The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in workshop session on July 13, 1995, at 12:50 p.m. in the Government Center Multipurpose Room, Building C, 2725 St. Johns Street, Melbourne, Florida. Present were: Chairman Nancy Higgs, Commissioners Truman Scarborough, Randy O'Brien, and Mark Cook and County Manager Tom Jenkins. Absent were: Commissioner Ellis and County Attorney Scott Knox.

PRESENTATION, RE: PRIVATE INDUSTRY COUNCIL

Don Noren, President of the Private Industry Council (PIC), introduced the members of the Executive Committee, Tom Kasica, Leo Roselip, Jeff Schiff, Charles Tombleson, and LeAnn Jones. He stated the Board of County Commissioners is interested in accountability, and the citizens of the community are looking for more local control. He noted in the history of American employment training programs, no program has ever been as heavily audited or monitored as is the current JTPA program; the volunteer Board of Directors constantly monitors and improves the budget; and not less than two State monitoring visits a year are required of JTPA. He stated the PIC is required to have one external audit by a CPA firm; until last year the State paid all the fees for that audit; and the Private Industry Council has never been cited with any finding of any disallowed costs and has never been required to return any monies to the state or federal government. He stated in each of the years he has been with PIC, performance standards have been set at the national level and the Governor has set six core performance standards which have to be met by every private industry council engaged in the JTPA program; and information has been provided on the performance standards. He stated the PIC is required to meet all six performance standards or face State sanctions; but PIC has always exceeded the required performance standards, and has been the recipient of funds from the Governor's discretionary funds. He stated the Job Link Centers are in the vanguard of leadership in the United States; under the current law, the County is a partner and the concurring authority; and there is a long-standing Agreement with the County which makes PIC the administrative entity for these programs. He stated PIC has put together all the partners having any involvement with employment and training programs; and the Job Link Centers have career specialists, counselors from the Jobs and Benefits Office, representatives of the Unemployment Office, Veterans Office, Project Independence, and Family and Credit Counseling Service, an academic counselor from Brevard Community College, and a GED Testing Office. He stated all employees have been cross trained; and individuals coming to PIC will get service to get back into the workforce as quickly as possible. He stated Brevard County is so far ahead of the rest of the country that it has two full Job Link Centers, and the only one that is on the campus of a community college. He noted the State of Maryland just received a planning and implementation grant to put together some one-stop centers, and it is just talking about putting a center on a college campus. He advised PIC recently received a $350,000 grant from the United States Department of Labor to become a national learning lab for the rest of the country for the Job Link Centers; and exciting programs will come from that grant. He stated PIC plans to put together a distance learning network which will connect all of the Career Centers, all Jobs and Benefits career centers and Brevard Community College into one network; through that network it will be possible to do training, classroom seminars, workshops, and meetings; and the entire County can be connected through that network. He stated the key to the County's role is with respect to the federal legislation and the State initiatives; the federal legislation is moving forward; and there is a pro-active role for the local elected officials in the pending legislation. Mr. Noren stated a lot of the programs will be brought together and put into a block grant; and that will eliminate a lot of duplication. He stated the State initiatives do not agree with thefederal initiatives; there are initiatives in Tallahassee which undermine the local control and involvement; and the Governor has drafted an Executive Order that eliminates the role of the local elected officials, and puts the decision making in the hands of the Governor's Office or some other office under the political control of Tallahassee. He advised the people believe that local control is essential because no one knows the labor market in Brevard County better than those who live here; and the Board should pay close attention to what is going on in Tallahassee with respect to the programs. He stated the County needs to be more pro-active; he is pleased that Assistant County Manager for Community Services Joan Madden sits on the Private Industry Council Board as an ex-officio member representing the County; and he would like to have the Commission have its own representative on the PIC Board, so it will know what needs to be done. He advised of funding reductions in all federal programs, and activities taking place at this time for employees and employers; and stated the PIC is heading off into other directions beyond just JTPA. He stated that is another reason the designation of a Workforce Development Board makes sense in the new economy because workforce development encompasses more than just the JTPA program; and PIC has been doing a lot of workforce issues in the last several years. He noted there is a Workforce Coalition consisting of 36 organizations throughout the County; that is what the federal legislation encourages local communities to do; and the PIC did that two years ago. He stated the Coalition will work with the County to develop policies and strategies that are relevant and needed. He noted the Board is aware of the layoffs that are occurring and will occur during the next program year; and encouraged the Board to review the material he provided. He stated from July 1, 1994 through June 30, 1995, the 2,037 customers were served; 414 people have been placed in jobs; there are still 1,444 people currently in training; and the average salary per hour is in excess of $8.50.

Chairman Higgs inquired when will the new federal legislation will come down; with Mr. Noren responding there are three key bills that relate to the employment and training issue; and one of those bills or some combination of the three bills will be enacted in this session. He advised of the status of the bills. He stated two of the bills have a transition period to 1997 before the block grant begins; and the other bill begins in 1998. Chairman Higgs inquired how does the County use PIC for economic development. Mr. Noren stated he discussed that issue with EDC Executive Director Lynda Weatherman; there is economic development which involves Ms. Weatherman going into another labor market; and the PIC is interested in economic enhancement. He noted the federal government does not allow the PIC to fund economic generating activities; and in order to do joint projects with EDC, they must be economic enhancement activities which is working with local companies to help them strengthen and build their workforce. He stated PIC can provide assistance to employers; if an employer hires an employee through PIC, he can be reimbursed up to 50% of that person's wages for a specified period of training; that allows employers to save money, cut costs, and perhaps expand and buy needed equipment; and that is economic enhancement.

Jeff Schiff stated many of the people being laid off have been on the job for years; and described the difficulties dislocated employees experience. He stated the PIC programs are playing a vital role because there have been more layoffs in the electronic sector this year than he can ever remember.

Mr. Noren advised dislocated workers can come into the Job Link Center and use an office with a desk and telephone; and they can use the telephone to call employers throughout the United States to set up appointments for interviews. He stated there is access to 64 newspapers throughout the country to provide the job listings; and they recently started with the Internet.

Chairman Higgs stated the Board is concerned that people are being laid off and companies are leaving; and it wants to be sure people have a chance for jobs; and she would like to know what the PIC can do. Mr. Leo Roselip stated the PIC is the trainer of the people; and it needs more industry available for training. Mr. Noren stated surveys are being done to see what occupations are in demand and will be in demand; and the PIC works with the State and with BCC on that. Mr. Roselip stated the PIC is recycling what it has; and it gets back to economic development, and what can be done to bring more business into Brevard County. He stated the County is looking for manufacturing rather than more retailing; there is a good base for in-service job in retail; but the question is whether that is the job level the County is trying to bring in. He stated what is needed is more jobs for all people; and what PIC is doing is retraining what it has. Chairman Higgs stated if those people can be ready for new businesses, that is part of the economic development; and companies will not come if people cannot be trained. Mr. Noren advised only the individuals, not the job positions, are being recycled; and the PIC is prohibited by law from putting individuals back into the same job they came out of. Mr. Roselip stated it is a retraining of the people. Chairman Higgs stated if the people are here to do the jobs, companies may come. Mr. Noren agreed it is possible to bring wonderful companies to the County, but if there is not an educated, flexible workforce, they will not be able to keep those jobs. Mr. Roselip stated the County has that workforce. Mr. Noren stated the County has the bodies, but they are not trained; and there is evidence of that in the McDonnell Douglas layoff. He stated of the 230 people in the first wave of layoffs, 198 are in some type of training because they are not qualified to get a job. He noted 32 people have been placed in jobs, but some of those have been in Alabama and Louisiana. Charles Tombleson stated in November, 1994, the University of Florida announced that every manufacturing job creates and supports 3.2 service jobs; and the focus needs to be on manufacturing, which is the key to enhanced community development.

Commissioner Scarborough inquired if there is any further information on what the Governor is doing and the bills that are being considered. Mr. Noren responded he will provide a comparison of the three federal bills and a draft of the Executive Order. Commissioner Scarborough inquired if the Legislature will not be doing this, and is it something only the Governor can do; with Mr. Noren responding affirmatively. Commissioner Scarborough stated he would like to get that information; and the Board may want to send something to the Governor expressing concern.

Chairman Higgs thanked the members of the Private Industry Council for their presentation.

Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 1:18 p.m.

ATTEST:

SANDY CRAWFORD, CLERK

( S E A L )

NANCY N. HIGGS, CHAIRMAN

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA