Minutes 06-07-2022 Business Meeting

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11 said they previously provided Johnston County with a higher level of funding because they understood the need to help rural citizens and make sure counties are effectively resourced. Commissioner Richards said that the materials said that Orange County won a proposed bid to run a youth program. She asked if there will be another competitive process going forward and if there will be local management of the youth programs. Chet Mottershead said this would be decided through the consortium agreement. Jenny Harris said that discussing the consortium agreement will be the next step when new counties come together. She said there is a federal formula for the makeup of a workforce board, and it must be representative of the entire workforce of the region. Commissioner Hamilton said she is struggling to understand what these boards do. She referenced back to the three companies in Orange County that received state funding but zero workforce support and asked what that could have looked like. Jenny Harris defined that a project is the combination of capital investment and the creation of jobs when an existing company has ideas to expand. She said that projects come into workforce boards and receive assistance with all the other types of incentives that may be out there. She said what that could have looked like is that a staff member from workforce would have been with the economic development staff at the meetings with the company so they could make sure they are getting access to all of the possible incentives and aid that is out there, so they are more likely to succeed. Commissioner Hamilton asked for clarification on the workforce staff not being there. Jenny Harris said those three employers did not receive any outreach from the workforce development board staff. Commissioner Hamilton asked where the federal money goes. Chet Mottershead said there are three buckets---youth, adults, and dislocated workers. He said they always want to make sure the primary use is for training opportunities, and once trained, there are services that put them back to work. He said they want to make sure the federal dollars are most effectively utilized. He said they also provide on the job training programs where the funds are used to support the first six months of a new employee's job. Commissioner Hamilton said that she wants to go back to the $109,000 and asked if there is a program like that, would the money go to a company for on-the-job training. Chet Mottershead said yes. Commissioner Bedford asked what happens if Orange County is not happy with the change after realignment. Chet Mottershead said there is plenty of time between now and next July to work everything out. He said that like any change will take compromise but overall, they feel it is a better fit and will be better for Orange County. Commissioner Fowler said if they are aligned there is still the need for the economic development board to communicate with workforce development boards. She asked why that did not happen and how can it be done better. Jenny Harris said that in 2015 when the prosperity zones were created, it was for the sole purpose of aligning the support services that go with economic development. She said that is why there is representation from each prosperity zone. She said that there are a million different reasons the workforce side didn't receive the same, but that Governor Cooper wants to see it happen now because the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) says that workforce and economic development need to be aligned. She said that the state system is looking at the prosperity zone map and the workforce boards and seeing the complications and inefficiencies of them. She said that the employers do not deserve to not benefit from workforce services because it is confusing. Commissioner Fowler asked if each county still has its own training center that would still be five different groups.