WGCJTA decision expected soon
The state Department of Labor & Industry asked for some additional information and data before making a final determination on its year-long audit of a nonprofit job training agency’s allocation of salaries.
In January, L&I released preliminary findings that questioned $1.13 million in spending during the past four years by the Washington-Greene County Job Training Agency, which is also the fiscal agent for the Southwest Corner Workforce Investment Board.
WGCJTA is a nonprofit agency that is not part of the county governments in its service area. It uses local, state and federal funds to help residents at all income levels in Washington, Greene and Beaver counties through a variety of programs, including those re-entering the workforce, veterans, those who recently lost a job as well as others who are starting their own businesses.
The nine commissioners from the three counties oversee the WIB.
The latest request for additional information came from an April 22 meeting in Harrisburg with L&I Acting Secretary Kathy Manderino by five commissioners and Ami Gatts, who now heads WGCJTA.
The remainder of the commissioners were present through teleconferencing.
L&I’s review, which began last spring, focused on $981,200 in costs the department said were allocated for executive salaries and expensed to various WGCJTA projects the department said were “not based on relative benefit to the funding streams overseen by the Southwest Corner Investment Board.”
The review found the amount in question was mostly used to cover salaries for former director David Suski, who left the agency in June, and Linda Bell, who succeeded Suski as director but retired in March, as well as salaries for other staffers.
Attorney Will White, who is solicitor for the nine-member board of commissioners or Chief County Elected Officials, said Tuesday he expects WGCJTA to respond to L&I’s requests within the next two weeks.
White said he expects L&I to send its final determination letter about two weeks later.
“I’m hopeful we will have the matter amicably resolved before the end of the fiscal year,” he said during the WIB’s third quarter board meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn, Southpointe, which was attended by Manderino.
While she didn’t address her department’s investigation, Manderino, who had previously served as a state representative from the Philadelphia area, and was appointed to head L&I by Gov. Tom Wolf following his November election victory, explained to WIB members the expanse of her department.
She noted that L&I has an annual budget in excess of $1 billion and has 5,000 employees.
While workforce development “plays a significant role” for L&I, Manderino noted that it is responsible for administering everything from occupational and vocational rehabilitation programs to boiler inspections.
She added that Wolf wants to see Pennsylvanians have every opportunity to obtain good jobs.
“We have a governor who absolutely believes in workforce development and jobs that pay well,” she said, adding that her department has been charged with incorporating new federal workforce innovations “to reshape workforce development in Pennsylvania to meet the needs of business and workers.”
Following the meeting, White repeated his confidence that a resolution should be coming soon from the CLEO board’s discussions with Manderino and her department.
While its isn’t known what level of reimbursement of funds the CLEO board will be responsible for, White stressed that despite the allegation that the salaries may have been misappropriated, WGCJTA’s delivery of services across the three counties was never in question.
“It has nothing to do with service delivery; it’s more of a bookkeeping and administrative type of thing,” he said.