Dear Editor, This riddle is about our town finances. Article  3 from the March 2015 Town Meeting stated: “Shall the voters approve total general fund expenditures for the 18-month budget beginning January 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016 of $6,282,554 of which $243,550 shall be applied from the 2014 general fund balance, $3,732,950 shall be…

By Dave Silberman A recently VPR poll found that 89 percent of Vermonters view opioid and opiate addiction as a “major problem,” and that more than half of us know someone who has been personally affected by this devastating disease. Fortunately, when the Legislature reconvenes in January, they will have the opportunity to pass a…

Dear Editor, Bruce Lisman knows how Vermont works and it begins with more taxes. Even the carbon tax idea will put more home heating oil customers into the mix. It is a terrible idea. Now we learn that the Vermont General Fund will drop another $28 million this year. They even want to take more…

Dear Editor, Vermonters of all political persuasions want to see our state move forward. But many Vermonters have felt like they’ve been left behind, and rightly so. So many are grappling with the growing crisis of affordability our state is facing. And the majority in Montpelier has responded by throwing more taxes and fees at…

Dear Editor, Even though it is currently summer, winter sports are still always on my mind. This is why I was very happy to read in The Mountain Times this past week that the VCRD held a public forum regarding sustainable business practices and Vermont’s “climate change economy.” As somebody who loves the snow and…

Dear Editor, As a financial official, I could list many reasons for choosing Bruce Lisman for Vermont governor over Phil Scott, in the Aug. 9 primary. Lisman has extensive financial experience and management skills which are needed in the governor’s office. The next governor will have a huge task in repairing our state government as…

Dear Editor, When I spoke face to face with Bruce Lisman and suggested that Vermont needed to go on offense, so to speak, to expand our economy, instead of taking incremental defensive measures, I saw that he was really listening. In fact, growth of new businesses was never far from his thoughts in our lengthy…

By Rob Roper Before Peter Shumlin became governor, he famously said that there was no more tax capacity left in Vermont. We were “tapped out.” Since then, Shumlin and majorities in the legislature have passed hundreds of millions of dollars worth of new taxes and fees. Despite this, the state still deals with a consistent…

By Jon Margolis, VTDigger.org Vermont’s campaign for governor is getting a bad rap. “Boring, boring, boring” seems to be the general consensus of the political insiders and the professional chatterers alike. In fairness to the insiders and the chatterers, there is evidence to support their assessment. The campaign doesn’t have much political sex appeal. Neither…

By Emerson Lynn, St. Albans Messenger The safest target for any politician is the company that is profitable and the person[s] running it. In Vermont, that target has become the hospital and its administrators—the University of Vermont Medical Center in particular. In a Vermont Digger story last week it was noted that Vermont’s hospitals have…

By Lee H. Hamilton The next few weeks in politics are a little like the All-Star break in baseball. With the Republican and Democratic national conventions upon us, it’s a good time to step back and assess this year’s election. Which carries bad news for both parties. The Republicans face a steep electoral challenge. If…

By Elizabeth Hewitt, VTDigger.org Economists lowered estimates of how much revenue the state is expected to net in the current fiscal year by $28 million, Thursday, July 21. However, the Shumlin administration says the state can make up for the drop without cutting the budget, by using money unspent in the previous fiscal year and…

Dear Editor, The Vermont Inn and Bed & Breakfast Association brought to my attention on July 19 a consideration from the Vermont Department of Health that would compartmentalize lodging accommodations by size (the number of guest rooms) when it comes to the application of the department’s recently revised health and safety regulations. I do not…

Dear Editor, As a former legislator, I would like to help you get to know Kesha Ram, a candidate for lieutenant governor in the upcoming primary. Kesha Ram was my seat mate in the House of Representatives, and though far younger than I, 26 years old at the time, she was already an experienced legislator…

Dear Editor, I agree totally with the Jon Margolis op-ed, published in the Mountain Times July 13 -19, but I don’t think the millionaires who were described in the article are the ‘rich’ that a lot of people are talking about. Those whose annual income is in the $75,000 to $150,000 range are considered to…