Vermont’s Supplement Budget Adjustments due to the current pandemic have been in the news recently. But how many Vermonters know what it is and what impact it has on the State’s yearly budget? 

As reported by Newport Dispatch News, young professionals networking in the Northeast Kingdom recently got a boost.

"The Northeast Kingdom Young Professionals Network (NEK YPN) recently received a $3,000 grant from the Vermont Community Foundation’s Northeast Kingdom Fund.

The grant will help further NEK YPN’s mission of supporting young professionals both socially and professionally by expanding outreach efforts and promoting a new Welcome Wagon Program."

Read the full article here. 

The Remote Worker Grant Program (RWGP) is an economic development initiative launched by the VT legislature in 2018. The RWGP provides funds to professionals who want to relocate to Vermont but still maintain employment out-of-state. These funds are used to offset their cost of moving here. According to the Agency of Commerce and Community Development’s Department of Economic Development (ACCD), the managing entity of this program, this program benefits Vermonters “by increasing the population of taxpayers in the state as well as increasing the number of children enrolled in Vermont schools. It also helps to build the employment base as Vermont faces a workforce shortage and employers are struggling to find workers.”

Vermont, we have a unique opportunity on our hands. When the legislative session kicks off this January, lawmakers will be asked to re-allocate funds for the newly created Ethics Committee, and in doing so take a critical step towards a foundational element of a more prosperous state. It is up to us to demand action. If we cannot trust government officials to act in our best interest, then reforms in healthcare, education, and economic development will never reach their full potential.

Editor’s note: This commentary is by Don Keelan, a retired certified public accountant and resident of Arlington. The piece first appeared in the Bennington Banner.

Nearly two out of every three Vermont residents hunt, fish or watch wildlife. This is second only to Alaska as a percentage of population participation in these activities. In fact, according to a 2015 University of Vermont study, “the most recent national survey of wildlife-related expenditures, Vermont residents and out-of-state visitors spent approximately $685 million a year on hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing (U.S Fish and Wildlife Service 2012).”

Looking at the latest annual numbers from the American Sportfishing Association, fishing in Vermont by residents and non-residents generates $147.1 million in retail sales, resulting in an additional $225 million of economic impact. It supports more than 2400 jobs and $73.2 million in wages and salaries, while generating $15.9 million in local and state tax revenues.

From the die-hard to the weekend-warrior, the seven-generation Vermonter to the traveling vacationer, Vermont’s angling community has a significant impact on Vermont’s bottom line.

So why does it, in the eyes of the State, make sense to jeopardize this entire industry for want of $250,000?

Vermonters deserve to have confidence in our public officials. That is why the Ethics Commission was created: to promote and practice the highest level of ethical standards and accountability in state government. In their own words, "The Commission provides governmental ethics training to all public officials, accepts complaints of governmental misconduct, provides information to the public, and issues ethical guidance and advisory opinions by interpreting and applying state law, governmental codes of conduct, and the General Principles set forth in Section 1 of the State Code of Ethics ."

Our mission is to advocate for public policy changes by reconnecting middle-class Vermonters to their government. Thousands of Vermonters have signed up to be a part of the largest grassroots organization in the state, we hope you will join us.

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