GLASGOW — The new federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act gives local public officials greater accountability in the delivery of workforce services than did the previous federal rules. 

On Wednesday, three judge-executives from southcentral Kentucky counties tried to flex their political authority and grab even more power than the state of Kentucky thinks they should have.

A 6-3 vote thwarted an attempt by Chief Local Elected Official/Barren County Judge-Executive Micheal Hale, Hart County’s Terry Martin, and Metcalfe County’s Greg Wilson to be included in the process in selecting a service provider. 

“We want to make sure we have some input,” Martin said. 

“We need this group to be involved,” Hale added.

Voting to block the idea were Allen County’s Johnny Hobdy, Edmonson County’s Wil Cannon, Logan County’s Logan Chick, Warren County’s Mike Buchanon, Butler County’s David Fields and Simpson County’s Jim Henderson. Most of the rest of the meeting in Barren County marked approval by the judge-executives of various contracts, plans and paperwork as the workforce delivery system continues to evolve under the new federal and state rules.

Had the vote gone the other way, the LEOs would have apparently overstepped their authority, officials said.

The service provider, according to the rules, is selected by the South Central Workforce Development Board, not the judge-executives. 

The judge-executives offer recommendations of people to serve on the workforce board and have the power to yank someone off the board if they so choose.

The regional workforce board last week hired a consultant who will help develop the request for proposal for the service provider. An RFP will also be developed for what are called “one-stop” services. The “one-stop” operations, one in Bowling Green and one in Glasgow, are under the umbrella of Kentucky Career Center and are staffed by personnel who offer resources and training to people seeking a job because they feel they are under-employed or who are simply out of work.

Barren River Area Development District is currently the service provider and will continue in that role past July 1. However, the local elected officials approved the city of Bowling Green to act as the workforce board’s fiscal agent starting July 1. Work has begun on a written agreement between the workforce board and BRADD spelling out who does what and how performance will be measured. Workforce board Chairman Ron Sowell told the public officials that his board is working hard to get all the paperwork done so that workforce services will continue in the region. 

Hale, who chaired the meeting on the third floor of the Barren County Government Center, said the LEOs’ approval Wednesday of two state contracts – $3,585,421 for workforce services provide by BRADD, and a $673,724 for trade adjustment assistance and training – were the bulk of the Wednesday workload.

The public officials said they had concerns that the new workforce board might lose interest like the previous one did. 

“This board has to stay involved and engaged,” said Wilson, who also chairs the BRADD executive committee.

Buchanon said the previous board’s private sector representatives drifted away because they could never get the input they wanted. “They had no purpose. They just did what the management told them to do,” Buchanon said.

— Follow business reporter Charles A. Mason @BGDNbusiness or visit bgdailynews.com.