Welcome to the Website of the Workforce Development System of Oswego County!

1. Welcome: Dave Vickery called the meeting to order.

A quorum was established with 17 present out of 31.

2. Approval of the September 28, 2011 minutes.

A motion was made by Ed Mervine and seconded by Mike Treadwell to approve the minutes as presented. The motion was carried.

3. Approval of committee reports: A motion was made by Ed Mervine and seconded by Mike Treadwell to approve the reports that were emailed to members the previous week. The motion was carried.

4. Executive Committee Report: Dave Vickery reported that the committee met on

December 7, 2011. The Executive Committee acting as the nominating committee discussed the slate of candidates for officers.

Jeff Grimshaw presented the results of the Strategic Planning survey process.

The NYS Department of Labor auditor, Joe Sorbello, has retired.

Financial Report: Connie Smith reported on the profit and loss statement through November 2011. Income and expenses have both caught up since the last meeting and are now both on pace. The Youth Summit generated a small surplus, which will provide some seed money for next year’s event.

A motion was made by Dr. Larson and seconded by Eric Behling to approve the financial reports as presented. The motion was carried.

Performance/Spending – Performance: Gregg Heffner reported that eight of nine Common Measures are being achieved for the first quarter of program year 2011. The Youth Literacy/Numeracy did not include any data. Older youth testing as basic skills deficient are required to raise math and/or reading levels two grade levels or above the 8.9 level in order to count positively. Currently, we have four youth in the counts but they are not due to test until the second half of the program year.

Customer Service Indicators:

Customers Receiving an Initial Assessment: 95% of all customers must receive Initial Assessment and no more than 10% of unemployment insurance customers must exit while receiving unemployment insurance. The goal is 95% and 10% or less. The actual performance is 99.4% and 0.9 achievement.

Customers in training who have an Individual Employment Plan:
The year-end goal is 95%. At the time the data was compiled, the actual performance was 93.8%. The October report was released on December 2, 2011 and shows this measure is now being achieved.

National Work Readiness Credential (NWRC)-Out of School Youth. The goal is 30% of new out-of-school youth enrolled in WIA programs must be enrolled in training and 50% of these youth must pass the NWRC exam. Actual performance: No data to report as youth were just enrolling in the first quarter. Year-to-date, five out-of-school youth have been enrolled in youth programs. All five have been enrolled in training for the NWRC but will not test until the second half of the program year.

Serving the Emerging Business Customer Base – this is a regional measure for Onondaga, Oswego, Oneida and Cayuga/Cortland counties. 95% of the top 50 businesses in the regional must receive a service from the One Stop centers each month. No data was reported for the first quarter.

Spending: Gregg Heffner reported on the program funding for period 7/1/10 through 09/30/11. Spending levels are on track for the first quarter. Overall 93% is obligated for the adult program, 56% is obligated for the youth, 81% is obligated for the dislocated worker, 144% is obligated for administration. The overall WIA obligation is 77%. The obligations are on target.

Wage Subsidy Program: Through September 30, 2011 $340,555 has been earned in Wage Subsidy funding. $189,500 has been earned for achievement of benchmarks and $150,955 is to be paid in subsidies to local employers. $61,543 of the $1389,500 earned revenue for achievement of benchmarks has been obligated to cover the overage in the administration line.

Statewide Special Funding: DEI is 100% obligated, Trade Act 09 is 93% obligated, and Trade Act 10 is 97% obligated.

One-Stop Center Update: Gregg Heffner updated the committee on One-Stop Center activities. 2,995 individuals have been served through the first quarter. 1,076 individuals entered employment through the end of the first quarter.

WIA re-authorization continues to be negotiated at the federal level. The program is operating on a Continuing Resolution (CR) – programs lacking reauthorization are at greater risk of being cut from the federal budget. Current WIA funding is very tight. Anticipate funding will be fully committed early in the second half of the program year.

Jeff Grimshaw mentioned that he and Chris Weaver attended a seminar hosted by Congressman Bill Owens at St. Lawrence University with other One Stop center administrators from across the State. Congressman Owens is looking at other federal funding sources, such as the USDA for funding while waiting for WIA funding to take place.

Gregg continued to report the One Stop has accepted five “tickets” under the Social Security Ticket-to-Work program – continue to work with these individuals to secure employment.

NYS released the Common Measure (Federal) and System Improvement Indicator (NYS) goals for program year 2011 (July 1, 2011 – June 30, 2012). The Common Measures remain the same; the System Improvement Indicators have some changes which will be included in the performance report.

Rapid Response services were provided to employees laid off at Oswego Hospital and Birds Eye Foods. A job fair was held for Birds Eye employees on site at the plant.

One Stop staff worked with partner agencies to hold a “Disability Mentoring Day” on October 27, 2011.

Plans are being developed to use the Metrix Distance Learning System Metrix system to respond to local employer needs.

Economic Development News: Mike Treadwell, executive director of Operation Oswego County, reported that the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council awarded 103 million dollars to various businesses in central New York, including Oswego County, for economic development projects.

5. Director’s Report: Jeff Grimshaw reported that the Executive Committee acted as the nominating committee for officers to the Full Board. The nominees are as follows: David Vickery as chair; Don Unger, vice chair and Connie Smith as treasurer.

A motion was made by Bruce Phelps and seconded by Roy Clark to accept the current officers to another two-year term. The motion was carried.

Jeff Grimshaw gave an overview of the survey results from the online survey of the Workforce Board goals and objectives ranking for the strategic plan. Twelve out of 31 members responded to the survey.

Marketing seemed to be a common theme of importance.

Jeff reported that a marketing committee was formed and they had their first meeting two weeks ago.

6. Annual Report: Jeff Grimshaw and Chris Weaver presented the 2010-2011 Workforce Development annual report.

7. Workforce Spotlight: Brian Lee and Valerie Swinson, NY Wired for Education, presented information on “Sector Based Skill Upgrading Through Technology”.

8. The next meeting will be held Wednesday, March 28, 2012 – 8 a.m., 118A Rich Hall.

December 14, 2011