Chamber of Commerce names Nat’l Guard general Citizen of the Year
By Guy Page
The Vermont Chamber of Commerce has named Vermont National Guard Adjutant General Gregory Knight as its Citizen of the Year. He will be honored at a May 21 dinner at Trapp Family Lodge.
Little known fact: Gen. Knight is 1) a lifelong resident of the Chittenden County mountain town of Huntington, and 2) served in the U.S. Coast Guard.
“Through his proactive leadership, workforce development initiatives, and dedication, he has truly exemplified the spirit of service and self-sacrifice that this award honors,” the Chamber said today.
A lifelong Huntington resident, Major General Gregory Knight has over 40 years of uniformed service. From the U.S. Coast Guard to leading the Vermont National Guard, his distinguished career includes a Bronze Star, deployments abroad, and pivotal leadership as Adjutant General. He has guided Vermont through historic floods, the COVID-19 pandemic, and championed a culture of inclusion and connection within the Guard, the Vermont Chamber said.
Knight was in the news last week for his very public ask to legislators to support a 100% state income tax exemption on all military pensions. He delivered the request at his ‘State of the Guard’ speech last Wednesday.
The perennial effort to exempt military pensions has been the subject of a recent back-and-forth between advocates and House leadership.
In late March, Rep. Jed Lipsky moved to add a military pension exemption to H.483, a list of other income tax reform and exemption bils enjoying bi-partisan support. The bill was immediately yanked back from floor discussion by Rep. Charlie Kimbell (D-Woodstock), the ranking member of Ways and Means, the House tax committee.
Massachusetts, New York and New Hampshire, and more than two dozen other states, all provide income tax exemptions for veterans. In part it’s to tangibly thank and honor veterans for their service, but it’s also about attracting skilled workers (many with two decades of work ahead of them) to participate in the Vermont economy. Accordingly, some legislators and veterans’ advocates demanded an explanation – including Retired United States Army Sgt. Kenneth Sekuterski of the Governor’s Veterans Advisory Council, in a letter to House Speaker Jill Krowinski April 3:
“The veterans of our state deserve to hear a response from you about why this critical bill was sent back to committee.
“How is it possible that one of the most popular bills before the legislature, supported by representatives from both sides of the aisle, could be sidelined in this manner? While other priorities are being discussed, it is disheartening to see that a measure with the potential to significantly benefit those who have served our country receives no follow-up or public announcement from your office.
“This issue is too important to be overlooked. Our veterans deserve concrete action and a clear explanation of the steps being taken to support them. I urge you to provide transparency on this matter and to allow a fair vote on military pension tax relief,” Sekuterski said.
On Tuesday, April 8, Krowinski Chief of Staff Conor Kennedy’s emailed response suggested the money would be better spent on helping the homeless, including the veterans among them:
“The Speaker is always looking to identify ways to honor and support our fellow Vermonters that are active duty or are veterans. Just last week we had the first “State of the Guard” which she organized with MG Knight and the VTANG as a way to recognize the work of our Vermont Guard and their work and service to our state and nation. When looking at this issue it is important to note that there are currently over 34,000 veterans in our state and this legislation would impact those that have a military retirement or receive survivor benefits, which is a little over 4,000 Vermonters.
“The question that some are asking is, at a cost of more than $4 million dollars annually, could the money be used on a program or for resources that would be more accessible and/or have a greater impact for more Vermont veterans? I don’t believe there are many that do not support legislation to exempt military retirement, but we also have over 150 homeless vets, vets that cannot access health care, and those that workforce training and placement support. The troubling reality is that there is a great need for basic health and welfare resources that are not adequately available to Vermont vets.”
Kennedy also cited other demands on the committee’s time, and the request by cops and firefighters to receive a similar exemption:
“The bill was moved back to committee after we had several other entities (fire fighters, law enforcement, etc.) ask to be included in the retirement exemption which would significantly drive up the cost of the bill and to Vermont taxpayers. The committee has been focused on working on education finance reform but will return to the bill next week – no one is “thwarting” a vote on this bill.”
One legislator who is also a military veteran called the public safety exemption explanation ‘baloney.’ [Editor’s note: he actually used a scatalogical word beginning with ‘b.’ Please pardon the editorial license.] Besides the apparent convenience of having a reason to not consider an amendment, there is an important difference between public safety and military service, he said: the cop and firefighter can quit at any time. But military service members who try to quit are subject to arrest for dereliction of duty, one of the most serious crimes in the criminal justice system.