Vermont Business Magazine Security staff at Vermont’s correctional facilities will soon see a greater work/life balance and enhanced pay and benefits as the result of an agreement reached last week between the Vermont Department of Corrections and the Vermont State Employees’ Association (VSEA) Supervisory and Corrections Bargaining teams. The agreement supports the Department’s comprehensive “Stability and Sustainability Plan” by providing targeted enhancements to support staff through the transition.  The Stability and Sustainability Plan will stabilize facility staffing levels, reduce the need for field staff to cover overtime shifts, increase bonuses, and improve the quality of life for frontline staff. Security staff at facilities will begin the transition from 8-hour to 12-hour shifts on August 28.

Vermont Business Magazine  The Burlington police union contact was ratified Monday night by the City Council during its July 25 special meeting. The contract, which includes 20 percent base pay increase over three years, builds upon the BPD Rebuilding Plan, which was approved last month by City Council as part of the FY 23 budget. The contract was approved by the City Council 10-1. As part of the Fiscal Year 2023 budget process, Mayor Weinberger identified that a strong contract with the BPOA would be a critical step to rebuild the BPD back to the 87-officer authorized cap (there are currently 62 officers on staff). The negotiated contract achieves that goal by offering police officers a 20 percent base pay increase over three years, including a 12 percent increase in the FY 23 (in years two and three the increases mirror the terms of the recently approved AFSCME contract).

Vermont Business Magazine Tess Wiskel, MD, is a Climate and Human Health fellow with the Harvard Center for Climate, Health, and Global Environment; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Emergency Department; and the Harvard FXB Center for Health and Human Rights. She will be a guest on Medical Matters Weekly at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, July 27. Tess is an emergency physician and a graduate of the Brown University Emergency Medicine Residency Program and the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont is participating in one of the nation’s largest studies to gauge the economic power of the nonprofit arts and culture industry, and it needs audience input. The national study, Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6), is the sixth national study of its kind and is administered by Americans for the Arts. Conducted about every five years, the study measures the economic impact of spending on employment, government revenue, and household income related to the nonprofit arts and culture industry. AEP6 involves 387 participating communities representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Now through April 2023, Vermont audiences attending select in-person arts and cultural events, performances, and exhibits will be asked to take a brief electronic survey, either on their own smart device or using a venue-provided device

Vermont Business Magazine Maximus (NYSE: MMS), a leading employer and provider of government services worldwide, today announced that the Maximus Foundation will award more than $2 million in grants to 167 nonprofit organizations across the United States this year to fund its three key themes for giving in 2022: community development, youth development, and healthcare services. This marks an increase from 2021, when the Foundation awarded roughly $1.2 million in grants to 154 nonprofit organizations and the highest level of giving in the Foundation’s 22-year history. Vermont was given a total of $20k in grants.