Vermont Chamber Comments on Career and Technical Education Plan
PBS/VPR Poll Shows Economy Is the Top Issue
Moving Forward When Everything Is a Crisis
Program Provides $7,500 in Worker Relocation Funds
Census Worker Shortage Raises Concerns
Employment Growth Program Faces Scrutiny in House
Let’s Grow Kids Briefs House Committee with Childcare Solutions
Bill Could Result in Higher Electric Rates
In Case You Missed It
Vermont Chamber Comments on Career and Technical Education Plan
The Vermont Chamber commented on the Perkins V Draft State Plan. Perkins is a federal formula grant program aimed at improving the state’s career and technical education (CTE) systems. Vermont receives $5 million each year for supporting regional CTE centers-- the Community College of Vermont and Vermont Technical College. The Vermont Chamber is largely supportive of the Perkins V plan because it provides significant resources for workforce development in key sectors. Encouragingly, the most recent plan better aligns the career pathways offered by CTEs with the workforce needs of employers.
PBS/VPR Poll Shows Economy Is the Top Issue
In the PBS/VPR Poll released this week, the number one issue by a wide margin was (again) the economy, jobs, and the increasing cost of living. Thirty percent of the 600+ respondents selected this option as the #1 issue over property taxes, climate change, and opiate addiction, each of which tied for second with 10% of the responses. Wages and Leave polled at 4%, Guns at 2%, and National Politics at 2%. Yet these issues receive prominent coverage by the State House press corps. Most legislators say they support boosting the economy, job growth, and reducing the cost of living while they are on the campaign trail. However, when it comes to addressing these initiatives in the Legislature, it seems a different story. For example, this week the Vermont Chamber is working to curb an increase in mandated wages and an increase in electric rates. Meanwhile, the one incentive program for businesses, the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive (VEGI), is under attack with several legislators questioning the program’s efficacy and existence. Our initiatives to increase tourism funding, support training programs, and fund recruitment efforts are progressing, but not without immense effort. We are hopeful that as the legislative session continues, legislators will focus on the issues Vermonters find most important as quantified in the PBS/VPR poll.
Moving Forward When Everything Is a Crisis
Vermont headlines are filled with claims of a crisis and the solutions offered lean toward more State funding. No doubt, each of the known crises in Vermont is worthy of additional attention. Still, how a state with a $6.3 billion budget and only 625,000 people affords it all remains unanswered.
The State’s budget funds the needs of our citizenry. However, each year the plea for more funding grows with little in the budget that can be cut without significant programmatic shortfalls-- not education, clean water, childcare, Medicaid, or infrastructure investment. Yet, as Vermont’s population decreases and our Gross State Product flatlines, the struggle to work on meaningful projects with limited resources continues. The list seems endless:
- $565 million in deferred maintenance for schools
- $300 million to get broadband to every last mile
- $56 million for clean water initiatives
- $30+ million for housing
- $12 million for childcare
- $4.5 billion for pension obligations
These ongoing requested expenses plus regular annual increases for current agencies and programs consume any new revenue generated by existing tax rates, leaving little money for new and innovative initiatives to encourage economic growth.
It’s time for an honest discussion about how much Vermonters can realistically afford, and how resources could be realigned to most appropriately expend our limited resources.
Program Provides $7,500 in Worker Relocation Funds
As of January 1, 2020, a program that provides grants of up to $7,500 for relocation expenses is available for workers in select fields. This opportunity is provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Interested employers are encouraged to take advantage of the program by advertising the incentive to potential employees while funds remain available. Qualifying expenses include closing costs for a primary residence, lease deposits, first month’s rent, hiring a moving company, renting moving equipment, shipping, moving supplies, connectivity, specialized tools and equipment, and co-working space membership fees.
If you have additional questions about the program, please send an email to workerrelocation@vermont.gov.
Census Worker Shortage Raises Concerns
As legislative leadership struggles to advance a bill to increase the minimum wage to $12.55 by 2022, state and federal officials are scrambling to fill thousands of Vermont census worker positions that pay between $20 and $22 an hour. This problem is not unique to census worker needs. During summer visits to business members around the state, the Vermont Chamber consistently heard from employers searching for workers to fill positions that pay $15 an hour or more.
After the Vermont Futures Project initially quantified the workforce crisis, State leaders almost unanimously accept that Vermont is facing a severe worker shortage. Businesses around the state are struggling to find entry-level employees for positions that pay far above proposed minimum wage increase. Businesses currently paying near the minimum wage are generally smaller, rural establishments such as family-run general stores and independent, Main Street businesses.
The Vermont Chamber has consistently steered the economic development conversations on the issue of worker shortages, rather than on wage increase mandates that will result in negative impacts that disproportionately harm rural and small businesses. The Joint Fiscal Office, a non-partisan and publicly-funded research entity that provides economic data to the Legislature, concluded this year that the proposed $121 million minimum wage increase will limit economic growth and suppress job creation while also resulting in the loss of $39.1 million in federal benefits for low-income Vermonters.
Employment Growth Program Faces Scrutiny in House
The Vermont Employment Growth Incentive (VEGI) is a program that directs incentives to businesses to encourage economic activity that would not occur, would not occur in Vermont, or would occur in a significantly less desirable manner, without the incentive. Numerous Vermont employers have successfully accessed the program, resulting in significant economic benefits for both local business communities and the state’s overall economy.
Unfortunately, members of the House Committee on Ways and Means continue to direct significant criticism toward the program. Recently, the Committee has focused on advancing a bill that mandates additional information disclosures related to the incentive. State officials that run VEGI, as well as businesses that have used the program, explained to the Committee that VEGI is one of the most transparent employment growth incentive programs in the nation, when compared to equivalent programs in other states. Supporters of VEGI also explained that the disclosures mandated by H.640 would place businesses that are forced to comply at a competitive disadvantage, as the proposed information requirements could be used against participating businesses by competitors.
The Vermont Chamber is supportive of VEGI because it provides businesses of all sizes with the opportunity to access performance-based cash incentives to be used for growth that benefits not only the business itself, but also Vermont’s composite economy.
Let’s Grow Kids Briefs House Committee with Childcare Solutions
Let’s Grow Kids testified in the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee this week, explaining to the Committee that Vermont has an aging and shrinking population, lacks an adequate pipeline of workers to meet the needs of Vermont businesses, and is dealing with the impacts of a downgraded credit rating. Let’s Grow Kids believes early care and education is the linchpin in how we solve Vermont’s economic challenges.
Vermont business leaders joined Let’s Grow Kids in the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee to support the message that the early education workforce is critical to supporting Vermont’s greater workforce goals. The Vermont Business Roundtable joined Aly Richards, CEO of Let’s Grow Kids, to tell the Committee that employers, planners, and developers around Vermont believe the lack of accessible, affordable – and high-quality – child care for employees is a fundamental barrier to growth, and one that affects employee recruitment, retention, and productivity.
In a recent study of Vermont families with young children, four out of five families with all available parents in the labor force said that the availability of child care impacts how much they work. However, three out of five Vermont infants likely to need child care don’t have access to regulated child care programs. Vermont needs more child care to meet the requirements of families, and the supply of child care relies entirely on one sector of our state’s workforce – Vermont’s early childhood educators. But child care workers make, on average, half of what their counterparts make in the public school setting. Turnover is high. The long-term solution to this crisis is complicated, with robust public and private investments needed to fund Vermont’s child care system. These investments are critical and timely.
The Vermont Chamber is supportive of initiatives that maximize the workforce potential of Vermont’s existing population and also efforts that would help attract new families to live and work in Vermont. Bolstering the State’s child care resources is essential to this effort.
Bill Could Result in Higher Electric Rates
The Senate Committee on Finance reviewed S.267, a bill that will increase the cost of electricity, which will negatively impact large energy users like manufacturers and ski areas. The bill features two amendments to the Renewal Energy Standard that would require electric utilities to have 100% renewable power by 2030, and increase their distributed renewable generation portfolio from 10% to 20% by 2032. The latter amendment requires utilities to purchase new local sources of renewable energy, such as solar, which could ultimately result in a 4% increase in electricity rates. This could potentially cost manufacturers hundreds of millions of dollars in additional operating expenses over the next decade.
While the Vermont Chamber supports the use of renewable energy in Vermont’s energy portfolio, we are concerned about the increased costs this initiative places on business. If S.267 impacts your business, please contact Chris Carrigan with your concerns.
In Case You Missed It
Climate Policy: Walters: Phil Scott’s climate offensive: strong action or hot air?
Climate Policy: Briglin: Vermont has highest GHG emissions in New England
Climate Policy: Vermont House Approves Climate Bill
Over Regulation: Allen: In an outsider’s critique of Vermont, ‘the element of truth’
Child Care: Child Care Center Saved from Closure
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