Vermont

Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Report on Vermont Economy

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin had last year asked Lawrence Miller, Secretary of Commerce and Community Development, to undertake a study to determine the economic contribution manufacturing makes to Vermont jobs, capital importation and innovation.

Darn Tough Vermont

Darn Tough Vermont (photo – darntough.com)

That study has now been completed and released, and shows that manufacturing contributes about 11.1 percent or $2.9 billion of Vermont’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Other highlights from the report:-

-          Manufacturers account for over 1,000 firms in Vermont;

-          Most are small, with about 60 percent having fewer than 10 employees;

-          Manufacturing employs about 31,300 Vermonters, or about 10.25 percent of Vermont’s total workforce of about 305,300; and

-          Average annual earnings in Vermont manufacturing is about 36 percent above statewide average earnings (i.e. $51,829 in manufacturing vs. $38,124 on average).

“When you think manufacturing, you may think crumbling brick buildings with smoke stacks, but in Vermont, that is not our profile. Manufacturers in Vermont are sophisticated, high-tech employers producing everything from socks to surgical equipment,” Gov. Shumlin said. “Manufacturing in Vermont includes companies like Darn Tough Socks that are creating world class products being used by our military and consumers worldwide. It is about innovation in manufacturing that keeps them competitive and at the cutting edge of their sectors.”

The report also offers recommendations regarding workforce development, advocacy for manufacturing, networking by Vermont manufacturers, and public outreach to educate Vermonters and the Legislature about the vibrancy and nature of manufacturing in Vermont.

The workforce recommendation, for example, speaks to the urgency of increasing math skills in schools to assure Vermonters have access to the well paying, innovative jobs Vermont manufacturers are creating, Miller said.

Secretary Miller is working with the University of Vermont and others to enhance Vermont’s innovation ecosystem. The state hopes that a return to a separate Department of Economic Development with its own Commissioner will help highlight manufacturing. In addition, the Agency’s international trade efforts are focused on increasing export markets to Vermont companies.

“We have more to do, but this report gives us some priority areas to continue to work on and a menu of options for the future,” Miller said. “Manufacturing businesses in Vermont are an important component of our economy. Manufacturing is alive and thriving, and we want it to grow.”

Read the full Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Report – Download (pdf; 6.2MB)

IBM Names 2013 Smarter Cities Challenge Grant Winners

IBM (NYSE: IBM) named 31 cities around the world as recipients of the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grants for 2013.

This is IBM’s single-largest philanthropic initiative, wherein they assign a team of six top IBM experts to each winning city to study a key issue identified by the city’s leadership.

The services provided for free to each city are valued at about $400,000. The IBM Smarter Cities Challenge is a three-year, 100-city, $50 million competitive grant program.

Seven of the 31 cities chosen by IBM this year are American cities:-

IBM's Stanley Litow with Mayors of Smarter Cities Challenge grant winners

IBM’s Stanley Litow with Mayors of Smarter Cities Challenge grant winners (Courtesy: Feature Photo/IBM.com)

Buffalo, New York

Burlington, Vermont

Fresno, California

Knoxville, Tennessee

Reno, Nevada

Richmond, Virginia

Tucson, Arizona

The winning cities proposed innovative projects and areas of focus for IBM experts. These included strategies that address:·

-          Economic and Workforce Development — reducing local dependence on a single industry·

-          Social Services – creating an ecosystem that supports independent living for a growing senior citizen community·

-          Sustainability – setting policies around billing rates, electric vehicle use, and solar power generation on a smart power grid·

-          Capital Budget Planning – enabling citizens to request expenditures, while also analyzing their potential impact·

-          Urban Planning – taking a more systematic, data-driven approach to housing policy, downtown revitalization, zoning, and permits.

“We congratulate the cities selected as IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant recipients for 2013. This was a difficult decision because so many cities made strong cases to earn our time and talent. But the winners distinguished themselves among their peers by convincingly demonstrating their preparation and willingness to make the kind of improvements that will improve their residents’ quality of life and make their cities even smarter,” said Stanley S. Litow, IBM vice president of Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs, and president of IBM’s Foundation.

Reactions from some of the winners:-

Fresno, California Mayor Ashley Swearengin  - “The City of Fresno is poised and ready to benefit tremendously from the expertise that IBM will provide to our ongoing efforts to deal with our economic challenges. We are pleased to partner with IBM through the Smarter Cities Challenge to help us optimize the use of our limited resources.”

Fresno hopes to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to build a regional cloud for sharing “open data” and modeling tools that will be instrumental for citizen engagement. Fresno will also work with IBM on a plan to deploy ultra-high speed broadband in the Downtown Corridor, which could serve as the underpinning for development of a regional agricultural technology cluster in Fresno.

Knoxville, Tennessee  Mayor Madeline Rogero – “We are thrilled to be selected for this competitive program. It will be invaluable to have the expertise and outside perspective of IBM’s team as we work to make Knoxville a more sustainable city for everyone.”

Knoxville’s application asks IBM for advice on the most effective way to connect weatherization and energy education services to residents who receive emergency utility bill assistance. This will help reduce the demand each year for emergency assistance with utility bills for low-income ratepayers, particularly those in older, inefficient buildings.

Richmond, Virginia Mayor Dwight C. Jones  - “It is an honor to receive the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant as this resource of human capital will prove invaluable in moving Richmond forward as we continue our work of enhancing our economic and workforce development efforts. It is my hope that the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant will help us create an economic development tool that will improve the health of our city through the strengthening of our neighborhoods; an instrument that focuses on the community level to support the attraction and retention of neighborhood businesses.”

This is the third and final year for the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grants. In the first two years, IBM has completed work in more than 60 cities globally.  For more information, visit smartercitieschallenge.org.

EDA $1M Grant for Energy Efficiency Loan Fund in Burlington, VT

Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, Vermont Department of Public Service Commissioner Elizabeth Miller and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders teamed up at a press conference in Burlington to announce a $1 million grant by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to the Burlington Electric Department for setting up a revolving energy efficiency loan fund (EERLF).

Vermont Department of Public Service Commissioner Elizabeth Miller, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger at press conference

Vermont Department of Public Service Commissioner Elizabeth Miller, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger at press conference (Photo – senate.gov)

The $1 million grant and a matching $1 million appropriation by state and local authorities will be used to establish the $2 million EERLF, which will in turn make funds available for up to 150 commercial electric users during the first round of capitalization to help these users make electrical upgrades for greater energy-efficiency.

The monthly repayments on the loans provided will be less than the anticipated energy savings from the improvements, so participating businesses will find it to be a net positive for their bottomline right from day one.

“The grant announced today will provide critical funding to commercial electrical users in Burlington to help them make efficiency improvements that will save them money,” said Acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank.

“This program may well become a national model for how we overcome hurdles to energy efficiency investments. It will help us reduce energy costs to make our businesses more competitive, support jobs as we retrofit our buildings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Sen. Sanders, a member of both the Senate energy and environment committees.

After factoring in Burlington Electric Department’s energy efficiency incentives, the average cost of the energy efficiency retrofit for a participating business is estimated to be about $6,000. The investment will yield an average estimated savings of approximately $1,500 per year, thus providing a payback in four years.

“This past year, the department worked with Burlington Electric to include its on-bill financing program in its program performance review, and so we are very pleased that this funding will allow Burlington Electric to accelerate its efforts, bringing greater benefits to its customers,” said Miller, the Vermont commissioner.

Currently, only about 40 percent of the businesses in Burlington that undertake an energy audit actually move forward with energy efficiency investments. This new on-bill finance program funded by the EDA grant will help more businesses access funds to make efficiency improvements.

Randy Brock Proposes Efficient Solution To Brittle Economy In Vermont

vtdigger.org/

The Republican candidate for governor in the state of Vermont criticized the economic structure.

Republican Randy Brock states that Vermont is not the ideal location for businesses to thrive.

Brock pinpointed many economic statistics such as:

  1. State of Vermont being the fourth worse region to retire
  2. National Finance Magazine pinpoints that the state has one of the highest tax rates in the nation

Brock pinpoints that the state of Vermont is a difficult place to do business. According to the Forbes magazine, the state of Vermont is one of the worst areas to conduct business. Brock’s solution to the economic woes includes much smaller government. Brock wants government to live within its means as it is shrunk. Brock wants the state to look at itself without “rose colored glasses”.

Some of the solutions that are proposed include:

  1. Lowering the overall cost of doing business
  2. Lowering taxes
  3. Lowering the cost of energy
  4. Lowering the overall cost of healthcare

Brock pinpoints that it will be a difficult task but feels like it can be accomplished through the proper collaboration between the state of Vermont and the local leaders.

Brock also proposes initiatives such as:

  1. An action plan to ultimately attract a Fortune 1000 company to the region
  2. “Made in Vermont” program
  3. “Department of Innovation”
  4. Launch package called “business in a box” which involves assisting unemployed individuals in the state of Vermont.

Cutting state programs and taxes is also part of the economic recovery process. Brock wants to ultimately shrink the state government by approximately 10 percent. The state Senator for Vermont elaborates on how much of the workforce will be retiring which makes it an ideal time to improve government efficiency and reduce the overall size of the government.

Overall, the economic structure in Vermont is brittle and Randy Brock proposes efficient solutions.

Read More

California Tops Site Selection Sustainability Rankings

The July issue of Site Selection magazine includes their third annual Sustainability Rankings. California once again tops the list, followed by Oregon and Vermont.

California Sustainability

California Sustainability (Photo – ca.gov)

The top 10 most sustainable states:-

  1. California
  2. Oregon
  3. Vermont
  4. North Carolina
  5. Arizona
  6. New York
  7. Minnesota
  8. Washington
  9. Texas
  10. Pennsylvania

Illinois, Wisconsin and Florida get honorable mention. The criteria used to rank the states include factors such as LEED-certified buildings, renewable energy use, energy efficiency, renewable energy generation and green industry facility projects per capita.

Some states not in the top 10 list or very far down did do very well in some individual criteria. Massachusetts, for example, is the no.1 state for energy efficiency. Washington topped the list for renewable energy generation, and Pennsylvania was the no. 1 state for green industry facility projects per capita.

California’s cities also lead the way in the top nationwide sustainable metros list, with San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont in first place, followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana in fifth place, San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos in seventh place and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara bringing up the rear in ninth place.

Washington DC-Arlington-Alexandria metro area in DC/VA came in second place on the top sustainable metros list, and the New York-Newark-Edison area took third place.

The top sustainable foreign countries list was topped by Canada, with Germany and Brazil in second and third place respectively. Other countries on the top 10 list include Spain, China, the United Kingdom, Italy, South Korea, Chile and Mexico.

Green Jobs in the U.S. Top 3 Million

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) finally came up with its first ever tally of Green Goods and Services (GGS) jobs in the United States. As per the BLS data, there were 3.1 million green jobs in the US in 2010 (latest available data).

Green Jobs in US

Green jobs (Photo - Senate.gov)

GGS jobs are defined as those that produce goods and provide services that benefit the environment or conserve natural resources.

These jobs accounted for 2.4 percent of total employment in 2010. But what’s interesting is the break-up of the 3,129,100 jobs by region, by sector and as a percentage of total jobs.

Among states, California was the leader with 338,400 GGS jobs (2.3 percent of the state’s total employment). Vermont had the highest percentage of GGS jobs at 4.4 percent, while DC came in second at 3.9 percent.

There were only six states with over 100,000 GGS jobs –California (338,400), New York (248,500), Texas (229,700), Pennsylvania (182,200), Illinois (139,800), and Ohio(126,900).

The private sector had 2.3 million GGS jobs and the public sector had 860,300. In the private sector, Manufacturing led the way with 461,800 GGS jobs. This accounts for 4 percent of all employment in the manufacturing sector.

The energy producers had 65,664 GGS jobs, clocking in the highest percentage at 11.9 percent of all jobs in the utilities sector. Construction had 372,100 GGS jobs, comprising 6.8 percent of construction employment.

Professional, scientific, and technical services had 349,000 GGS jobs while administrative and waste services accounted for 319,900 GGS jobs.

As for the 860,300 public sector jobs, local government led the way with 476,500 GGS jobs. State government had 227,100 GGS jobs and the federal government had 156,700 GGS jobs.

As a follow-up, BLS plans to come up with a similar tally for green jobs that make the organization they work for more environment-friendly.

Read more at http://www.bls.gov/ggs.

Economic Development Plan Proposed for Burlington, Vermont

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Miro Weinberger who is running to become Mayor of Burlington, Vermont has proposed an economic development plan that will revitalize the region.

The purpose of the economic development plan is to ultimately boost the amount of jobs and increasing the amount of revenue for the city of Burlington. Weinberger proposed the plan at the Union Station during a press conference.

There are also many industrial buildings in close proximity to Lake Champlain and Weinberger wants to efficiently develop the property.

Miro Weinberger wants the community to move towards a form of spectacular progress as the region has stayed stagnant over the past couple of years. Weinberger wants the next mayor to bring the city to its original legacy of progress as more jobs are created and revenue is generated again.

Weinberger wants to also assist the community by decreasing the tax burden as the economy is struggling in the region. A CEO named Melinda Moulton supported the economic development plan as she pinpoint’s Weinberger’s wise decisions to choose projects that would be critical to the revitalization of the city. The CEO does not want the region to go back to the old days when progress was not achieved and she appreciates the forward thinking nature of Miro Weinberger.

Some of the initiatives proposed in the economic development plan include:

  1. Convert the undeveloped industrial region into a modern water front. The possible Mayor Weinberger wants to connect the ferry dock with other facilities.
  2. Revitalizing the western part of Pine Street. The center around the area of Pine Street has many untapped resources that can be used to develop the region of Burlington.
  3. Utilize a job creation tool to expand the amount of jobs. The business improvement district will be expanded and create the Tax Increment Financing District that will assist with investing in the downtown area of Burlington.

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Vermont Tops ED Program Enforcement Study

Last month, non-profit “Good Jobs First” published a report that shed light on the job creation capabilities of economic development programs in all 50 states and Washington D.C.

Money back Good Jobs First report

Photo credit - Good Jobs First

Now, the same organization has come out with a companion report titled “Money-Back Guarantees for Taxpayers: Clawbacks and Other Enforcement Safeguards in State Economic Development Subsidy Programs.”

This new report focuses on how states enforce the standards highlighted in the first report.

Their scoring system combines performance standards and enforcement policies and rates 238 subsidy programs in the 50 states and the District of Columbia on a scale of 0 to 100.

The ratings are topped by Vermont, with a score of 79, followed by North Carolina with 76 and Nevada with 74. Nevada was also the top state in the first report released last month. This means that Nevada not only has strict standards about how money is spent on ED programs to create jobs, but they also go forward and make sure those standards are enforced.

The report says that 90 percent (215 of 238) of the programs require companies receiving subsidies to report to state government agencies on job creation or other outcomes. Yet in 67 of those 215 programs, an agency does not independently verify the reported data. The District of Columbia and South Carolina have no performance verification in any of their five major programs examined.

19 programs have little or no penalty clauses for companies that fail to deliver on their job creation and other promises.

Transparency is another problem, because only 21 programs publish aggregate enforcement data, while only 38 programs disclose the names of companies deemed to be out of compliance. Only 14 disclose the names of companies which have been penalized (and the dollar amounts).

The District of Columbia came in last, with a score of 4 out of 100, with Alaska just above it coming in as the 50th state with a score of 19.

Read the full report from “Good Jobs First” – Download (pdf)

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