Governor’s veto puts the Workforce Investment Board on tighter budget.

By E.J. Schultz / The Fresno Bee

A tight budget year just got tighter for the Fresno County Workforce Investment Board, which is losing about $840,000 in worker training funds as a result of a Gov. Schwarzenegger budget veto.

When combined with other cutbacks, the loss means the board’s budget will drop from $28 million last year to $23 million for the year that began July 1.

The bottom line for county residents is fewer employment training opportunities.

About 15,000 people will be served this year, down from 20,000 last year, estimated Blake Konczal, the board’s executive director.

The $840,000 loss is rooted in a funding formula change that in effect takes money away from rural counties in favor of urban counties.

The change was made in 2004 when the federal government, in a cost-cutting move, decided to no longer collect mass layoff data on agricultural and government workers.

The state uses the information when distributing federal money to work force investment boards. Boards use the money to retrain laid-off workers.

The omission translates to a loss of more than $3 million for 21 mostly rural counties -- including Fresno and Tulare -- that have a high percentage of ag workers.

The Schwarzenegger administration stepped in last year to fill the gap with other training dollars.

There were no plans to repeat the move this year.

The Legislature stepped in, including language in the state budget to restore the funding.

But Schwarzenegger reversed the decision on June 30, axing the language in a veto as he signed the budget.

“I agree that the concern addressed by this language has merit, but it would not solve the underlying issue of fairness with regard to the division of funds based on mass layoff data,” the governor said in his veto message.

He made reference to an ongoing study of the problem that is expected to be complete in November.

Work force development officials are examining the formula and could recommend ways to once again count ag and government workers.

But “that report will come too late this year to help us, even if it comes out in our favor,” said Assembly Member Juan Arambula, D-Fresno.

“I believe the governor either misunderstood or received bad advice,” he said. “The result of the governor’s veto is that the urban areas get more money and rural areas get less help.”

The administration points to a separate pot of money that boards like Fresno’s can use to plug the gap.

It’s a “reasonable approach to dealing with the funding shortfall,” said Brian McMahon, executive director of the California Workforce Investment Board.

But Konczal said that solution isn’t viable. The money must be applied for on an as-needed basis -- to respond to an unexpected factory closing, for example. The Fresno board wants a more permanent funding source.

“We don’t want to have to come back to the state year after year asking for money,” Konczal said. “This is not a permanent solution to this problem. The solution is that ag workers should and must be counted.”

It’s especially important as the changing ag economy produces more layoffs, he said. Technology upgrades, land fallowing and global competition have all resulted in permanent layoffs, Konczal said. That contradicts the widely held view that all ag layoffs are seasonal, he said.

Even people who are laid off on a temporary basis seek help from the board.

Justin Silva lost his farm job at a west Fresno County ranch last September, as he had for the previous several years. But this time he had had enough.

“My kids needed a better role model than just a dad working in the fields, so I decided to go to school,” said the 24-year-old.

With the help of the Fresno board he got trained in welding. He recently landed a job making $22 an hour, more than three times as much as his old job.

“I learned the right way,” he said of his new profession. “And I’m pretty good at it.”

The reporter can be reached at eschultz@fresnobee.com or (916) 326-5541.