Home
About Us
Adult Basic Education Services
Archive
Bulletin Board
Calendar
Career Centers
Committees
Contact the Staff
Directions
Elected Officials
E-Mail the Board
Membership Directory
Mission Statement
New Member Page
News
Organizational Charts
Partners
Related Links
Reports
WIA Five-Year Plan
Workforce Training Fund
Youth Council
|
Archive: January 2008 Minutes
01-24-08 Executive Committee Meeting
Back to Archive Page
Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board, Inc.
Executive Committee Meeting Minutes
01/24/08
First Citizens’ Federal Credit Union – Fairhaven
Members present: Charles R. Simpson, Jr., Chair, David DeJesus, Jr., John Fernandes, David J. Ferreira, Richard Mello, Bruce Morell
Members absent: Roger Masson (called), Maria O. Pinarreta, Anthony Sapienza, Charlie Winterhalter
WIB Members present: Michael Kramer, Carl Waal
Workforce Development System staff attending: Len Coriaty, Ed Dennehy, Jean Fox, Steve Grant, Louise Pelletier
Chair Simpson called the meeting to order at 4:40 pm.
Consent Agenda:
A motion was made by Richard Mello and seconded by Bruce Morell to approve the draft Minutes of the 12/31/07 Executive Committee. The vote to approve was unanimous.
John Fernandes made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report, which reflects information through 12/31/07. The motion was seconded by Bruce Morell and unanimously carried.
Committee Updates
Business Development Committee – Len Coriaty
Charlie Winterhalter chaired the first meeting of the newly formed committee yesterday. Some new members were in attendance. Mr. Coriaty noted that he provided the committee with an overview of the WIB’s reorganization and fielded questions. Although 7 or 8 members were present at the meeting, the committee discussed ways to attract other Board members to the committee. Mr. Winterhalter is planning to call those who were absent to engage them or to discuss re-assignment. The committee will be developing an action plan that relates to the stated goals. A couple of additional meeting dates were set, and those will take place prior to the WIB’s March quarterly meeting.
Finance and Performance Measurement Committee – Bruce Morell
Mr. Morell advised the Executive Committee of two major topics that were addressed during the Finance and Performance Measurement Committee meeting earlier in the afternoon. There had been lengthy discussion on the rescission, a national cut that is estimated to reduce this year’s local WIA funding by about $90K. The impact of this cut includes the elimination of training for the balance of the year, with the exception of about $20K in DTA funding. For the time being, New Directions Southcoast, Inc. is exercising caution and expects that attrition and back-filling positions will help hold the line. They will continue to follow developments out of Washington and inform the committee.
The other topic concerned LiteracyWorks funding. Mr. Simpson reported that the city’s pledge from last year remains unpaid, despite a number of requests from the Chair himself and from WIB staff. He added that the WIB has forward-funded the initiative using about $18K in performance dollars. Discussion ensued relative to LiteracyWorks and its future in New Bedford. Mr. Fernandes expressed his concern that this funding problem reflects poorly on the city and on the institutions in New Bedford. Several committee members expressed concern that this situation affects the WIB’s credibility vis-à-vis all funding sources.
When asked by Mr. Mello if there were written records of the exchanges with the Mayor’s office, Mr. Simpson indicated that his policy is to prepare notes from all meetings and forward them to the mayor within two days. As a result, there is ample evidence of communication.
Mr. Simpson noted that the Mayor might not be conversant on how the WIB expends its budget. He shared a “flash card” that he prepared, which lists sources of funds and the respective use restrictions. He will send this information to the Mayor promptly, with a cover letter requesting a meeting. Mr. Simpson asked Mr. Morell to accompany him to the meeting with the Mayor. Mr. Morell agreed to do so.
Youth Council – John Fernandes
Mr. Fernandes reported on a meeting he had with Youth Council Director Adam Chapdelaine yesterday in connection with the Mayor’s summer jobs program. Their goal is to avoid a repeat of last-year’s last-minute scramble to find jobs for youth. They have crafted a list of potential prospects, including the Sheriff and the hospital. They also plan to sit down with Roy Nascimento of the Chamber and Tom Davis of the Business Park as part of their recruitment process. Mr. Fernandes noted that Mayor Lang has blessed the plan; it is incumbent upon the Youth Council to implement it.
Mr. Fernandes also reported that the Council is about to enter its annual RFP period. There has been discussion in the Council concerning the format and content of the RFPs and the concern that the RFPs are too all-encompassing to attract different bidders. One suggested tactic involved breaking down the RFPs into fewer elements. They are also looking into a multi-year funding process because of the disproportionate allocation of money among the various programs. Mr. Fernandes cited some noteworthy cost-per-youth discrepancies.
Mr. Fernandes noted that he plans to meet with Marc Tarpey and to attend some vendor oversight meetings in an effort to strengthen relationships. In addition, he is looking to bring in Job Corps and other members.
Finally, Mr. Fernandes emphasized the need to continue pressing for greater private sector participation. Traditional settings for youth in the city include a number of human services organizations, which lack the capacity to add kids to the payroll. John said we are also looking for more vendors and taking a multi-faceted approach.
Mr. Dennehy added that the youth frameworks effort is set to expire, requiring the issuance of an RFP.
Len Coriaty reported that the orientation and training for the new Director of Operations is progressing and explained there is a steep learning curve to climb. There is a meeting in the Mayor’s office on Monday including Ed Dennehy to discuss quality referrals to meet employer needs, and a meeting with the EDC Workforce Development Task Force tentatively scheduled for 2/15. Budget priorities for FY ’09 are being developed and they will be discussed at the legislative breakfast, 2/14. Member outreach is ongoing.
Mr. Simpson stated that Eagle Industries, new owners of the Bianco manufacturing plant, is looking to fill jobs. The WIB and ND should be meeting with him. Ed replied that the business services people are on this.
Mr. Simpson closed stating that the WIB has come a long way especially with the flow of information. We’re fully staffed. This gives us a roadmap as we have a renewed focus on staff support and member participation.
Adjourn
John Fernandes motioned to adjourn, seconded by Dave DeJesus. The meeting adjourned at 5:40 PM.
Next meeting: 02/28/08 – 4:30 pm – First Citizens’ Federal CU in Fairhaven
Respectfully submitted,
Jean Fox, LiteracyWorks Entrepreneur
and
Louise Pelletier, Director of Operations
01-24-08 Finance and Performance Measurement Committee Meeting
Back to Archive Page
Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board, Inc.
Finance and Performance Measurement Committee
01/24/08
First Citizens’ Federal Credit Union – Fairhaven
Finance and Performance Measurement Committee members present: Bruce Morell, Chair; David DeJesus, Ed Dennehy, John Fernandes, Eddie Johnson, Michael Kramer, David A. Pelletier, Susan Peterson, Charles R. Simpson, Jr., Carl Waal
Finance and Performance Measurement Committee members absent: Roger Mason (called), James Nichols, Maria Pinarreta (called), Jim Snow
WIB member in attendance: Richard Mello
Workforce Development System staff in attendance: Len Coriaty, Jean Fox, Steven Grant, Louise Pelletier, Marc Tarpey
Chair Bruce Morell called the meeting to order at 3:05pm.
- Consent Agenda:
The Minutes of the Finance Committee meeting were approved unanimously on a motion by Chuck Simpson, seconded by Carl Waal. Minutes of the 12/03/07 Performance Measurement Committee were approved unanimously on a motion by Mike Kramer, seconded by Chuck Simpson. The WIB Treasurer’s Report through 12/31/07 was presented by Steve Grant. Chuck Simpson moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report. John Fernandes seconded and it was approved unanimously.
- Fiscal Reports / Updates:
- WIB - Steve Grant noted that due to the early meeting date the financials had been reviewed very quickly, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. The budget numbers have been updated based on the changes for the modified integrated budget.
Susan Peterson asked if there were any calendar year end issues that could impact the budget. There are none. Mention was made of pending health insurance increase for New Directions of up to 22%. Ed Dennehy explained that the increase was related to being under 50 employees in total and the age of several employees – moving from 40’s to 50, or 50’s to 60, etc. Susan asked about possibility of bundling coverage with another organization. Len Coriaty explained that option was investigated when DWDA merged with the WIB and that Blue Cross gave their legal opinion that it could not be done.
- Reorganization Overview
Len Coriaty briefly touched on highlights of the new Business Development (BD) Committee’s first meeting and noted that there will now be a process for contacting absent members to inform them of the need to give notice when unable to attend. He also stated that BD members were also notified of assignments to working groups.
Chuck Simpson explained that with the reorganization members may be weeded out due to lack of participation or that the membership may be redefined to recognize “associate members.” He stated that the no-shows can cause the participating members to burn out.
Len explained the reorganization chart and highlighted the four main goals of the WIB. The main focus was on how some working groups will be formed on a seasonal basis and report back to the standing committees. He explained that working groups are intended to be populated by the entire board and hopefully led by a member of the standing committee to which they report. Len also asked members to review the Reorg. highlights before the next meeting.
- Fiscal Reports / Updates
- WIB - Steve Grant presented the fiscal report noting nothing unusual. It was stated that going forward the rescission of WIA Adult and Dislocated Worker funds would necessitate another budget modification. Since ITA limit was increased with the last modification we have now frozen the ITA account due to the expected rescission of about $90K. It was also reported that performance funds had to be opened to support ITA’s for DTA clients and that at least $20K would be used in order to reach performance goals.
A motion to accept the Financial Report was made by Chuck Simpson, seconded by John Fernandes, and carried unanimously.
- DCS - Carl Waal reported that he has heard that DOL is looking at pulling back any lag money. This would impact the DTA and Job Search – Job Readiness (JSJR) staff. He stated that in the next 3 to 4 months DCS could be looking for voluntary layoffs. The obvious impact on the career center is that people will wait longer for service.
- Ed Dennehy presented the Performance Report. He stated that numbers were very good in all areas except for DTA skills. He noted the lack of ITA funds as mentioned in the finance report, but noted that the Rapid Response grant was extended and increased by $107K and will include the Multi-Layer closing. Ed noted the high level of Career Center traffic, reporting that 401 people went through the center on January 22nd.
Dave DeJesus asked about the total number of customers and if we would exceed plan total. Ed thought the total for the year would now be close to 13,000 vs. plan of 10,500.
Eddie Johnson asked about the total number employed to date. Mr. Dennehy said the number was 749 that we know of.
A round table briefing for the Charter Review working group will be presented at 8:30 AM on Wednesday, Jan. 30th.
Motion to approve the Operations Report by John Fernandes, seconded by Sue Peterson and approved unanimously.
- Monitoring - Marc Tarpey gave a brief presentation to the committee on his monitoring activities and plans to implement more formal monitoring of the lead operator. He would welcome input from Career Center management on areas they feel would merit closer attention. He mentioned that a monitoring of UMass Dartmouth with D.O.E. was recently completed and he will be working with D.O.E. next month on New Bedford Public Schools. This is for the Adult Education program.
Eddie Johnson asked about the present number of vendors being used. Steve Grant estimated that between ITA training and the Youth programs there were probably about 30 or more active this year.
- Updates
- Mike Kramer referred to the briefing on Jan. 30th and that everything is on track.
- City Payment / Line of Credit - Steve Grant reported that a first payment of $100K was just given to the City auditor and that the remaining $150K would be paid over the next couple of months. He also noted that we did not have to use the credit line as yet.
- New Business
- Literacy Works Funding - Len Coriaty gave a brief history on this challenge grant that was funded by CommCorp with the condition of securing matching funds. $30K was pledged and paid by the Boston Foundation and $30K was pledged but remains unpaid from City of New Bedford. The City portion has, to date, been forward funded from reserve funds.
Discussion centered on recent efforts to get the City to make good on its pledge, and how efforts to secure 2nd year funding will be negatively impacted if the first year pledges are not met. Chuck Simpson read his recent letter to the Mayor and was informed around Christmas that the Mayor was working on it. Jean Fox mentioned her efforts and noted that the Mayor was looking for the School Superintendent to support the pledge. To date there has been no positive response from the superintendent.
Chuck Simpson noted that he has often been told “You (WIB) have plenty of money over there so take care of it.” He then read from a summary of a meeting with the Mayor regarding anticipating training needs for city residents. He passed out copies of a flash card on WIB funding to be given to the Mayor to help explain that virtually all funding is restricted and we have to retain enough money to forward fund many programs during the year. He explained that he hopes he can end the assumption that the WIB has money to pay for City programs.
Chuck suggested he and Bruce arrange another meeting with Mayor Lang to secure the LiteracyWorks funding.
Dave Pelletier made a motion to set up the meeting, Sue Peterson seconded and it was approved.
- Louise Pelletier briefly discussed the need to start the process for setting up the Working Group for the annual planning process. She reiterated that a key component of the working groups is having a standing committee member to head it up.
- Adjourn:
Noting the time Bruce asked for a motion to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 4:37pm on a motion by Chuck Simpson, seconded by Susan Peterson.
Next meeting: 2/28/08 – 3:00 pm – First Citizens’ Federal CU in Fairhaven
Respectfully submitted,
Steve Grant
Director of Finance
01-23-08 Business Development Committee
Back to Archive Page
Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board, Inc.
Business Development Committee
Meeting Minutes
01/23/08
Greater New Bedford Career Center
Committee members in attendance: Charlie Winterhalter, Chair; Paul Correia, Michelle Hantman, Lisa Lemieux, Roy Nascimento, Michael Shea
Committee members absent: Larry Bennett, James Butler, Thomas Davis, Andrew Guilbeault, Peter Kavanaugh, Michael Maltais, Charles Ryan, Charles Sisson, Marilyn Whalley, William Whelan, Jr.
Resource Development Team members in attendance: Debora Britton-Flores, Eddie Johnson; Robert Ward, Jr.
Workforce Development System staff attending: Craig Baker, Len Coriaty, Ed Dennehy, Steven Grant, Louise Pelletier
Meeting start: 1:15pm
Chairman Charlie Winterhalter welcomed the group and said he will be actively looking for a vice chair. He recommended any new members to the WIB go through a formal orientation, if at all possible before the March 19th quarterly meeting of the WIB.
He said we will work hard in the beginning to develop a Business Development plan (of 2-3 pages) and that working groups will be established to handle and recommend with more focus how we can help support and achieve the overarching WIB goals.
He said this should not be a cumbersome process, but will enable most, if not all of the members to take an active role in its development. The idea is to develop preliminary thinking and materials for the March WIB meeting.
Craig Baker reviewed and discussed the WIB reorganization with the group. Charlie Winterhalter said we are really three (3) teams that will come together to develop those recommendations and discussion points for the board related to business development.
The three teams being: Resource Development, Marketing, and Economic Development.
Individuals in the group discussed what team they would be most comfortable.
Next meeting will be the same location at 8:15am on Tuesday, February 12, 2008.
Adjourned – 2:05pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Craig Baker
Director of Development
© 2001 Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board, Inc.
227 Union Street, Suite 206, New Bedford, MA 02740-5946
PH 508.979.1504 • FAX 508.979.5680
E-mail:
Webmaster@gnbwib.org
|
