Vermont Business Roundtable wishes to congratulate our member, the Greater Burlington YMCA, on its effort to Pioneer Healthier Communities by combating childhood obesity. The Roundtable is also pleased to offer its support on the Vermont State Alliance Leadership Team. (more…)
by Mary Powell, Chair
What a breath of fresh air a touch of spring is – it never seems to come a moment too soon. I feel the same way about the news emerging in the broader economy; there is a sense of fresh air and bounce that is back. While our global economy will always carry with it a new sense of fragility due to so many complex interdependencies, the view from my deck is that the bounce is back. So it feels good to be working with all of you on building our companies, our community and our Vermont economy to be as strong as possible. Vermont is a smaller image of the bigger picture, we have many important interdependencies that can move us forward positively, or conversely, set up conflict and spiral us in a negative direction. (more…)
by Lisa Ventriss, President
Ah, Spring, welcome to the Green Mountain State! Depending on where you live and the recent snowstorms that have hit the mountains, you may think my greeting to be premature, but mentally I have made the turn. Now that my skis and snowshoes have been stowed away for the year, it’s time to lighten the palette and start looking around at what’s popping up in the proverbial backyard. (more…)
by Mary Barrosse Schwartz, Staff Director, VBR Research & Education Foundation
The Vermont Business Roundtable has long been a champion of early childhood programs that create good outcomes for children. Quality is the issue of course, not just funding. Measurement is the best way to understand the impact of programs, and how to improve outcomes from the significant investments the state and federal government is already making. (more…)
The VBR Research and Education Foundation held its first organizational meeting and elected new officers including: Chair – Tim Donovan, Chancellor of Vermont State Colleges; Secretary – Jeff Francis, Executive Director of Vermont Superintendents Association; and Treasurer – Sr. Janice Ryan, President Emeritus, Trinity College (Vermont). Other directors include: Mary Powell, CEO, Green Mountain Power and Steve Voigt, President and CEO, King Arthur Flour. Also at the meeting the Board voted to approve the Staff Director’s job description and extended an offer to retain Mary Barrosse Schwartz in that position. (more…)
As you may have heard, changes in federal and state law are changing the way a quarter million Vermonters will access health coverage starting in 2014. Though a new insurance marketplace, called Vermont Health Connect, individuals, families and small businesses will compare public and private health plans and select plans that fit their needs and budget. Vermont Health Connect will allow Vermonters to enroll in Medicaid and Dr. Dynasaur as well as in private health insurance plans. (more…)
With much talk about tomorrow’s workforce, college graduate exodus and lack of appropriately skilled workers in the pool, wise business leaders partner with institutions of higher learning to help achieve the best outcomes for Vermont and the world at large through a trained and engaged citizenry. (more…)
PUBLIC SERVICE BOARD
PUBLIC HEARING: DOCKET NO. 7970
MARCH 21, 2013
REMARKS BY LISA VENTRISS, PRESIDENT
VERMONT BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE
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Good evening. For the record, my name is Lisa Ventriss, President of Vermont Business Roundtable. On behalf of our 120 CEO members, I speak tonight in support of construction of the Addison Natural Gas Project, which consists of 43 miles of new natural gas transmission pipeline in Chittenden and Addison Counties; approximately 5 miles of new distribution mainlines in Addison County; together with three new gate stations in Williston, New Haven and Middlebury, Vermont.
This initiative is an important infrastructure project worthy of discussion and support for several reasons. (more…)
To Keep or Drop Insurance Coverage — Considerations for Vermont Small Employers in 2014
Small employers in Vermont have a decision to make before January of 2014 – whether to keep their employer-sponsored insurance or drop it altogether and direct their employees to the state’s new Health Insurance Exchange as individual purchasers. The Administration is recommending that small employers drop their health insurance coverage. Instead, we encourage businesses to evaluate their options and consider the implications on not only their own bottom lines, but the impact on working Vermonters. We believe there is no single right answer for employers and we feel that many Vermonters may be better off keeping their current employer-based insurance plan. (more…)
Another Year Later and Deeper in Debt
Opinion Editorial by David Coates, KPMG Partner (retired) and Lisa Ventriss, President, Vermont Business Roundtable
Beginning in 2009 we have periodically written to Vermonters regarding state and teacher pensions and related retiree health care benefits, and the impact they have on our fiscal future. In reviewing the most current Report of the Actuarial Valuation, it is evident that Vermont has made no overall progress on containing these costs. Instead, we have continued to pile on more debt to be borne by future generations of Vermonters, and have placed additional pressure on future budgets that will crowd out funding of other important and necessary programs. (more…)