Vermont Treasurer Mike Pieciak has convened a new statewide task force to turn employee ownership into a practical succession option for small businesses whose owners are approaching retirement.

The Treasurer’s Office announced the group on Sept. 23, bringing state tax and economic-development officials together with the Vermont Employee Ownership Center, the Vermont Small Business Development Center and leaders from employee-owned companies. Pieciak will chair the task force.

The initiative is aimed at a demographic problem with statewide consequences. The office says 58% of Vermont small businesses are owned by baby boomers, compared with 37% nationally. Those firms represent about $11 billion in business value, according to figures Pieciak presented at the launch. If an owner retires without a buyer or succession plan, the result can be a closure, lost jobs and the transfer of commercial property or customers away from a community.

At the launch event in Montpelier, officials framed employee ownership as one possible exit route rather than a mandate. Structures can include employee stock ownership plans, worker cooperatives and employee ownership trusts. The National Center describes those models as distinct legal and financial arrangements, with different costs, governance rules and tax treatment.

That distinction matters because not every company is a fit. An ownership conversion requires a viable business, a realistic valuation, financing and employees willing and able to take on new responsibilities. A task force can make those steps easier to understand, but it cannot eliminate the financial and managerial risks of a transition.

The group’s immediate assignment is to identify barriers and policy options before lawmakers return in January. Pieciak told WPTZ that members will look for changes that could have a large effect without a large price tag. The task force held its first meeting after Wednesday’s press conference and expects to meet again before the legislative session.

Potential recommendations could include better outreach to owners, earlier succession planning, technical assistance, financing tools or changes to tax policy. No legislation or spending commitment has been announced, so any such measures remain possibilities rather than adopted policy.

The practical test will be whether the state can reach owners years before they intend to sell. Employee ownership transactions are complex and typically take time to evaluate and finance. Waiting until an owner is ready to leave can narrow the available choices.

For workers and communities, the stakes extend beyond who holds the shares. A locally completed transition can keep a productive company operating, preserve payroll and give employees a direct interest in future growth. For owners, it can provide a buyer that already understands the business. The task force now has a short window to decide which state actions could make that path more usable without favoring it over other legitimate succession options.