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February 11, 2017
Tax filing season underway MONTPELIER — Last week, the Vermont Department of Taxes and the IRS began accepting tax returns for the 2016 tax year and there are a few changes the department would like taxpayers to know about. The department continues to experience a rise in attempted tax refund fraud, an alarming trend that mirrors what is happening in other states and at the federal level. State revenue departments and the IRS are implementing procedures to help protect the taxpayer’s money. Vermont taxpayers will be asked to provide a Vermont driver’s license or state-issued identification card number when filing. If the information is not provided and the department cannot verify your identity, this may delay the processing of a refund. In limited circumstances, the department will require identity confirmation before sending a refund, and will send verification letters to the physical address listed on the tax return. This letter will provide instructions on how to verify return information to complete the processing of a refund. To complete this request, taxpayers will not be asked to enter a social security number. Submitting the requested information over the phone or at www. myVTax.vermont.gov will verify the refund Continued on page 9
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Taking the plunge
1,200 people jump in icy Lake Champlain for Special Olympics VT By Cassandra Loucy cassandra@addison-eagle.com
BURLINGTON — For most people, the idea of a fun Saturday in early February doesn’t involve diving in the lake. But, for over 1,200 people this past Saturday, Feb. 4, that’s exactly what they did. In 1996, at a Winter festival in Burlington, a few brave individuals jumped into the icy cold lake to raise money for Special Olympics Vermont. Taking the plunge that day helped them raise over $8,000 for the organization. Today, this event is the largest fundraising event for Special Olympics Vermont. It now includes the Burlington plunge and an event at Stratton Mountain. Last year, more than 1,200 participants helped the organization raise $474,000. Individuals can jump in the lake alone, but most often teams are formed within school classes, families, or businesses. Tina Martin of Milton has participated in the event for the past five years. She is a part of the NorthCountry Federal Credit Union team which has dubbed itself the “NorthCountry Numb-brrrrs”. The credit union is also one of the many
Members of the NorthCountry Numb-Brrrrs take the plunge at Saturday’s fundraising event.
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Photo by Erin Thompson of NorthCountry FCU
Going solar may mean going slower in Vermont By Lou Varricchio Vermont Watchdog
BRISTOL — Earlier this month, at a food cooperative in Montpelier, Gov. Phil Scott attended the unveiling of a solar energy-gathering carport. The Republican governor said the high-tech photovoltaic structure, designed to charge the electric vehicles of co-op customers, could be used by homeowners someday. “This is the way of the future,” Scott said. In rural Vermont, open-field solar arrays have become the way of the future, too, although the future might be a little slower in arriving than previously thought. The pace of large-scale solar development may be slowed somewhat under revised rules written by the Public Service Board in late 2016 that went into effect Jan. 1. Euphemistically termed “solar farms” by pub-
lic relations specialists representing renewable energy interests, large open-field arrays are actually commercial power stations, not farms; they have been springing up like roadside billboards in places such as Addison County. (Ironically, billboards are banned in Vermont.) Grazing and crop lands have been ripe for alternative energy development, especially when cash-strapped dairy farmers and other rural landowners need income. In 2015 alone, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Vermont installed 43 megawatts of solar electric capacity, placing it 16th in the United States. And while the push for big solar in Vermont continues, it will likely be happening more slowly, thanks to new rules under Act 174. The rules allow towns to have more of a say about where renewable energy projects, especially so-called solar farms, are located. However, towns still don’t have veto power under Act 174’s rules. For energy projects larger than 150kW, the new
rules show that town-designated “preferred sites” and “built environments” may be the only path for a large solar developer to follow. Through the end of 2016, the breakneck pace to realize former Democrat Gov. Peter Shumlin’s goal of 90 percent renewables in the state by 2050 has come at a price. Some residents living near proposed open-field sites are becoming more wary of the big solar-farm concept.
Neighborhood action Before the new rules went into effect, there were several examples of people trying to stop large solar projects in their rural neighborhoods. One notable action propelled a Vermont woman to a seat on the local planning board. In June 2015, Waterbury-based SunCommon Continued on page 11