Economic Development agency reviews incentives, trade and industrial building support
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Summary
The Department of Economic Development summarized programs to spur job growth — including the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive, Vermont Training Program, State Trade Expansion grants, and a $5 million industrial development fund for commercial buildings — and described trade outreach to Quebec and other markets.
Brett Long, deputy commissioner of the Department of Economic Development, and Tim Tierney, director of business recruitment and international trade, briefed the House Commerce Committee on Jan. 16 about business-support programs the department administers and sponsors.
Long outlined the department’s mission to foster growth and opportunity through job creation, upskilling and infrastructure support. He described the Vermont Training Program (VTP) as an important tool to upskill workers and said the program typically funds supervisory and other skills training that allows businesses to promote from within and backfill positions. Long also described the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive (VEGI) and the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) program as tools the state uses to encourage job creation and support infrastructure projects; he introduced Jessica Hartleben as the executive director who works with the Vermont Economic Progress Council on those programs.
Tim Tierney said the department pursues export and foreign-direct-investment opportunities, with a strong focus on Quebec because of proximity and cross-border economic ties. "We have good examples" of Quebec-based businesses expanding in Vermont, Tierney said, and he noted that firms sometimes choose other states for larger upfront incentives. Tierney described a State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) grant that channels Small Business Administration funds (about $250,000 annually) into $20,000 maximum awards for Vermont small and medium enterprises to enter new markets and attend trade shows.
Tierney also described a $5 million industrial development program (funding made available to regional development corporations) intended to increase the supply of commercial or industrial space — an acknowledged shortage in parts of Vermont — and said the program approved initial applications and continues to process additional proposals as projects become ready.
The department outlined outreach and coordination with regional development corporations, the Small Business Development Center, VITA (Vermont International Trade Alliance), the Northern Border Regional Commission and federal partners, and said staff remain active in administering disaster-recovery programs from recent years.
Committee members raised questions about program eligibility and whether tools like VEGI and VTP have provisions that favor larger employers; Long acknowledged some program requirements can make smaller employers harder to serve and suggested policy discussions about adjustments. Long and Tierney said they would return with more detailed data or meet with the committee or its staff as budget and appropriations discussions progress.
