Living and Working in Burlington Vermont

Last week I wrote about the Senate Economic Development Committee’s work to restructure the Unemployment Insurance fund in the face of push back from all sides.

This week it would inconceivable not to write about the work of the Senate Appropriations Committee and their support of the Vermont Convention Bureau. Some may question why supporting an enterprise that brings thousands of room nights to Vermont that otherwise would go to other states takes courage. Well, the unexplainable reality is that the Department of Tourism and Agency of Commerce have for the past two years refused to provide any support to the Bureau making Vermont the only state that, in some way, does not support its Convention Bureau.

Last year the legislature appropriated the money requested by the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber for the support of the VT Convention Bureau. This year, Representative Heath of Westford, who is the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, once again got the ball rolling by putting in half of the necessary funds. Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations Committee led by Senators Shumlin and Bartlett, in the midst of the toughest recession that this state has ever seen, found and added the remaining money. These Senators understood that the ability to fill hotel beds, to fill seats in restaurants and to fill tourist venues directly returns real tax money to the state coffers. These Senators did this in the face of opposition from the administration and in light of the many others who were clamoring for money.

Please take the time to drop each member of the Senate committee and Representative Heath a note of thanks. Far too often we only take time to tell them when we disagree with their actions. Fair is fair. They really deserve kudos this time.

There are many issues facing the legislature this year that will alter the way the state has done business, compensated employees, and provided services to its citizens. Among the thorniest and Gordian changes facing them is how the state will deal with the depleted unemployment trust fund.

Vermont has taken great pride in providing some of the highest benefits to those who find themselves unemployed. It is emblematic of the safety net we provide to other troubled and disadvantaged Vermonters. While it has been providing those very generous benefits (including according benefits to those fired for gross misconduct) it has neglected for over a decade to raise the tax paid by employers that funds the program. The result of the perfect storm of benefit generosity and underfunding is that, in the midst of the Great Rescission, the UI fund is broke.

Legislators have been aware of the funding crisis since last session. Despite valiant efforts last year by the Senate Economic Development Committee, a solution eluded the legislature. This year, the problem Vermont faces is even worse. We are borrowing from the federal government while paying interest plus penalties on the borrowed money.

In the middle of this quagmire stands the Chairman of the Senate Economic Development Committee. Senator Vince Illuzzi, a Republican from Essex-Orleans, has been a champion of Vermont workers for his long legislative career. Although an attorney by training, he grew up in the blue collar world of the Barre granite workers where his father was a world-renowned carver. When push came to shove, Vince could always be counted on to be labor’s strongest ally. But the world has changed and Senator Illuzzi finds himself at the sword’s point leading the fight for a balanced approach to solve the fiscal and social crisis that looms.

Instead of looking to the business owner to foot the bill, or the labor to absorb cuts or to simply fiddle while Rome burns, he and his committee asks that all parties shoulder some portion of the burden. Businesses are being asked to pay higher taxes; unemployed workers would not be so readily compensated for terminations based on egregious behaviors; some benefits would prospectively see modest reductions and those workers employed today would be asked to contribute to the fund (for the average worker, the cost is estimated to be 80.00 a year). This is not a Jonathon Swift-like Modest Proposal, but a reasoned and prudent approach to solving a real problem.

However, the Senator is being pilloried in some quarters (and by both sides!). Call me naïve, but it strikes me that a balanced approach that treats folks according to their abilities and needs is just plain fair what we used to call Leadership.

Many of us were pleased this week to read that the Canadian dollar is on ‘par’ with our currency. For folks in the Lake Champlain region that are in the tourism, hospitality or retail sectors, this news is welcome as the government cutting taxes. With our competitive prices and welcoming approach to our Canadian neighbors, this means that the visitor season should be even more robust than last year. It also means that enplanements from Burlington Airport should continue to feature a large percentage of Canadians from Montreal south, as they take advantage not only of our excellent air rates but the lodging deals provided by our local hotels, motels and B&B’s.

While this economic news makes us smile especially in light of the anemic improvements to our economy, there are other reasons to welcome our northern neighbors. We should never forget that the culture and heritage of Vermont is inextricably entwined with that of Canada, especially Quebec. Before the languages of late 20th and early 21st century ‘new Americans’ was heard in our schools, we heard Quebecois. Last year the Vermont Council on World Affairs hosted the Heritage in Harmony program that explored and celebrated the connections between France, Quebec and Vermont. In the years before 9/11, the border between our two countries was nearly invisible and even today the courtesy extended to those who cross the borders between both countries is very different than what one experiences when traveling internationally.

I say this not to state the obvious but to remind all of us that we should never take our friends for granted. That is as true in our personal life as it is in business and international affairs. Everyone wants to feel and truly be appreciated. So, when you have the opportunity to interact with one of our Canadian friends, take a moment to thank them, personally, for their patronage and friendship.

The Douglas administration unveiled their Challenges for Change proposal last week to a chorus of discontent from every imaginable sector. The Chamber was among those wishing to have been spared the possibility of reduced funding. The concept of shrinking government’s size while increasing its effectiveness is a wonderful one until a pet program is the one being gored. This is no different today than it was in 1994 when, in a previous life and in a previous administration, I was among those attempting to do the same thing. Our ideas were met with disdain, many were dropped and a few lived to prove themselves out. We missed huge opportunities back then and we stand to lose opportunities now if we allow the process to be derailed. It is time to come together as Vermonters and make this work.

That said, could the administration worked with constituency groups to craft, or at least review, the proposed changes before launching them? Probably. Would an inclusive process run the risk if devolving into a ‘process for process sake’ exercise that has become the hallmark of the bureaucracy today? Probably. Would the suggestions have been markedly different? Pretty Likely…. Could we have, with legislative and executive leadership, commitment and fortitude driven an inclusive process that met the financial and time constraint benchmarks? Yes. However, as the saying goes, “it is what it is.”

We are faced with a Hobson’s Choice: accept what has been proposed in the Challenges for Change and that is already marbled in the House budget that assumes the savings ($38 million) or cut a much less strategic $38 million out of that budget. To me the choice is clear.

It is up to all of us, whether we are in the economic development, environment, human services or protection sectors, to work to make the best tasting lemonade we can.