NoRTEC
MINUTES
WIB AND GOVERNING BOARD
THURSDAY, JULY 31, 2003
REDDING, CA

1. CALL TO ORDER

   The meeting was called to order by J. Madden, WIB Chair, and J. Reese, Governing Board Chair at 10:05 a.m.

2. ROLL CALL

   There was a quorum of both the WIB and the Governing Board. Roster

3. WIB APPROVAL OF MINUTES, APRIL 24, 2003

   A motion by T. Cochran, seconded by K. Humberston, for WIB approval of the April 24, 2003, minutes as posted, passed the WIB unanimously.
   
   A motion by B. Reiss, seconded by J. Smith, for Governing Board approval of the April 24, 2003, minutes as posted, passed the Governing Board unanimously.

4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA (ACTION)

   A motion by T. Cochran, seconded by G. Mistal, for WIB approval of the July 31, 2003, agenda as posted, passed the WIB unanimously.
   
   A motion by J. Smith, seconded by B. Reiss, for Governing Board approval of the July 31, 2003, agenda as posted, passed the Governing Board unanimously.

5. PUBLIC COMMENT (INFORMATION)

   Scott Hauge, Chair, Small Business Committee, California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB), was introduced by C. Brown. Mr. Hauge is also President of CAL Insurance & Associates, CEO of the San Francisco Small Business Network, and a well known advocate for small business. He was attending the NoTEC meeting primarily to discuss Workers Compensation issues.

6. WIB APPOINTMENTS (INFORMATION)

   There were no WIB appointments, although C. Brown said Sandra Acebo (Butte College president holding the at large education seat on the NoRTEC WIB) nominated Dr. David Pellham, President, College of the Siskiyous, to replace her on her retirement from the NoRTEC WIB and from Butte College.
   
   J. Smith stated that Dr. Pelham would be an excellent replacement for Sandra Acebo. L. Bosetti reminded the members that this at large seat was created by the Board to allow representation by a Community College president on the NoRTEC WIB. Part of the commitment agreed to by the members in establishing this at large position was to ask that the individual filling this seat have the support of a majority of the College presidents in the NoRTEC area. C. Brown said he would pursue this confirmation of general support.

7. PROGRAM COMMITTEE REPORT (ACTION)

   M. Piller presented the Program Committee Report.

   1. Program Monitoring

      M. Piller asked B. Austin for a report on program monitoring. Austin said that she conducted a thorough on-site monitoring, include a review of participant files and program design. She said that there were no compliance issues, but recommendations had been given to some of the programs to be more consistent with their documentation of eligibility and service provision.

   2. State Monitoring

      M. Piller said there have been no state program monitoring visits since the last meeting, and that NoRTEC had not received an official word on when the next visit would be scheduled.

   3. Client Numbers

      The following reports were reviewed and discussed. No problems were noted. (See agenda for links to the reports.)
      
      - Job Seekers Accessing One-Stop Centers
      - Job Seekers Enrolled in the WIA Program
      - Outcome Information On Customers Leaving The Programs
      - One Stop Center Utilization Information
      - One Stop Center Employer Service Information

   4. NWI (Nurse Workforce Initiative)

      M. Piller said that the sixteen county region of NCEN (NoRTEC's nine counties, plus Colusa, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Sutter and Yuba Counties) was awarded a $2.1 million contract to provide Registered Nurse (RN) and Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) training to northern California residents. Data regarding the distribution of the $2.1 million and enrollments in the program so far were reviewed. No problems were noted. (See the agenda for the link to the report.)

   5. Plant Closure Update

      The members reviewed the plant closures that have taken place in NoRTEC since the last meeting.

      (See agenda for a link to the plant closure report.)

   6. Featured Community Coordinator Report

      The featured Community Coordinator report this quarter was the report from the Shasta PIC. It was the last report from Jim Jansen, Shasta's Community Coordinator, as he had left the Shasta PIC.
      
      M. Piller encouraged all members to read the reports because they were informative, and because each quarter someone always figured out a new "fun" way to present the information.

   7. Business First Report

      The following Business First Report update was given.

      1. Web Site Technology Initiative

         C. Brown reported that 86 websites had been published on the Internet as a result of the Website Initiative Training.

         C. Francis, from Rural Human Services, gave an update on the first "solo" website workshop put on One Stop Staff after having attended the "Train the Trainer" workshop put on by John Millar. Francis said that there were 12 employers represented in the class. Two were ready to publish, but she said that the other ten were going to require some follow-up, and would be attending an "advanced" class in August. Francis said RHS had to to turn away an additional 15 businesses because the workshop was full.

      2. Entrepreneur Training

         C. Brown said the incentive grant NoRTEC submitted a couple of years ago was just (surprisingly) funded to implement a pilot project designed to identify local fast track entrepreneurs, and assist them with the appropriate packaging and presentation of their businesses, with the goal being to bring venture capital and angel investments into the North State (particularly into the NoRTEC area). The project will be designed and implemented by Golden Capital Network, who were written into the grant application as the provider for this endeavor.

      3. One Stop Business Services

         C. Brown reported on the development of a NoRTEC Business Services website that was being developed with the help of Laurie Wann from the Alliance for Workforce Development. Brown said that the plan is for NoRTEC to host the overview website and the One Stops to host their own version consistent with their own websites and Business Resource Center marketing.

         Business Services presentations were given by several individuals from the employer community within NoRTEC.

         Moira Cariglio, owner of the Yellow Jacket Eatery in Trinity Center, told the presenters how much the Trinity Occupational Training (TOT) office had helped her with paperwork and other business start-up issues when she took over an existing business in the northern part of the county. She said that TOT helped her obtain her business license and gave her a lot of information about worker's compensation. They also provided on-going assistance with information about running a business, interviewing and hiring employees and a host of other issues. Cariglio said the assistance was a big help, and each time she left the office she, "...felt like I can actually do this!"

         Kristi Bevard, from Trinity County Realty, spoke to the members about her experience with the website design workshop. She said the class was very helpful, the website was easy to edit and, "I was published in one day." She said she had already gotten a couple of new customers from the website.

         The Wasnys, owners of Ceramic Tile Installers in Red Bluff, were unable to make their presentation regarding assistance with business expansion due to some personal family issues, but sent word to the members that they are happy customers and would like to speak to them at a future date.

         Paul Shelton, from the STEP office in Siskiyou County, told the members about the computer workshops that STEP was providing for local employers. He said STEP had a wireless network of laptops set up and he was providing courses in Excel, Publisher, Poweroint, Word, and Dreamweaver. He said he had received requests for Adobe Photoshop, Quickbooks Pro, and classes on how to navigate the Internet which he hoped to add soon.

         T. Brown reported that Element K, the on-line computer learning system, was realizing heavy usage by the employers in the NoRTEC Counties. She said that over 100 accounts had been assigned, and that the Shasta PIC was marketing the system the most to their local employers.

      4. The Impact of Workers Compensation on Small Business

         Scott Hauge led a lively discussion on the negative impact on business in California caused by the spiraling costs of Workers Compensation. Mr. Hauge's position was that while there are numerous reforms we could push for, the major cost driver in the system is medical cost and utilization. Medical costs have gone up 4% outside of workers compensation since 1992 while workers compensation medical costs have gone up 17.6%. Mr. Hauge said the California legislature was meeting in mid to late August to try and craft a Workers Compensation reform bill. He suggested we urge our legislators to support a medical fee schedule of 120% of Medicare, because it is easily understood and will affect real savings. As far as utilization, he felt the legislature needed to support protocols for medical procedures. That way if someone has a back injury, there is a set procedure on how it is handled. He said the schedule currently being used by some other states is one put together by the American College of Industrial and Environmental Medicine. Finally, Mr. Hauge suggested that it is also necessary to have a process to review individual situations for some injured workers. He said this review procedure should be by doctors that have expertise in the particular problem, i.e. back injuries, carpel tunnel, etc. He said this would eliminate doctor shopping and confusion in the system, hopefully reducing litigation.

   8. Staff Planning Retreat

      B. Austin reported that a staff retreat to focus on building a more effective business services program was scheduled for NoRTEC One Stop Staff October 14-16, 2003, at the Mt. Shasta Resort.

   9. NoRTEC Youth Council

      The members noted that there had not been a Youth Council meeting since the April 2003 WIB/Governing Board meeting.

      C. Brown stated that there probably would not be enough funding for the Youth Council in PY 2003/2004. He also noted that the new WIA legislation being developed by Congress would make Youth Councils voluntary.

   A motion made by B. Maffett, and seconded by T. Cochran, for WIB approval of the Fourth Quarter Program Committee Report passed unanimously.

   A motion made by I. Fust, and seconded by R. Turner, for Governing Board approval of the Fourth Quarter Program Committee Report passed unanimously.

    

8. FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT (ACTION)

   B. Hamby, Finance Committee Chair, presented the Finance Committee Report.

   1. PY 2003/2004 Funding

      Hamby said that NoRTEC has $11,523,862 in available funds for the program year July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2004.

   2. PY 2003/2004 Contracts Summary

      Hamby said that the Contracts Summary Page showed how NoRTEC's $11,523,862 was contracted out to the One Stop Centers in NoRTEC.

   3. PY 2002/2003 Funding

      Hamby said that the final funding figure for NoRTEC was $17,299,180 for the program year July 1, 2002, to June 30, 2003.

   4. Approval of PY 2002/2003 Fourth Quarter Financial Reports

      Fourth quarter financial reports for PY 2002/2003 were presented to the members:

      - Contracts Summary
      - Service Provider Contract Modifications
      - Program Expenditure Report
      - Administrative Entity Expenditure Report
      - WIB and Governing Board Expenditure Report

      B. Hamby noted that the committee did not have any concerns with the fourth quarter reports.

      A motion made by K. Humberston, and seconded by T. Cochran, for WIB approval of the Preliminary Fourth Quarter Finance Report passed unanimously.

      A motion made by J. Smith, and seconded by B. Reiss, for Governing Board approval of the Preliminary Fourth Quarter Finance Report passed unanimously.

       

   5. Approval of Dislocated Worker to Adult Funding Transfer Request

      The members discussed the transfer of $536,833 from the Dislocated Worker program to the Adult Program.

      A motion made by B. Maffett, and seconded by K. Humberston, for WIB approval of the transfer of $536,833 of PY 2003/2004 funding from the Dislocated Worker program to the Adult program passed unanimously.

      A motion made by I. Fust, and seconded by B. Reiss, for Governing Board approval of the transfer of $536,833 of PY 2003/2004 funding from the Dislocated Worker program to the Adult program passed unanimously.

   6. Waiver of PY 2002/2003 Youth Expenditure Rate Requirement for the Butte PIC

      Hamby said that, as presented in the agenda, the Committee is recommending a one-time waiver of the 80% Youth expenditure rate for the Butte PIC for the 2002/2003 program year.

      A motion made by M. Piller, and seconded by T. Cochran, for WIB approval of a one-time waiver of the 80% Youth Expenditure Rate for the Butte PIC for 2002/2003 passed unanimously.

      A motion made by R. Turner, and seconded by J. Smith, for Governing Board approval of a one-time waiver of the 80% Youth Expenditure Rate for the Butte PIC for 2002/2003 passed unanimously.

   7. Acceptance of PY 2001/2002 Single Audit Report

      A motion by K. Humberston, seconded by R. Sandler, for WIB acceptance of the June 30, 2002, Single Audit Report passed unanimously.

      A motion by J. Smith, seconded by R. Turner, for Governing Board acceptance of the June 30, 2002, Single Audit Report passed unanimously.

   8. State Monitoring of NoRTEC

      Members discussed this item as presented in the agenda.

   9. Fiscal Monitoring of Service Providers

      M. Cross stated that he had completed his financial monitoring of the NoRTEC service providers. He reported that there were only two findings, both of which involved procurement issues of a copy machine and a van in the RHS program in Del Norte County.

      T. Cochran said that he did not think that RHS should use WIA funds to pay for a van. R. Sandler, who sits on the RHS Board of Directors, said he had alerted RHS to the fact that WIB members from Del Norte County had expressed concern over the purchase of a vehicle with WIA funding and recommended against doing so.

      Further discussion ensued in which the members asked C. Brown what procedure should be followed if the service providers were not in line with NoRTEC policy.

      Brown said that usually in such circumstances, NoRTEC would inform the program in question about the policy violation and request a corrective action plan to remediate the current problem, if possible, and to outline steps to ensure that the same thing did not happen again. If a similar problem was found in the future, then NoRTEC would take steps to sanction the program, which ranged from recapturing funds to severing the contract, depending on the severity of the problem.

      M. Piller said that she would like to have the RHS Board of Directors come and talk to the WIB about the details of the purchases to get the full story before the board made a decision.

      J. Allred said that it seemed to him that the WIB's role here was to determine whether NoRTEC's policy had been followed, not whether or not the expenditure was a good one.

      After some further discussion, staff were directed to work with the parties involved (RHS Board and staff, and the WIB and Governing Board members from Del Norte) to identify and determine the extent of any problem associated with the purchase of the van, to call an Executive Committee meeting prior to the next meeting of the WIB and Governing Board, if deemed appropriate, and to agendize this item for the next meeting of the WIB and Governing Board, if deemed appropriate.

   A motion made by M. Piller, and seconded by B. Maffett, for WIB approval of the Fourth Quarter Finance Committee Report passed unanimously.

   A motion made by J. Smith, and seconded by B. Reiss, for Governing Board approval of the Fourth Quarter Finance Committee Report passed unanimously.

    

9. STATUS OF FUNDING APPLICATIONS (UPDATE)

    

   1. Prior Approval

       

      1. The application for "Incentive Funding" for an Entrepreneurial Trianing project was funded.
      2. The application for a technology grant to provide Internet training to local employers is on the back burner.
      3. The North STARRS II application is waiting approval.
      4. The Work Incentive application (job coaching for disabled participants), submitted as part of a State WIB application was rumored to be funded, but no official word yet.

          

   2. New Applications

      C. Brown said NoRTEC staff were seeking permission to submit an application to the State for Rapid Response funding. The funding request will be for $875,583, and will be used primarily to support the Community Coordinators and their Business Resource roles in each member county.

      A motion made by T. Cochran, and seconded by L. Bosetti, for WIB approval of NoRTEC staff submitting an application for $873,583 to provide Community Coordinator/rapid response services in each of the NoRTEC member counties passed unanimously.

      A motion made by R. Turner, and seconded by B. Reiss, for Governing Board approval of NoRTEC staff submitting an application for $873,583 to provide Community Coordinator/rapid response services in each of the NoRTEC member counties passed unanimously.

       

10. NO KONOCTI FOR 2003

    C. Brown said funding and the sentiment are not there for Konocti this fall. After some discussion, the concensus of the members was to hold a WIB and Governing Board retreat toward the end of October 2003.

    Discussion ensued. A cross section of comments: J Reese and J Maden asked for orientation/reorientation and open discussion and Q&A for Board members. Dennis Maderios asked for information on business services. Jim Chapman asked for a "productive meeting."
    
    The general concensus was to have the agenda set by the WIB Executive Committee, particularly the WIB and Governing Board Chairs, J. Madden and J. Reese.

    A motion made by J. Allred, and seconded by L. Bosetti, for a NoRTEC WIB and Governing Board retreat in late October 2003, passed unanimously.
    
    A motion made by B. Reiss, and seconded by I. Fust, for a NoRTEC WIB and Governing Board retreat in late October 2003, passed with all ayes, except for one no vote by J. Chapman.

11. NoRTEC PLAN MODIFICATION

    T. Brown stated that NoRTEC submitted the original five year WIA plan in April 2000, for the period July 1, 2000, through June 30, 2005.
    
    She said that each year, the NoRTEC plan is "modified" to incorporate new funding levels for the upcoming Program Year, and to plan services to clients and employers in nine county area. Brown said that the plan modification required WIB and Governing Board approval.
    
    A motion made by R. Sandler, and seconded by K. Theobald, for WIB approval of the PY 2003/2004 Plan Modification passed unanimously.

    A motion made by I. Fust, and seconded by B. Reiss, for Governing Board approval of the of the PY 2003/2004 Plan Modificaiton passed unanimously.

12. OLD BUSINESS (INFORMATION)

    No Old Business items were brought up for discussion.

13. NEW BUSINESS (DISCUSSION)

    J. Madden reported that the next meeting of the WIB and Governing Board would be held on October 30, 2003, in Chico, unless a retreat was scheduled.

14. ADJOURNMENT

    There being no further Old or New Business, the meeting was adjourned at 12:40 p.m.