Current News

Vermont Business Magazine NBT Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ: NBTB) announced that it has received regulatory approval to complete the proposed merger of Evans Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE American: EVBN) with and into NBT and Evans Bank, N.A. with and into NBT Bank, N.A. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency approved the merger of Evans Bank with and into NBT Bank, and NBT received a waiver from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for any application with respect to the merger of Evans with and into NBT. On December 20, 2024, the shareholders of Evans voted to approve the Merger. Evans reported over 75% of the issued and outstanding shares of Evans were represented at a special shareholder meeting and over 96% of the votes cast were voted to approve the Merger.

Vermont Business Magazine The Commission on the Future of Public Education in Vermont announced the release of its preliminary findings report, commissioned by Act 183 of 2024.The report provides initial critical insights into the complexity of Vermont’s education finance landscape and seeks to provide the legislature with early information to inform its work during the 2025 legislative session. “The Commission is well aware of the challenging and complex policy environment in which it has been asked to do its work. We believe that this initial report can play a role in shaping policy decisions this session,” said Meagan Roy, Commission Chair.

Public Assets Institute Vermont total personal income rose to $43 billion in 2023. Adjusted for inflation, that was an increase of 6 percent over the previous year, the highest among the states. Personal income, a key economic indicator, includes salary and wages, business income, interest and dividends, government benefits such as Social Security, employer retirement contributions, and other income. It does not include capital gains. Personal income is an aggregate measure; it doesn’t tell us how individuals are faring. But Vermont also scored well in 2023 on a measure that does. Census data released in September showed a rise in Vermonters’ median household income of 5.4 percent, after adjusting for inflation—also the largest percentage increase in the country.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced the appointment Kerrick Johnson, of North Middlesex, as commissioner of the Department of Public Service, Mike Ferrant, of Williamstown, as deputy commissioner of the Department of Liquor and Lottery and has named Sandy Bigglestone as acting commissioner of the Department of Financial Regulation. Ferrant replaces former deputy commissioner Andrew Collier, who was appointed as commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles last month. Johnson replaces June Tierney and Bigglestone will serve as acting commissioner, replacing Kevin Gaffney. Both Tierney and Gaffney will be retiring at the end of the year. 

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor today reported that the seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment rate for November was 2.4 percent. This reflects an increase of one-tenth of one percentage point from the prior month’s revised estimate. All three major indices were negative. Vermont is tied for second lowest unemployment rate in the nation with North Dakota. South Dakota is lowest at 1.9% and Nevada is highest at 5.7%. The state civilian labor force participation rate was 65.5 percent in November, a decrease of one-tenth of one percentage point from the prior month’s revised estimate. The comparable United States rate in November was 4.2 percent, an increase of one-tenth of one percentage point from the revised October estimate. 

Vermont Business Magazine This week, the biennial, bipartisan Water Resources Development Act of 2024 was advanced by the Senate. The bill contains several of U.S. Senator Peter Welch’s (D-Vermont) priorities for flood-impacted communities. It now heads to President Biden’s desk for his signature. This includes lowering the Non-Federal Cost-Share of the Lake Champlain Watershed Environmental Assistance Program for Vermont; and lowering the State of Vermont Cost-Share for Work on the Waterbury, Wrightsville, and East Barre Dams.

Vermont Business Magazine Emerge Vermont, the state’s premier organization for recruiting and training Democratic women to run for office, announced a new, one-day training program for Democratic women interested in running for local office. Emerge Vermont’s Municipal Bootcamp is a full-day, online training that will provide skills and tools to enable Democratic women to run successful campaigns for school boards, selectboards, city councils, and village trustee boards on Town Meeting Day. 

Vermont Business Magazine In solidarity with the 28,000 flight attendants who have been working for nearly four years without a much-needed pay raise or quality-of-life improvements, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and 24 Democratic senators today called on United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby to return to the bargaining table and deliver a fair contract. While thousands of flight attendants risked their lives and safety to work through the pandemic, facing heightened aggression and dangerous behavior on planes, United Airlines raked in $1.4 billion in profits over the past four years and recently boasted about its “best revenue day ever” in the history of the airline. In that same period, CEO Kirby received over $38 million in compensation, including a 90 percent raise just last year.

Vermont Business Magazine New data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reinforces outdoor recreation’s significant and growing impact on Vermont’s economy. In 2023, BEA found outdoor recreation created $2.1 billion in value added for Vermont, accounting for 4.8% of Vermont’s gross domestic product (GDP). This makes Vermont second in the country, behind only Hawaii, for the highest contribution to state GDP for the second consecutive year. Vermont’s strong outdoor recreation economy is rooted in small businesses all over the state, from gear manufacturers to bike rental and repair shops, to four-season resorts, guide services, retail stores, and lodging providers. According to BEA findings, in 2023 the highest economic contributor to Vermont’s outdoor sector was snow activities which include skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, dog mushing, tubing, and snow shoeing. Those activities contributed $220 million to Vermont’s GDP, up from $170 million in 2022. Other top contributors included RVing, game areas that include tennis and golf, and boating and fishing.  

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vermont), and Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vermont) today announced several important provisions in the Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (WRDA) to help Vermont repair and maintain its flood control infrastructure and build resiliency against the global crisis of climate change. The bipartisan legislation passed the Senate last night and now goes to the President’s desk to be signed into law. First passed in 1938, the Water Resources and Development Act authorizes the Army Corps of Engineers to help manage and strengthen the nation’s water resources. This includes working with communities across the country on projects to reduce flood and storm damage and restore aquatic ecosystems. In Vermont, the Army Corps designed the Waterbury, East Barre, and Wrightsville dams in the 1930s after the devastating 1927 flood caused massive destruction and loss of life.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor has announced an increase to the State’s minimum wage. Beginning January 1, 2025, the State’s minimum wage will increase from $13.67 to $14.01 per hour - an increase of $0.34. This annual adjustment also impacts the minimum wage for tipped employees. The “Basic Tipped Wage Rate” for service, or “tipped employees,” equals 50% of the full minimum wage. On January 1, 2025, the tipped minimum wage will increase from $6.84 to $7.01 per hour.  The state’s tipped minimum wage law allows employers to pay a lower hourly rate, as long as the employee receives tips equal to, or greater than, the standard minimum wage during a given shift.

Vermont Business Magazine The Community College of Vermont (CCV) and the Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC) are expanding the Corrections Post-Secondary Education Initiative (CPSEI) partnership, which delivers free college courses to DOC staff and Vermonters who are incarcerated. Beginning on January 1st, 2025, re-entry vouchers will be available to any Vermonter ending a carceral sentence or continuing their education upon release. Benefits will extend for a full year after release, and students will be eligible for two class vouchers per semester.