The legislative session that ended late last week will be remembered as the “Irene” session.  The major goal this year was to help Vermont recover from the devastation caused by last August’s tropical storm.

With the help of federal dollars, we were able to provide assistance to the hundreds of people who suffered damage to their homes and businesses.  As you know, hundreds of roads and dozens of bridges were damaged in the storm, and the Vermont Agency of Transportation deserves a lot of credit for getting all of our roads open before the new year began. 

The repair work will continue for the foreseeable future, and the legislature was able to produce the money needed to get the job done.  We’re lucky that the House and Senate Transportation Committees are chaired by Colchester residents Pat Brennan and Dick Mazza.  They’ve both done a great job to secure the money to pay for the work that needs to be done for both state and town roads.

Agreement has also been reached on replacing the state office complex in Waterbury and for construction, at long last, of a new state mental hospital in Berlin.  All this work was done without having to raise any broad-based taxes, and we were once again able to produce a balanced budget.

I serve on the House Ways and Means Committee and was part of the three-person House negotiating team for this year’s Miscellaneous Tax Bill.  The “cloud” computing issue was one of the big issues in our talks with our colleagues from the Vermont Senate.  I’m happy to report we were able to reach agreement on a moratorium on the assessment of sales taxes on software accessed over the internet. 

The moratorium will last until July 1 of next year.  By then we will have produced two studies on the subject.  The first study will examine the propriety of state sales tax assessments on software programs and services that are accessed on the web.  It will also look more broadly at the future of the sales tax in a changing economy.

The second study will look at ways to encourage further growth in the software and information technology sectors.  This sector has enjoyed huge growth over the past few years and we’d like to know what our state can do to help entrepreneurs start new businesses, ways to help existing companies expand and to increase workforce training.

             In my opinion, anything we do to impede the growth of the software and high-tech sectors is at our own peril.  I believe continued growth will more than offset foregone sales tax revenue and I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to change the moratorium into a permanent exemption.

             Our committee was also able to convince the senate to support a sales tax exemption for business equipment used for what’s known as “secondary packaging in an integrated process.”  This is an issue of great importance for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, who are in the midst of constructing a new factory near the Essex/Colchester border.  The machinery they use to produce and box their K-Cups will be covered by this exemption.

             One company that will not be getting an exemption is Entergy Corp of Louisiana.  We endorsed a new electrical generation tax on Vermont Yankee that will replace the tax agreements that were in place when the plant’s license expired.  The plant had been paying us about ten million dollars a year in various taxes.  The new rate will raise an estimated twelve million dollars, all for the general fund.  In my view, if the plant continues to operate it should continue to contribute taxes to our state.

             Our committee also endorsed the idea of contributing a larger percentage of our sales tax revenue to the Education Fund.  While this will not close the gap in the General Fund transfer to the Education Fund, it’s a step in the right direction.  Likewise, half of any overall budget surplus will be dedicated to replenishing the transfer up to the statutory level.

             We also agreed in our conference committee to exempt those 65 and over from having to double-count their interest and dividend income for the purposes of determining household income.  This will help more senior citizens qualify for property tax credits and will increase the amount of the credits for many senior citizens.

             During the dinner at Colchester High School before our information meeting for Town Meeting Day in March, I mentioned that an effort was underway to transfer the collection of the statewide property tax from the towns to the state.  This would have cost both Colchester and the State of Vermont a lot of money, so I’m glad to report that the legislation did not advance. 

             We did make one compromise with the Senate that I did not like.  Beginning in 2014, all people who want to get a property tax credit will once again have to start filing their homestead declarations on a yearly basis.  The Vermont Department of Taxes remains opposed to the one-time declaration as they fear it may lead to a gradual degradation of the grand lists.  While there is no evidence that any such degradation has occurred, they were able to prevail in their effort to revert to the old system.

             Our committee also approved legislation to allow some individuals access to netted property tax bills.  Town clerks will now be able to legally share property tax information with escrow agents, realtors, bank and credit union representatives and others specifically granted access by an individual taxpayer.  The Vermont Supreme Court had ruled the information was confidential under state law, so the law had to be changed to allow access in certain instances.

             It’s a great honor to represent you in Montpelier and I want readers of the Colchester Sun to be the first to know that I plan to run for another two-year term as state representative. I encourage you to share your thoughts and concerns with me.  My telephone number is 655-5764, my email address is jimcondon@lycos.com and my mailing address is 500A Dalton Drive, Colchester, VT 05446.   I look forward to seeing you on the campaign trail!      

Born in New London, Connecticut in 1958, Jim's grandfather was chief dispatcher for the New Haven Railroad and his father was a member of the Connecticut General Assembly and a longtime probate judge for New London County. 

Jim received a degree in history from the University of Connecticut.  He was a longtime radio news reporter and talk show host and has won numerous awards from the Associated Press, including Vermont newscaster and sportscaster of the year.  Jim and his longtime radio partner Louie Manno have won special awards for comedy and commercial writing, and were presented with Keys to the City by  both Winooski, Vermont and Rouses Point, New York. 

Jim moved to Vermont almost 30 years ago to become News Director of WJOY radio.  That's where Jim met and eventually married Ginny McGehee, who is now the longest-running female radio disc jockey in Vermont history.  Their son Tom is currently a freshman at Colchester High School. 

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Thank You!