NoRTEC
AGENDA
PIC AND GOVERNING BOARD
THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 1999
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
COMMUNITY EMPLOYMENT CENTER*
CHICO, CALIFORNIA

1. CALL TO ORDER
2. ROLL CALL
3. PIC APPROVAL OF MINUTES, JANUARY 28, 1999, (ACTION)

   Copies of the minutes from January 29, 1999, are attached: Minutes

   RECOMMENDED ACTION: PIC and Governing Board approval of the January 29, 1999, minutes, with revisions if needed, as mailed.

4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA (ACTION)

   RECOMMENDED ACTION: PIC and Governing Board approval of the agenda, with revisions if needed, as mailed.

5. PUBLIC COMMENT (INFORMATION)

   Members of the public will be invited to make brief comments regarding any aspect of NoRTEC business.

6. PIC VACANCIES (DISCUSSION)

   There are currently two seats open on the PIC. A private sector seat is open for Plumas due to non-attendance by Joe Garner. An economic development seat is open for Siskiyou due to the March 31, 1999, resignation of Eric Herrick. The decision to fill these vacancies is being left up to the respective counties. The current thinking is to wait to see what happens with WIA, although recommendations for appointments will be made if an appropriate opportunity arises. This approach is open for discussion.

7. PROGRAM COMMITTEE REPORT (ACTION)

   Michele Piller, Program Committee chair, will present the Program Committee report.

   1. Program Monitoring

      Betti Austin, Program Services Director, is currently conducting spring monitoring visits. Following is her schedule:

      March 22-26, 1999	Plumas Job Training Center (Lassen/Modoc/Plumas)
      April 20-21, 1999	Job Training Center of Tehama County
      April 22-23, 1999	Workforce Connection (Siskiyou)
      April 24-26, 1999	Rural Human Services (Del Norte)
      April 27-28, 1999	Job Link/TOT (Trinity)

      An update will be provided at the meeting. Austin will be reviewing participant eligibility, program design and services delivery, and compliance with training vendor procurement in all titles.

   2. PY 1998/1999 Third Quarter Program Reports (INFORMATION)

      A summary of the standard program reports will be presented at the meeting. Please click on the name of each seperate report shown below for goals and performance information. (Click here for an in-depth explanation of any of the reports listed below.)

      1. Title II-A 77% Adult and 82% Youth Performance Standards
      2. Title III Entered Employment Rate and Average Wage at Placement Standards
      3. Federally Defined Barrier to Employment Ratios
      4. In-School Vs. Out-of School Youth Service Ratios
      5. Employer Assisted Benefits and Model Out of School Youth Program
         
         
      Each of the programs except the Job Training Center (Lassen, Modoc, and Plumas Counties) will be submitting corrective action plans for one item or another. In all but one area, there are no significant areas of concern, and NoRTEC is doing well as an SDA at this point. A nagging problem is the size of the Title II-C program. With only eight terminations for the first six months of the program year, each completion, whether positive or negative, has a significant impact on NoRTEC's performance. The requests for corrective action include specifying the expected number of completions for the Youth program.

      A copy of the requests for corrective action for each program may be accessed by clicking on the following: (Del Norte, Lassen/Modoc/Plumas, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity)

   3. Participant Summaries and Employment Report

      These reports are provided to the PIC and Governing Board as informational items (number of participants served in each county and participant placements in jobs):

      1. Participant Summaries by Funding Source
      2. Participant Summaries by County
      3. Employment Report
   4. Flood 98 Temporary Job Creation Project

      The Flood 98 temporary job creation began in early March 1998. The program is being operated in three of NoRTEC's seven counties. The programs are utilizing the funding to assist other public and private non-profit agencies with clean-up after the floods/storms of 1998. As of March 31, 1999, NoRTEC has provided over $3,000,000 to serve 238 workers:

      Del Norte County	54
      Tehama County	54
      Trinity County	130
      NoRTEC	238

      NoRTEC has been allocated $3.5 million to complete this project, which is scheduled to run through June 30, 1999.

      At the last meeting, Board members asked for a breakout of costs by program, to examine the amount of funding spent directly on participants. This information is provided as of March 31, 1999, at the following web address: TJC Project Expenditure Information

      Members were also interested in seeing what agencies the participants worked at as well as the position title and hourly wage being paid. That information, as of March 31, 1999, can be accessed at the following web address: TJC Positions and Wage Information

   5. Title III Review by JTPD

      During February 1999, the Evaluations Division of EDD monitored NoRTEC's Title III Plant Closure, Basic Readjustment Services, and Flood Transition programs. This visit included trips to Del Norte, Lassen, Modoc, Tehama, and Trinity Counties. There were no findings.

   RECOMMENDED ACTION: PIC and Governing Board approval of the Program Committee Report.
8. FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT (ACTION)

   B. Hamby, Finance Committee Chair, will present the Finance Committee report.

   1. PY 98/99 Third Quarter Finance Reports (ACTION)
   2. NoRTEC currently has $13,182,670 in available funds for the program year July 1, 1998, to June 30, 1999.

      PROJECT	FUNDS AVAILABLE FROM 07/01/98	ADD'L FUNDS REQUESTED/ ANTICIPATED	TOTAL
      II-B YOUTH	2,350,470	0	2,350,470
      II-A ADULT	1,355,059	0	1,355,059
      IIC YOUTH	276,855	0	276,855
      II-A OLDER	83,221	0	83,221
      TITLE III	1,419,714	0	1,419,714
      CAREER CENTERS	103,448	0	103,448
      BASIC READJUSTMENT	1,647,059	0	1,647,059
      EL NINO DISASTER	2,664,086	0	2,664,086
      ONE-STOP IMPLEMENTATION	450,000	0	450,000
      RAPID RESPONSE	900,000	0	900,000
      INCENTIVE FUNDS	249,827	0	249,827
      PLANT CLOSURES	189,799	0	189,799
      FLOOD TRANSITION	181,000	0	181,000
      8% LITERACY	107,629	0	107,629
      WELFARE-TO-WORK	1,179,503	0	1,179,503
      CAPACITY BUILDING	25,000	0	25,000
      TOTAL	$13,182,670	$0	$13,182,670

      1. PY 98/99 Contracts Summary

         This report shows the total amount of funding in contracts with the State, the source of that funding and its allocation within NoRTEC for the 98/99 program year at March 31, 1999. At March 31, 1999, NoRTEC had a total of $13,182,670 available in contracts for the 98/99 program year. This report includes only amounts available in the current year. Amounts expended in prior years are not included. This report lists only fully executed contracts.

      2. PY 98/99 Service Provider Contract Modifications

         (Select the white arrow in the upper left corner of the report to advance to the second page)

         This report shows the changes between December 31, 1998, and March 31, 1999, in the service provider contract amounts available for expenditure in the current program year. This report shows only contract amounts available in the current year. Contract amounts expended in a prior years are not included

         The significant contract change during the period was the allocation of the PY 98/99 IIB Summer Youth funding. The IIB Summer Youth Program runs from 10/1/98 to 9/30/99. The attached report details the allocation.
      3. PY 98/99 Program Expenditure Report

         (Select the white arrow in the upper left corner of the report to advance to the second page)

         This report shows each subcontractor's total available balance for the program year (July 1, 1998, to June 30, 1999), their expenditures for the nine months ended March 31, 1999, and their remaining balance at March 31, 1999, for each specific JTPA funding title and program type. This report shows only contract amounts available in the current year. Contract amounts expended in a prior year are not included.

         NoRTEC service providers are generally required to spend 90% of each year's allocation by the end of the program year. For the convenience of monitoring, NoRTEC uses a 25% per quarter expenditure rate as a guide for assessing expenditures throughout the fiscal year (25% first quarter, 50% second quarter, 75% third quarter and 100% final quarter). A corrective action plan (an explanation from the service provider of how they intend to utilize the funds by the end of the funding period) is automatically required from a service provider if quarterly expenditures vary by more than 10% from the quarterly target rate.

         "Excess" funds may be voluntarily returned by a service provider or recaptured by NoRTEC if it appears that a service provider will not be able to effectively utilize them by the end of the funding period. These funds are then redistributed to other NoRTEC service providers demonstrating a greater need, or returned to the State if they cannot be effectively utilized within the consortium. Early detection and correction of expenditure problems is important because it allows time for the funds to be put to good use by service providers in other consortium counties. In addition, the effective use of funds directly affects NoRTEC's ability to secure additional funding in future years.

         The funding titles in bold italics are those titles in which a service provider is not within a 10% variance of the quarterly target rate (75% at March 31, 1999). For each of these titles, a corrective action plan has been submitted. There are no items of concern at this time.

      4. PY 98/99 NoRTEC Administrative Entity Expenditure Report

         This report shows the Administrative Entity (AE) expenditures against the annual line item budget for the 98/99 program year ending June 30, 1999. At March 31, 1999, the NoRTEC Administrative Entity had expended 66% of its operating budget, 82% of its special projects budget, and 100% of its capacity building budget.

         The primary budget expenditures are detailed in the attached line item report. The special projects funds are being used for additional computers and servers and related hardware and software, Scott's salary, consultants, computer and related maintenance and upgrades for the PIC and Governing Board, internet charges and regional workshops/training for the Community Coordinators. The capacity building funds were primarily utilized to fund a NoRTEC Case Manager's Retreat and a II-B Training Session.

         There are no items of concern at this time.

      5. PY 98/99 NoRTEC PIC and Governing Board Expenditure Report

         This report shows the PIC and Governing Board expenditures against the annual line item budget for program year ended March 31, 1999. At March 31, 1999, the PIC/GB had expended 37% of its total budget.There are no issues of concern at this time.

      RECOMMENDED ACTION: The PIC Finance Committee is recommending approval of the PY 98/99 Second Quarter Finance Reports.
   3. PY 1999/2000 NoRTEC ADMINISTRATIVE BUDGET (ACTION)

      Note: The Board may wish to defer this item pending the outcome of the "Executive Director Performance and Compensation" item below because the outcome of that discussion may affect the PY 1999/2000 budget amounts.

      The PIC Finance Committee is recommending that the PY 1999/2000 Administrative Entity budget be approved at $672,450. This represents a 3% decrease from the PY 1998/1999 approved budget amount of $691,500. The following changes are being proposed: (1) a $100,000 decrease in the amount budgeted for Special Projects; (2) the reclassification of the NoRTEC Computer System Administrator postition from the Special Projects line-item to the Salaries line item totaling $58,000; (3) a 5% staff salary increase (excluding Executive Director) totaling $15,950; (4) a $5,000 increase in the Telephone line-item; (5) a $1,500 increase in the Dues and Memberships line-itema $1,000 increase in the Audit line-item;.

      1. The Proposed PY 99/00 AE Budget.
      2. Narrative for the Proposed PY 99/00 AE Budget.
         
         
      RECOMMENDED ACTION: The PIC Finance Committee is recommending that the PY 1999/2000 NoRTEC Administrative Entity budget be approved at $672,450.
   4. PY 1999/2000 NoRTEC PIC/GB BUDGET (ACTION)

      The PIC Finance Committee is recommending that the PY 1999/2000 PIC/GB Budget be approved at $50,000. A new $5,000 line-item is being proposed for supplies and equipment related to the computers. This represents an 11% increase over the PY 1998/1999 approved budget amount of $45,000.

      1. The Proposed PY 99/00 PIC/GB Budget.
      2. Narrative for the Proposed PY 99/00 PIC/GB Budget.
         
         
      RECOMMENDED ACTION: The PIC Finance Committee is recommending that the PY 1999/2000 PIC/GB budget be approved at $50,000.
   5. STATE COST COMPLIANCE NOTIFICATION (INFORMATION)

      We have received notice from the State that NoRTEC is in compliance with the required cost category limits in Title III for the 1996 year of allocation. The notification letter is available for review by interested PIC/GB members.

   6. STATE FISCAL AND PROCUREMENT MONITORING (INFORMATION)

      The State will be conducting a fiscal and procurement review of NoRTEC the week of May 17th. They will be visiting Siskiyou and Lassen, Modoc Plumas. The specific dates for each site visit are posted on the NoRTEC calendar.

   7. NoRTEC FISCAL AND PROCUREMENT MONITORING (INFORMATION)

      NoRTEC Finance Director Michael Cross will be conducting on-site fiscal and procurement reviews of NoRTEC service providers during May and June. The following is the schedule of reviews:

      May 10-11	Job Link/TOT (Trinity County)
      May 12-13	Rural Human Services (Del Norte County)
      May 26-27	Job Training Center of Tehama County
      June 9-11	Plumas Job Training Center (Lassen, Modoc, and Plumas Counties)
      June 22-24	Workforce Connection (Siskiyou County)

      RECOMMENDED ACTION: NoRTEC PIC and Governing Board approval of the PY 98/99 Third Quarter Finance Committee Report.

9. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PERFORMANCE AND COMPENSATION (ACTION)

   Note: The meeting may be adjourned into closed session to discuss this personnel matter.

   The Executive Committee and some of the Governing Board members provided direction and feedback to C. Brown on his Goals and Objectives for this year, July 1, 1998, to June 30, 1999 (at the recent WIA planing meetings). The goals and objectives form the basis for the annual evaluation of the Executive Director, the related performance bonus amount, and the annual salary, to be determined by the PIC and Governing Board members.

   Here are some web pages that may help with the discussion:

   1. The bonus formula adopted by the PIC and Governing Board.
   2. Executive Director Goals and brief comments on their status.
   3. Salary Survey Updated 4/99
      
      
   RECOMMENDED ACTION: NoRTEC PIC and Governing Board specification of a bonus amount for the NoRTEC Executive Director, based on their assessment of his PY 1998/1999 performance.

   RECOMMENDED ACTION: NoRTEC PIC and Governing Board specification of the Executive Director Salary level for the upcoming 1999/2000 program year.

10. STATUS OF PRIOR APPROVED FUNDING APPLICATIONS (DISCUSSION)
    
    1. One Stop Implementation

       The One Stop Implementation Application for $750,000 is not being recommended for funding by the State review committee. This application was submitted by NoRTEC under the name of NCEN, on behalf of the three participating SDAs; NoRTEC, NCCC and Butte. The funds would have been used next program year for regional planning and training, enhanced communication and more focused business involvement in the One Stops. No reason was given, but an unofficial implication is that the NCEN SDAs have relatively less need for the funding than the applicants that were funded. Of course, it could be that we are not worthy.

    2. Basic Readjustment

       The Title III Application for Basic Readustment funding of approximately $200,000 per county is being recommended for approval. This is the second half of a two year applicaton. These funds will be utilized for the up front core services in the One Stops (information, assessment and referral), effective next program year (July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2000.

11. JTPA JOB TRAINING PLAN - SECOND YEAR FUNDING (ACTION)

    Funding allocations for the final year (PY 1999/2000) of the JTPA program have been released. Allocations for NoRTEC are:

    Title II-A 77% Adult	Title II-C 82% Youth	Title II-B Summer Youth	Title II-A 5% Older Worker	Title III Allocated
    $1,249,217	$170,172	$1,355,495	$74,010	$1,483,512

    Allocations in all titles increased a little over 5% from last program year, with the exception of Title II-A 5% Older Worker program, which increased by only 1+%.

    Subcontractor allocations can be accessed at: PY 2000 Subcontractor Allocations

    Incorporating PY 99/00 funding into NoRTEC's current Job Training Plan requires PIC and Governing Board concurrence for a plan adjustment.

    Recommended Action: PIC and Governing Board approval of the Chairs of each respective body to sign-off on the Job Training Plan adjustment incorporating the PY 99/00 funding allocation into NoRTEC's JTPA program.

12. WELFARE-TO-WORK - SECOND YEAR FUNDING (ACTION)

    Planning allocations for PY 99/00 of the WtW program have been released. The planning figure for NoRTEC is $1,068,469 (about a 10% reduction of what we received in PY 1998/99). Once the planning figure becomes final, the amount will be broken out by formula for each county. While we do not know what the percentage figures are for next year, they will more than likely be close to this year's percentages.

    Using this year's percentage figures would result in the following amount being allocated to the Service Providers:

    	Del Norte	$159,210
    	Lassen/Modoc/Plumas	$237,717
    	Siskiyou	$245,053
    	Tehama	$288,365
    	Trinity	$68,675

    Recommended Action: PIC and Governing Board approval of the Chairs of each respective body to sign-off on the Welfare-to-Work Plan adjustment incorporating the PY 99/00 funding allocation into NoRTEC's Welfare-to-Work program.

13. WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT PLANNING (ACTION)

    This item has replaced the "NCEN Update" and "Legislative Update" items on prior agendas. A WIA Planning Web Site has been established to keep track of our planning activities and related WIA information: WIA Planning Web Site History: The first question to be resolved was: "What Geo-Political areas will organize locally to become Workforce Investment Areas?" Before addressing other issues related to how we want to implement the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, we had to decide who "we" is.

    After discussing the options the NCEN member counties had for applying for Workforce Investment Area designation under the new law, the consensus was for NoRTEC and NCCC to maintain their respective consortiums, and for Butte to join NoRTEC. The primary options were:

    1. Break up the consortiums and either re-group amoung the counties, and/or for some of the counties to try and go it alone, or
    2. Maintain the status quo (NCCC, NoRTEC and Butte as independent workforce investment areas), or
    3. Merge two or more of the entities into two or even one consortium (NCCC plus NoRTEC, NCCC plus Butte, NoRTEC plus Butte, or NCCC plus NoRTEC plus Butte).
    The vast geo-political area created by a full merger of the three entities was intimidating for management and oversight practicalities. Butte and NoRTEC have the most immediately compatible operations, and afford the advantages of an increased population base (from about 200,000 to over 400,000) without significantly increasing the geographic distances for management and oversight. A copy of the discussion paper and the responses from interested NCEN PIC, Governing Board, and srtaff members is posted on the NCEN WIA Planning site (look under Workforce Investment Area on the menu on that site).

    At the last NoRTEC PIC and Governing Board meeting in January, the task of developing appropriate Board of Supervisor Resolutions and a revised Joint Powers Agreement was assigned to an ad hoc subcommittee, made up of the Executive Committee and the Governing Board. The goal was to get the concurrence of the eight counties to bring in Butte County, assign interim WIA planning and decision making to the PIC and Governing Board, and apply to the State for Workforce Investment Area designation by the end of April, 1999.

    Current: The NoRTEC WIA Planning Commitee met twice; once in February and once in March, 1999. Copies of the Resolutions and the revised Joint Powers Agreement are posted on the NCEN WIA Planing site (look under Workforce Investment Area on the menu on that site).

    It appears that six of the eight counties will approve the Resolutions by the time of this meeting. The Tehama County Counsel has asked for additional time to study the Government Codes and determine if the NoRTEC JPA is in compliance. The Siskiyou County Counsel asked for a postponement of the Siskiyou Board of Supervsors approval to May 4, 1999, pending the outcome of the Tehama Counsel's investigation.

    If all goes well, the next step is to to apply for an eight county Workforce Investment Area designation. Ideally, the application will be submitted prior to June 30, 1999, so the application filing date will fall in the current program year. This will help assure that NoRTEC meets the conditions of "good standing," whch are based on the prior two program year's performance and sustained fiscal integrity. An early filing is also hoped to encourage the State to be more aggressive in pursuing regionalization of the job training system, or at least in providing financial incentives for doing so.

    RECOMMENDED ACTION: NoRTEC PIC and Governing Board approval for staff to apply to the appropriate State entity for an eight county Workforce Investment Area designation, to include the counties of Butte, Del Norte, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity.

14. FOREST COUNTIES AND SCHOOLS COALITION (ACTION)

    Lou Bosetti and Bob Reiss asked that this item be brought before the PIC and Governing Board, with a request for support. Basically, the coalition wants the sustainable use of natural resources and financial compensation for revenue loss to be used for schools, roads and other local purposes. Please refer to the attached cover letter, statement of joint principles and example letter of support. Click Here

    RECOMMENDED ACTION: PIC and Governing Board approval of the NoRTEC Director signing a letter of support for the Joint Principles of the Forest Counties and Schools Coalition.

15. COMMUNITY COORDINATORS (DISCUSSION)

    The topic of the Community Coordinators has come up informally at a couple of meetings. This item will alow an open discussion if any of the PIC or Governing Board members want to ask questions or voice an opinion.

    On a related note, we are organizing a 1 1/2 day Community Coordinator workshop for June 17 - 18, 1999, Oxford Suites, Chico. The topic will be the annual workforce development plan
    (strategic plan, re-employment plan; a plan is a plan by any other name . . . .). The goal will be to agree on some common ground rules for plan purpose and contents, so the individual county plans are useful and politically supported, and can form the basis for a regional NCEN plan.

    We have asked Jeff Lucas to organize this for us. Your ideas are welcome.

16. OLD BUSINESS (DISCUSSION)

    Old Business items may be brought up for discussion, at the pleasure of the Committee members.

17. NEW BUSINESS (DISCUSSION)
    
    1. Upcoming Meeting Schedule
       
       1. PIC and Governing Board - July 29, 1999
       2. PIC Committees - ??, 1999
    2. Additional New Business Items may be brought up for discussion, at the pleasure of the PIC/GB members.
18. ADJOURNMENT