcry. Perhaps it was Mr. Grenon’s age, or perhaps it was his mental state, but opinions about the incident have been diverse and passionate. Some believe police officers acted precipitously, unnecessarily killing a person experiencing a mental health crisis when other means of resolving the standoff could have been deployed. Others feel police acted prudently by using force to protect themselves from a man lunging toward them with knives.

by Joyce Marcel. Vermont Business Magazine Environmental attorney Peter D Van Oot has been close to the center of the struggle around Act 250 for 29 years. Van Oot, 61, is a director of Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC, the state’s largest law firm. He works out of the company’s offices in Lebanon, NH. He has argued for many large Act 250 permits and at the same time been on — and chaired — Act 250 commissions. He’s been a member of two municipal planning commissions/zoning boards, served as counsel for developers of large-scale projects and is a board member of state-wide environmental and economic development organizations. In person, Van Oot is tall, good-looking and imposing. Charming should be his middle name. He has long white hair that he combs straight back and a deep, sonorous voice that might lull any Environmental Board into acquiescing to his requests. 

by Maureen Cregan Connolly Nearly 97% of Vermont's businesses are classified as "small" according to the Small Business Association (SBA). Statistics provided by the SBA report that between 2010 and 2013 Vermont had 77,726 small businesses and that, of that number, 60,067 businesses were without employees. These businesses primarily survive through contract work with other business entities. H.867 was written to protect Vermont's cottage business  industries  and  to protect an individual's right to self-contract. The days of a single contractor building a home from foundation to roof are no longer.  Homes are built by teams and individuals with specific skills and knowledge; team development is based upon the elements of design selected by the homeowners.

LCC Lake Champlain Committee The Vermont Agency of Agriculture has requested a delay in up-dating their pollution control rules for agriculture. The up-date is required under Act 64, the water quality bill passed by the Vermont legislature in 2015. Act 64 called for the Agency to finalize the rules by July 1, 2016. The Agency wants that date pushed back until September.

Vermont Business Magazine Researchers from 13 land-grant universities, including the University of Vermont, have examined equine operations and developed educational programs about horse and environmental stewardship. In the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states alone, more than 428,000 horses, ponies, and mules are living on 65,000 farms, and each horse produces about 50 pounds of manure every day. Water runoff from manure, horse feed, and bedding can pollute nearby bodies of water. To devise sustainable, safe strategies for equine operations, these researchers formed the multi-state research project NE-1041 "Environmental Impacts of Equine Operations."

Vermont Business Magazine A 2016 Conservation and Community Grant from the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership (CVNHP) heralds an important new initiative for Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, a project titled Collections & Recollections: Preserving Peter Barranco’s Legacy. Grant funds are helping LCMM initiate long-term preservation and research access to a nationally significant collection recently donated to LCMM. “The Maritime Museum is deeply grateful to Peter Barranco for his gift, and to the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership for helping LCMM initiate the long-term preservation and access of this important collection,” said Executive Director Mike Smiles.