Athens-Clarke County commissioners recently were briefed on a draft proposal calling for a $1.2 million outlay of federal dollars for local economic development programming.
The Business Development and Workforce Support Task Force, co-chaired by Commissioners Carol Myers and Tiffany Taylor, is proposing to use the funding for seven initiatives.
The outlay, if approved by commissioners at their Aug. 6 voting meeting, would support efforts to increase work and apprenticeship programs on local taxpayer-funded construction projects; support high-quality local childcare; expand access to capital for “impact businesses” focused on social and environmental change; increase employee-owned businesses; establish opportunities aimed at minority-, women-, and veteran-owned businesses, along with other special categories of business owners; provide education on worker rights; and, help provide healthcare job education opportunities through the local Innovative Healthcare Institute.
The plan would provide one-time allocations of $150,000 to each initiative, except a one-time $300,000 allocation to Quality Care for Children, which works directly with childcare providers, parents and children.
Other funding within the seven outlined initiatives would go to the Economic Justice Coalition in Athens, the Atlanta-based Georgia Center for Employee Ownership, and the Carrollton-based Georgia Cooperative Development Center, which supports the start-up of member-owned co-op businesses.
The task force proposal is up for consideration at the Athens-Clarke County Commission’s Aug. 6 voting meeting.
The $1.2 million in requested funding would come from the $57.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money allocated to Athens-Clarke County as part of a $1.9 trillion nationwide economic stimulus package approved by Congress in 2021 to bolster the country’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Commissioners have earmarked $3.8 million in ARPA funding for workforce development. Half of that money was steered by the commission earlier this year to Athens Achieves, a workforce initiative spearheaded by the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce.
Athens Achieves will use the $1.9 million as seed money for a program that will focus initially on linking jobseekers with local opportunities through an online jobs portal. The portal will be augmented by “navigators” who will keep job applicants engaged during the hiring process.
Beyond that, Athens Achieves – a coalition of local business, government, education and community leaders -- will work to provide workforce education and training support, business and industry engagement, and communication and marketing support.
Those efforts will be focused on the five strategic employment sectors targeted by the county -- biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, advanced manufacturing research and development, craft beverages, healthcare and life sciences, and the creative economy – as its focus for economic development.
The commission task force effort began in earnest just a few months ago, with membership including the head of the county’s Department of Economic Development, the president/CEO of the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, and representatives of the minority business and social service communities. The task force’s work was guided with the help of a local leadership development consulting firm.
Myers indicated that the entities targeted for funding with the requested $1.2 million in ARPA dollars are aware that their shares are a one-time outlay, and that they’ll need to find other funding to continue the proposed initiative beyond the federal funding.
ARPA dollars must be in place by Dec. 31.
Myers expressed a desire that “if possible, to combine this (task force proposal) with the Chamber” proposal for an overarching approach to business development and workforce support.
To that end, Myers is recommending that $300,000 of the $683,000 that will remain in ARPA workforce funding if the task force proposal is approved to be steered to a Chamber of Commerce elementary school third-grade reading goal program.
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