Decorah Workforce Development Office is again facing closing

The Decorah office of Iowa Workforce is again facing the chopping block.  Governor Terry Branstad's proposed state budget does not include funding for field offices of Iowa Workforce.  Those field offices—unlike the regional Iowa Workforce offices—are funded with state money, not federal money.  The state workforce offices help Iowans search for jobs, prepare for interviews, improve their skills and help businesses find qualified employees.

In 2011 Governor Terry Branstad recommended the closing of field offices, saying the services they offer could be handled by computer kiosks at libraries throughout the state.  The Iowa legislature disagreed and passed a funding measure that specified funds for the field offices.  Branstad vetoed the language that specified how the funds would be spent—but kept the funds in the state budget.  Legislators sued the governor—and won.  A judge ruled that "The Governor [can] not let the appropriation stand yet nullify the condition upon which the legislators gave their consent to the expenditure."

This year's state budget does not include money for the field offices.  State Assemblyman Roger Thomas of Elkader says it's likely the legislature will once again take up a measure to specify funding for the field offices.  He notes that the Decorah field office provides personal service for people looking for jobs and saves those people having to drive to Waterloo or Dubuque to get such service.  Not only that, says Thomas, "It's more of a service to businesses there," since the Workforce office helps businesses to find employees.

Thomas is urging the public to call the Governor's Office at (515) 281-5211 to voice their concerns on the importance of funding the Decorah Workforce office—and to head off another veto by the governor and another court fight.  He says such public pressure has worked on issues in the past and pressure on the governor this time around could work again.