Current News

The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) today closed a section of Route 36 in Fairfield just east of Swamp Road due to a failed culvert. The road is expected to be closed into November until the Agency can erect a temporary bridge.
The average daily traffic for this section of Route 36, which is located 1.7 miles east of the St. Albans/Fairfield town line, is about 2,700 vehicles per day. Motorists are encouraged to seek alternate routes, and to leave additional time to reach their destination.
“There are two culverts under the road in this location, and both are failing,” said VTrans Secretary David Dill. “Our inspectors determined that it is unsafe for the road to remain open, so we closed the roadway. Engineers have already been dispatched to assess what it will take to erect a temporary bridge, and we will restore traffic as quickly as possible.”

The Vermont Chronic Care Initiative (VCCI) was honored by the Care Continuum Alliance (CCA) as the winner of the “Outstanding Government Program” award at the organizations annual meeting in Washington D.C. The CCA Leadership Awards and Quality Impact Awards recognize leaders in health care for their efforts promoting health, reducing health risks and increasing the quality of care, particularly for those with chronic conditions. VCCI was recognized for its success in mitigating the impact of chronic conditions and increasing medication adherence among Medicaid beneficiaries.
“Vermont is proud to be recognized for our efforts by the Care Continuum Alliance,” said Governor Jim Douglas. “The Chronic Care Initiative is central to our efforts to improve the lives of Vermonters, while controlling health care costs. This award is another example of how Vermont is leading the nation in reforming our system of health care responsibly and effectively.”

Rock of Ages Corporation (NASDAQ:ROAC), based in Barre, announced Monday that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Swenson Granite Company LLC, based in Concord, NH. Shareholders of Rock of Ages will receive $5.25 per share in cash, valued at about $39 million, and Swenson Granite will acquire 100 percent ownership of Rock of Ages.
What this means for employment in Vermont is unknown at this time. Rock of Ages employs 230, according to Vermont Business Magazine. Net revenues in 2009 were $21,682,316. Net income was $802,324, or $.11 per share. The company lost over $2 million in 2008, or $.28 per share.

Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss today vetoed a City Council resolution proposing a charter change to the appointment, reappointment and removal process for City department heads. The resolution, which passed at the October 6 Council meeting, proposes to eliminate the Council’s annual vote on department head reappointments, change the standard for removal of a department head, and give Councilors unilateral authority to remove a department head as well as initiate removal proceedings (see http://www.ci.burlington.vt.us/docs/2646.pdf).

Mack Molding’s Northern Operations, with three manufacturing facilities in Arlington and Cavendish, has been named an Environmental Partner by the state of Vermont. To be selected, a business must meet eight standards, all of which are geared toward waste management, pollution prevention and energy efficiency.
In addition to participating in an environmental assessment by the Vermont Small Business Development Center, Mack has:
â ¢ eliminated process water discharge at the East Arlington facility
â ¢ significantly reduced electrical usage by replacing 2,100 lighting
fixtures with high intensity fluorescent fixtures
â ¢ installed new high efficiency air compressors in two facilities
â ¢ reuses or recycles 920,000 lbs of plastic resin per year
â ¢ recycles 98,500 lbs of sheet metal per year
â ¢ recycles 45,000 lbs of cardboard per year
â ¢ purchases cleaning/maintenance products with post consumer recycled
content

The Department of Labor announced today that the state minimum wage will be increasing to $8.15 per hour from $8.06 per hour on January 1, 2011. Vermont’s minimum wage increases at the same rate as the Consumer Price Index (CPI), as calculated in August, for the preceding year. This August, the CPI increased by one and one tenth percent (1.1%).
Additionally, the basic wage rate for ‘service and tipped’ employees is tied to the CPI. As such, the basic wage for such employees will be increasing to $3.95 per hour from $3.91. Service or tipped employees are individuals working in hotels, motels, tourist places, and restaurants who customarily and regularly receive more than $120.00 a month in tips for direct and personal service.
Tipped employees’, like other workers, total earnings during a pay period must equal or exceed $8.15 per hour. If a combination of tips and the basic wage do not meet that requirement, the employer must make up the difference.

Forbes magazine released its annual report on the Best States for Business and Vermont, once again, was near the bottom. What little good news one could take from this is that the state actually rose two spots to 45th. Utah took over number one from longtime leader Virginia.
Vermont was especially punished in the categories of business costs, regulation and growth prospects. The state's best categories were labor force (16) and quality of life (15). The latter seems to be somewhat of a head scratcher, perhaps, as states like New Jersey and Pennsylvania finished well ahead of Vermont, even though the description says it measured schools, health, crime, cost of living and poverty rates and that several other national rankings put Vermont near or at the top of states with the highest quality of life.

As the nation stands poised to elect one of the largest classes of new governors, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) has conducted an analysis, State Government Redesign Efforts 2009 and 2010, of state actions to streamline and downsize government to meet the new economic reality facing states. The study cites Vermont several times, especially in regards to savings in corrections and state worker compensation.
"States such as Colorado, Virginia, Vermont and Washington have introduced graduated sentencing policies to help shrink the population of nonviolent offenders. For example, Vermont enacted legislation in 2010 that creates a home confinement alternative for certain nonviolent offenders who would otherwise have been sentenced to prison."

Vermont Secretary of Administration Neale Lunderville announced today that Vermont’s September tax revenue figures were above targets for the General Fund and Education Fund, but were slightly below target for the Transportation Fund.
General FundSeptember is the third month of fiscal year (FY) 2011. General Fund revenues totaled $117.72 million for September 2010, and were +$8.75 million or +8.03% above the $108.97 million consensus revenue forecast for the month. Year-to-date General Fund performance of $281.65 million was +$12.44 million, or +4.62% ahead of year to date target of $269.21 million. This +$12.44 million overage is almost fully attributable to a one-time bank franchise receipt in August and likely one-time corporate income tax receipts this month as discussed below.
The current forecast does not project a return to fiscal year 2008 revenue levels until fiscal year 2013.

Moody’s Investor Services has completed separate reviews of the Burlington International Airport (BTV) and Burlington Electric Department (BED) and has announced a downgrade of the credit rating for each department. BTV’s rating moved from Baa3 to Ba1. BED’s rating moved from A3 to Baa2. The Moody’s analysis acknowledges progress that has been made to address issues in each department as well as the fundamental strength of Burlington’s economy. Moody’s also cites as a contributing factor the City’s overall credit status and current negative outlook.
City officials are optimistic about addressing Moody’s concerns, with action steps already in place to continue making financial improvements. On top of progress made this year, both BED and BTV forecast continued financial improvements in the short and long-term.

Twelve new Vermont jobs are on hold following an appeal in Maine of that state’s decision to change its lottery vendor to the same firm that handles Vermont. The Kennebec Journal is reporting today that Scientific Games of Gardiner, Me, has appealed the decision by the Maine Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations to award the new contract to SG’s international competitor, Intralot. Intralot, based in Greece, won the Vermont contract in 2009. That decision by the Vermont Lottery to go with Intralot was also appealed by SG, which, as in Maine, was the previous contractor.
The Kennebec Journal story said the Intralot decision was made in early October. It said that Intralot planned to transfer 12 positions to its Vermont data center in East Montpelier. The two companies handle the technical and management side of the lotteries. In Maine, SG also prints the lottery cards, but that contract expires next year.

The Boys & Girls Club of Burlington is pleased to
announce a $5,000 grant award from the Citizen’s Bank Foundation to
partially fund the career readiness and life skills program, KnowHow2Go. In
it’s fourth year, the KnowHow2Go Program introduces middle school and
high school youth to the college process and possible career choices in
order to encourage and prepare them to pursue higher education options.
The program is a series of educational sessions designed to inform members
about good study habits; setting goals; guiding students to high school
course selection that leads them to a higher education path. Additionally
participants learn the basics of handling personal finances and accessing
college loans; attend college and business visits, and receive homework
assistance and extensive mentoring support.
Brigitte Ritchie, Citizens Bank Vice President for Public Affairs and