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Alamo Workforce Development
Board Action Taken Recently
BY
COMMISSIONER TOMMY ADKISSON
Court Comments
April 16, 2002
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A fellow family lawyer once told me that she found it hard to have a serious fight with her spouse when she was holding his hand. Part of the difficulty with Alamo Workforce Development Board (AWD) is that it is not holding hands with any of its partners that I know of. And, I am one of the Committee of Six Members. Committeee of Six consists of myself, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, Bandera County Judge Richard A. Evans, Medina County Judge David F. Montgomery, City of San Antonio Mayor Ed Garza, City of San Antonio Councilman Enrique M. Barrera. I can only assume that non-Committee of Six members who sit on our respective elected bodies are even less connected, even though they make possible my membership on the Committee of Six.
With the Partnership Agreement among the Partners, Bexar County, the City of San Antonio and the surrounding area counties yet to be finalized, our Workforce Development Board has acted in a manner that is disconnected in terms of communication if not downright rash in terms of the action it took.
I have spoken with Alan Miller, Executive Director of AWD about the need to communicate among the Partners with AWD and its Board. The fact that there are 25 members appointed in a rubix cube manner and acting as tripartite appointees of the County, City and Area County Judges from the surrounding counties, makes communication all the more challenging. Despite my respect and appreciation for the work of our appointees, I believe that few board members feel connected to their appointing officials and few public officials feel connected to their own appointees at AWD.
As a consequence of the complexity of the appointment process, the economically challenged parts of Bexar County have had to struggle to gain membership on the AWD Board. It appears that the Texas Legislature has over-regulated workforce boards by prescribing an impossible array of criteria by which they must be appointed. So the best possible appointees oftentimes are incapable of being appointed because they fail to satisfy a narrow, legislatively-proscribed qualification of eligibility for service.
Locally owned or operated is something everyone can appreciate. But locally owned or operated can never be an excuse for underperformance. In the case of our locally operated contractor, SER the performance is outstanding. Reward and not penalty should be the result of a good performance. In my opinion, the action of AWD did not follow this fundamental principle. And it is this approach to which I am dutibound to speak and object.
The fact that the AWD presides over the expenditure of around $100,000,000 per year makes this process all the more important. I am asking that we direct our Intergovernmental Relations Manager to work with the Court and local delegation to seek corrective legislation in the next session of the Legislature. In the meantime, a healthy dose of regular communications should provide us with the ability to exchange differing views, educate one another and establish sound policy direction for our County and our region. |
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