Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Federal Credit Union will be awarding four $2,000 educational  scholarships to students with a history of strong academic achievement and service to the community. Vermont Federal will now be accepting online scholarship applications for the 2016-2017 academic year. Two scholarships, in the amount of $2,000 each, will be awarded to graduating high school seniors who have been accepted to an accredited undergraduate program at a college, trade school, or university for the Fall semester of 2016 or Spring semester of 2017. The Credit Union will also be awarding two $2,000 scholarships to students who are already enrolled in or looking to go back to an accredited undergraduate program at a college, trade school or university during the Fall semester of 2016 or the Spring semester of 2017. The deadline to apply for these scholarships is Monday, April 4th, 2016.

Vermont Business Magazine Chittenden County has the best home-buying closing cost ranking in Vermont, in line with its rank of 1 in 2015, even though the actual closing costs were the highest in the state. But because the median home price was also highest, Chittenden has the lowest relative cost in the SmartAsset index. Closing Costs are a crucial aspect of buying a home, and in its second annual study New York financial technology company SmartAsset shows where they are lowest. The study measures closing costs as a percentage of median home value at the county level. However, Chittenden County ranked 1,227, as most of the low-cost regions were in the West.

Vermont Business Magazine New England Federal Credit Union (NEFCU) has announced that it is now accepting Nursing Scholarship applications for 2016. Three scholarships of $3,000 each are awarded each year to applicants who qualify. Applications can be obtained online at nefcu.com, at any branch, or by calling 802-879-8790.  Applicants must be members of NEFCU who are applying to or are enrolled in an accredited undergraduate or graduate nursing program.

Requirements include:

• Submission of the application form

• High school transcript, college transcript, or General Education Degree

• Description of related work experience

Applicants must also submit an original 250-word essay describing how they will use their degree to contribute to their community. 

Vermont Business Magazine A lengthier divorce process of about 450 days and a higher filing fee ($295) make Vermont one of the most expensive states to get a divorce, despite having some of the lowest average attorney fees ($195) in the nation, according to a nationwide survey. California is the most expensive and Wyoming is the cheapest. Although many couples are looking forward to celebrating Valentine's Day this month, the beginning of the year also tends to be a popular time for Americans to file for divorce. What each couple pays for a divorce, however, will also depend on where they live because divorce laws vary from state to state, and people who live in states with lower fees and shorter divorce timelines pay much less than those who don't. 

Vermont Business Magazine Over 400 Vermonters may benefit from a settlement announced today by Vermont Attorney General William H Sorrell. Vermont is joining a $470 million joint state-federal settlement with mortgage lender and servicer HSBC. The settlement creates a $60 million fund to compensate victims of HSBC’s foreclosure abuses, requires a $40 million payment to federal agencies, and provides $370 million in other consumer relief available to HSBC borrowers.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders’ legislation to expand Social Security would extend the life of the program an additional 40 years, from 2034 to 2074, according to a new analysis by the agency in charge of determining the solvency of Social Security. The Social Security Expansion Act – introduced by Sanders last year – would subject all income over $250,000 to the payroll tax. Under current law, the amount of income subject to the payroll tax is capped at $118,500.

Vermont Business Magazine The US House of Representatives approved an amendment introduced by Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vermont) that would expand the federal housing assistance program to cover previously ineligible expenses of low income mobile home owners. The bipartisan initiative was approved as an amendment to the Housing Opportunities Through Modernization Act (H.R. 3700), which passed the House and will now go to the Senate for further consideration. The legislation will expand HUD housing assistance to pay for insurance, utilities, and property taxes of mobile homeowners.

“Low-income Vermonters are struggling to make ends meet and stay in their homes,” Welch said. “This legislation will provide a much-needed boost in federal assistance to low-income mobile home owners in Vermont and across the country.”

Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment claims continued to fall last week as they have since spiking after Christmas. Claims in 2015 generally were lower than in 2014, but since the holiday season they have been generally running ahead of the prior year until last week. For the week of January 30, 2016, there were 635 claims, down 118 from the previous week's total and 43 fewer than they were a year ago. By industry, claims were down for most categories but increased slightly for Services. 

Altogether 7,374 new and continuing claims were filed, a decrease of 131 from a week ago, and 717 fewer than a year ago.

The Department processed 0 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08).

by Guy Page This month the Vermont Public Service Board (PSB) will consider the proposed second dry cask storage pad at Vermont Yankee. This concrete pad would support the remaining reinforced concrete and steel casks containing spent reactor fuel. Vermont Yankee plans to self-finance the $145 million project, and is willing to begin the fuel transfer two years earlier than planned. The pad’s approval was a condition of the 2013 Entergy/State of Vermont Settlement Agreement providing $50 million of redevelopment funds to Vermont.

This pad is a very big deal for all concerned. Without it, the decommissioning cannot proceed as planned and recently found acceptable by the USNRC. A PSB denial could conceivably place at risk the Settlement Agreement and all of its benefits. Although Vermont Yankee does not produce electricity anymore, approving this spent fuel storage site is an important next step in the decommissioning process.

Vermont Business Magazine What economists have called a "terrible" start to the ski season has had a predictable effect on the state's consumption tax revenues in January. Sales and Rooms & Meals were both off significantly, offsetting what was otherwise a decent month for revenues. General Fund (GF) revenues for the January were off slightly by -$1.30 million or -0.82 percent, totaling $156.85 million versus the monthly target of $158.15 million. A $4.04 million (+147.71 percent) jump in the Corporate Tax and a $1.51 million (+1.50 percent) increase in the vital Personal Income Tax were offset by a -$3.23 million hit (-10.94%) in the Sales and Use Tax and a -2.91 percent fall in the R&M tax  (-$0.38 million). The Inheritance and Estate Tax also was down by -$1.99 million (- 77.73 percent). The cumulative GF revenues total of $824.84 million remains slightly below the Y-T-D target of 826.14 million by -$1.30 million, or -0.16%.

Vermont Business Magazine In an unusual move Thursday, the Vermont Senate has decided to revisit H187, the paid sick leave bill, despite overwhelming passage of the legislation Wednesday. The sticking point is a floor amendment before Wednesday's final vote that exempted businesses with five or fewer employees until 2018 (the "Campion amendment"). That provision would thus exclude initially many of the workers the bill is intended to help, but it would help soften the financial blow to these very small businesses. The House version passed last year did not have this provision. The vote Thursday calls for the Senate to reconsider the amendment next Wednesday. The Senate bill as passed could have triggered a Conference Committee and a fight with the House. The reconsideration of the amendment was initiated by Senator Bill Doyle (R-Washington) who voted in favor of the measure Wednesday.

by Mike Faher/The Commons, Brattleboro Entergy spent $58 million from the Vermont Yankee decommissioning trust fund in the first year after the Vernon nuclear plant’s shutdown, the company disclosed. Overall, with investment income and trust administrative expenses figured in, the fund decreased by about $69 million in 2015 — from $664.56 million to $595.4 million at year’s end. Administrators said the new figures show that Entergy is in compliance with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and is on track financially in the early stages of Vermont Yankee’s decommissioning.

“The good news is, we’re still well above the NRC required minimum balance for the trust,” said Joe Lynch, Entergy Vermont Yankee’s government affairs manager. “And we are under budget, overall.”