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Council pauses WIA implementation as city attorney, workforce board debate liability and governance
Summary
Council members heard competing accounts of governance and liability for the upcoming Workforce Investment Act transition and agreed to continue the item one day so parties could finalize a Local Elected Officials (LEO)/WIB agreement.
The City Council on March 28 held a lengthy briefing on the city—s transition from JTPA to the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA), halting final approval and continuing the item one day to allow the city attorney, Workforce Investment Board representatives and department staff to resolve outstanding legal language.
Anne Gianni of the Community Development Department summarized the documents the state requires for the July 1 WIA start: a five-year plan, a memorandum of understanding among mandatory partners and a JTPA closeout plan. She told the council the closeout estimate includes roughly $2.5 million of expected costs and an estimated $5.5 million that may roll into WIA funds.
City Attorney Jessica Hines warned council members that under the draft the Workforce Investment Board (WIB) would make primary funding decisions while legal liability from those decisions would rest with the city. "The liability for those decisions would rest with the city," Hines said, and the proposed agreement would make clear the final decision rests with the council while indemnifying the private WIB for their role.
Charlie Wu, interim president of the WIB, told the council the private-sector board needs clear, understandable rules to recruit business members and said he had not seen some of the latest draft language until the morning of the meeting. Wu said the LEO (local elected official) agreement was not required in the April 1 submission for the five-year plan and MOUs but that the parties were trying to finalize language.
Council members expressed urgency because the city—s application and business plan were due in Sacramento by April 1. Several members supported a short continuance to allow staff and the parties to finalize the LEO agreement; the council agreed to continue the item for one day so the parties could complete the document and return for confirmation.
Action: Council continued the WIA/LEO agreement for one day to allow final negotiations and directed staff to work with the city attorney and the WIB to resolve outstanding governance and liability language prior to resubmission to the state.
