Current News

by David Coates Vermont's unfunded liability for the state workers and teacher pensions and retiree health care benefits (OPEB) increased in 2015 by over $500 million. As of 6/30/15, these liabilities total $3.8 billion versus $3.3 billion in 2014, a 15 percent increase in one year. By contrast, Vermont’s economy grew at 2 percent over the previous year. This is a remarkable amount considering General Fund revenues are expected to be $1.7 billion this fiscal year. In other words, Vermont would have to dedicate over two years of our revenues to just balance the amount due state workers and teachers as of 6/30/15 per the Actuary's Report. As you read below, even this $3.8 billion is likely understated.

Vermont Business Magazine The US Bankruptcy Court accepted the bid by Winston Prouty Center for Child Development to purchase The Austine School for the Deaf campus in Brattleboro. The Austine School, which was part of the Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (VCDHH), closed at the end of the 2014 school year. VCDHH, which included a number of support and educational programs, closed in September and the organization declared bankruptcy. Rather than pursue a long-planned $2.4 million expansion of its facility, including an early education center and community-based services, which is located across from Living Memorial Park, Winston Prouty decided to use its financial resources to purchase the Austine campus.

Vermont Business Magazine The Bernard Osher Foundation of San Francisco has awarded $1 million to the University of Vermont to support its Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI). OLLI of the University of Vermont is part of a national lifelong learning network for adults aged 50 and over, supported by the Bernard Osher Foundation, "architect" of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program operating on the campuses of 119 institutions of higher education from Maine to Hawaii and Alaska. The UVM program was first launched in 2003, and a $1 million endowment from the Osher Foundation in October, 2006, permanently established the program in Vermont. The first OLLIs were established in Brattleboro, Central Vermont, Lamoille Valley, Newport, Rutland, St. Albans, St. Johnsbury, and Springfield. The Osher Foundation granted additional funds to the university in 2010 to establish the program on the UVM campus, in Burlington, as well.

Vermont Business Magazine After hosting three public hearings and soliciting written comments from Vermonters, Attorney General Bill Sorrell is taking the question he posed to Vermonters - should Vermont reduce its reliance on incarceration as a response to criminal conduct? - to the Vermont Legislature. The resolution to be introduced in the House is a policy statement that the State should significantly reduce its reliance on incarceration so long as public safety is not compromised. See resolution below.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate fell one-tenth in December to 3.6 percent, the first time the rate has fallen since last April, when it fell two-tenths to 3.6 percent. The crucial numbers continue to show a falling Labor Force and number of Employed, as tourism hiring lagged with the slow start to the ski season. However, the number of Unemployed also fell, causing the rate to go down. The Vermont Department of Labor announced the results today. The national average in December held at 5.0 percent. Vermont’s unemployment rate was again tenth lowest in the country. North Dakota was lowest at 2.7 percent and New Mexico was highest at 6.7 percent. Based on preliminary 2015 data, eleven of twelve months during the calendar year were below four percent unemployment generating a preliminary seasonally-adjusted annual average Vermont statewide unemployment rate of 3.7 percent.

Vermont Business Magazine Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc (NYSE: BHLB), the holding company of Berkshire Bank, with branches in southwestern Vermont, reported a 13 percent increase in fourth quarter core earnings per share to $0.54 in 2015 from $0.48 in 2014. The earnings improvement was driven by 17 percent revenue growth produced by the company's expanded operations. Fourth quarter GAAP EPS increased to $0.52 from $0.46.  For the year, core earnings per share increased by 16 percent to $2.09 in 2015 from $1.80 in 2014, while GAAP EPS increased to $1.73 from $1.36. GAAP results in all periods included net non-core charges primarily related to acquisitions and restructuring activities. The dividend was increase one cent to $0.20. 

FOURTH QUARTER FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (comparisons are to prior quarter unless otherwise stated):

by Chris Graff Bernie Sanders’ closing television ad for Iowa is probably the best political ad I have ever seen. Superbly edited to Simon and Garfunkel’s song “America,” the ad brilliantly captures the difference of Bernie’s campaign. While all of the other political ads are mired in gotcha attacks and takedowns, “America” speaks positively and evocatively about the power of people to change the course of our history. The images are straight out of Norman Rockwell’s America: A farmhouse, small towns, farmers tossing hay bales, parents with their children, young people at work.

No words are spoken; the images change in concert with the strumming of the guitar. Sanders is shown on the campaign trail, with the images growing from small groups to rallies that have attracted thousands. The roars of the crowds fit perfectly with the music. At one point Sanders, at a podium, is gesturing in a way that makes it appear as if he is conducting the roars.

Vermont Business Magazine A group of Florida researchers has found a link between gardening and good mental health. Scientists at the University of Florida studied 23 healthy women and preliminary findings show the women who participated in group gardening activities twice a week reported profoundly reduced stress, anxiety, anger, confusion and fatigue. The women also reported significantly more vigor and friendliness than the women in the control group. Dr Charles Guy, who led the study, cautions that the findings are still being analyzed but he describes the early results as 'huge.' "The fact we could measure anything (in such a small study) in a statistically robust way is surprising," says Guy.

by Bill Schubart Robert Proctor, a science historian at Stanford, has coined a new word that’s getting lots of attention… agnotology. Agnotology is the study of efforts to spread confusion and deceive people in an effort to sell them on a policy or product. Examples given are tobacco, food, and pharma efforts to sell products inimical to our wellbeing or the absurd political solutions proposed by Donald Trump, most of which are either unworkable or unconstitutional. In a BBC interview, Proctor warns: “We live in a world of radical ignorance, and the marvel is that any kind of truth cuts through the noise. Even though knowledge is ‘accessible’, it doesn’t mean it’s accessed.”

Vermont Business Magazine Southwestern Vermont Health Care Foundation’s (SVHC) 2nd Annual Jingle Bell held on December 5 at the Hermitage Club in Wilmington, VT, hosted a sell-out crowd of 230 guests and raised $170,000 for the relocation of the organization’s Deerfield Valley Clinic, the new linear accelerator for the SVHC Regional Cancer Center, and other health care initiatives. The Jingle Bell included a cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing to the New York Players. The program also included a raffle and live auction.  

by John Brumsted, MD Together, we are writing a new prescription for the health of Vermonters: Pay health care providers for keeping people healthy instead of just treating them when they are sick. This is a change the University of Vermont Health Network is committed to making.  We recently set a goal of having 80 percent of our revenue tied to the overall health and wellness of our patients by 2018, rather than being paid for every test or procedure we perform or by our hospital admissions. Right now, less than 15 percent of UVM Medical Center’s revenue comes from payment arrangements tied to the quality, not the quantity, of care provided, so this represents a big change.

Dr John Brumsted, CEO of the UVM Medical Center

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin, his senior health care advisers, and Green Mountain Care Board Chair Al Gobeille today detailed how Vermont will seek to transform its health care system under the so-called All Payer Model from one that rewards fee-for-service, quantity-driven care to one that rewards quality-based care that focuses on keeping Vermonters healthy. That transition caps off years of work that will enable Vermont to address rising health care costs that are squeezing the budgets of families, businesses, and state government.