Current News

Governor Jim Douglas and Secretary of Administration Neale Lunderville today announced that agreement on a new two-year contract has been reached with the Vermont State Employees Association (VSEA). The contract, which was signed by both parties earlier today, includes a 3 percent wage reduction as well as no automatic yearly wage adjustments or step increases for the duration of the contract. This settlement is very good news for the taxpayers of Vermont, according to a statement issued by the governor's office. It recognizes the governor’s call to share the sacrifice broadly during these very challenging economic times.

Vermont residents may now obtain an Enhanced Drivers License (EDL) at the Rutland office of the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, which is located at 101 State Place in Rutland. Until now, the only place an EDL was available was in Montpelier.
An EDL provides Vermonters with all the motor-vehicle privileges of a normal drivers license, but it has the added advantage of being recognized by the United States federal government as proper documentation to cross the Canadian border by either land or sea.
“Many Vermonters have inquired about obtaining an EDL, but for many the trip to Montpelier was just too much trouble,” said Vermont DMV Commissioner Robert Ide. “Employees at the Rutland office have now received the extensive training necessary to issues this passport-type document.”

At a time when the nation’s public water systems are facing a $24 billion shortfall, states can ill afford to spend millions of public dollars on bottled water – an unnecessary use of the most essential public resource. Corporate Accountability International is releasing a new report Getting States Off the Bottle as part of its ongoing Think Outside the Bottle campaign. This new report reveals state spending on bottled water in four northeastern states, explains why spending taxpayer dollars on bottled water is wasteful, and offers suggestions for how states can cut back on bottled water spending.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) has placed a hold on the nomination of Ben Bernanke for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. His statement follows:
“The American people overwhelmingly voted last year for a change in our national priorities to put the interests of ordinary people ahead of the greed of Wall Street and the wealthy few,” Sanders said. “What the American people did not bargain for was another four years for one of the key architects of the Bush economy.”
As head of the central bank since 2006, Bernanke could have demanded that Wall Street provide adequate credit to small and medium-sized businesses to create decent-paying jobs in a productive economy, but he did not.
He could have insisted that large bailed-out banks end the usurious practice of charging interest rates of 30 percent or more on credit cards, but he did not.

Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today announced that Vermont’s Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program will receive an additional $536,400 from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the program provides rebates to consumers replacing used appliances with new Energy Star-certified appliances. Vermont’s program, which will be administered by the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation through the Department of Public Service, is scheduled to begin in March.
“This funding will help Vermonters reduce their energy bills by encouraging the use of more energy efficient appliances. It will help Vermont families save money, provide a boost to the economy and help the environment,” said Sens. Leahy and Sanders and Rep. Welch.

Union Bank is pleased to announce the appointment of two important community members to its Boards; Neil Van Dyke of Stowe and Daniel J. Luneau of St. Albans.

Vermont Electric Power Company’s recently completed bond sale earned the best results in the nation since the credit crisis struck two years ago and will save electricity customers millions. VELCO’s $135 million issuance of First Mortgage Bonds will refinance short term indebtedness necessary for construction of electric grid reliability projects. The 20-year fixed interest rate on the bond was set at 4.81% reflecting a credit spread of 96 basis points, the best pricing of any debt issue from any industry sector in the U.S. private placement market in more than two years and $60 billion worth of new issues. The estimated savings over the life of the bond is in the range of $20 million.

Central Vermont Public Service has filed an agreement with the Vermont Department of Public Service that, if approved by the Public Service Board, will govern the level of company staffing in customer rates over the next five years.
The docket was opened because of a disagreement with the DPS over employment levels and the associated cost to customers. Under the settlement, the DPS and CVPS agreed that the company will reduce employment by 17 positions within five years, from a starting point of 549 employees as of Jan. 1, 2009, giving CVPS credit for reductions made this year.

Governor Jim Douglas today urged Legislative leaders to make property tax reform a top priority next session. If left unaddressed, rates will skyrocket a staggering $0.22, an increase of more than 25% in the next three years. Lawmakers learned yesterday that residential and non-residential property tax rates next year will increase $0.02, further adding to the burden of our struggling families and businesses. The Governor has pushed for comprehensive changes for the past several years but lawmakers have not acted to reform our education funding system.
“During this difficult economic time, we cannot allow property taxes to continue to increase on the people of Vermont. We must act quickly to reform our education spending system,” said Governor Douglas. “The time for studies and hearings is over. We must act during the next session to address this economic crisis.”

There were 1,802 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance last week, an increase of 492 from the week before. Altogether 11,845 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 435 from a week ago and 1,217 more than a year earlier. The Department also processed 4,291 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 234 fewer than a week ago. In addition, there were 1,526 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program, which is an increase of 23 from the week before. The Unemployment Weekly Report can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/. Previously released Unemployment Weekly Reports and other UI reports can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/lmipub.htm#uc

Sonnax Industries has recently contracted to install a solar photovoltaic power generation system at the company headquarters in Bellows Falls, Vermont. The 102 kilowatt installation, contracted with groSolar of White River Junction, Vermont, represents an investment of more than half a million dollars.
“Adding solar power to our facility is a sound business decision,” said Sonnax CEO Tommy Harmon. “With the savings realized in energy costs, plus the tax incentives, the payback on our capital expenditure is approximately two years.” This solar power generation system will allow Sonnax to generate almost 20 percent of the electricity required for operations of the Vermont headquarters building. Since the power generated cannot be stored, power produced during times that exceed Sonnax’s consumption will be sold to the local power grid, further offsetting the costs.

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) today released its 14th annual rankings of the states according to their public policy climates for small business and entrepreneurship in the "Small Business Survival Index 2009: Ranking the Policy Environment for Entrepreneurship Across the Nation." (Access the SBSI 2009 report and map of the states by visiting http://sbecouncil.org/survivalindex2009/.)
The Index helps business owners, investors and lawmakers understand the public policy burdens placed on entrepreneurship and small business in the states, and ranks them accordingly.