- Fiscal court unanimously approved extending the interlocal agreement through 2031
- Agreement ensures continued access to federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funding
- Boone County plays a key role as an employment hub due to CVG
Boone County is extending an interlocal agreement with seven other counties to expand access to federal job training and employment funds across Northern Kentucky.
Correy Eimer, the associate director of workforce development at the Northern Kentucky Area Development District, presented to the fiscal court on Tuesday, April 14, asking the legislative body to renew its mandated five-year commitment to the initiative. The current agreement, last extended in 2021, expires on June 30.
“In order to continue to receive those funds, the eight counties have to agree upon an interlocal agreement,” Eimer said. “That agreement has to be reinstituted every five years,” he said. “So our current interlocal agreement is due to expire June 30 of 2026.”
The fiscal court approved a resolution to extend the interlocal agreement by five years, or until 2031. The agreement outlines governance, fiscal oversight and coordination of workforce services for job seekers and employers.
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act is a 2014 federal law designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training and support services to find success in the labor market, while also matching employers with skilled workers. Prior to its passage, Northern Kentucky operated under the framework of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, which similarly required local governments to collaborate within multi-county workforce areas.
Every year, the U.S. Department of Labor allocates funds nationwide and invests them in the public workforce system. Locally, the organization that manages these funds is the Northern Kentucky Workforce Development Board, which is overseen by the Northern Kentucky Area Development District. Eimer said the board consists of 35 members.
The board serves an eight-county collective that includes Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties, as well as the more rural counties of Owen, Gallatin, Carroll, Pendleton and Grant.
“The U.S. Department of Labor allocates funds across the country to invest in the public workforce system,” Eimer said. “Those funds trickle down from Washington D.C. to each of the 50 states, and from there it’s allotted out to the various local workforce areas. Technically speaking, the funds are under the responsibility of the eight counties of our Northern Kentucky workforce region.”
Eimer said the purpose of the interlocal agreement is to define roles and responsibilities for officials representing the participating towns; to outline a governance structure for the local Workforce Development Board; to establish fiscal oversight and liability provisions, including how health funds are managed, monitored and distributed; to establish a program to ensure compliance with federal and state WIOA regulations; and to provide a framework for collaboration to deliver coordinated Workforce Development Services to both job seekers and employers.
Boone County—Kentucky’s fourth most populous—drives workforce expansion in Northern Kentucky. It hosts the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, home to Amazon Air Hub and DHL North American Superhub, in addition to various key industrial and logistics companies. The county provides employment for tens of thousands across the Greater Cincinnati region.
As such, the county is a major recipient of federal funds because of its status as an employment hub, Judge/Executive Gary Moore said. He also noted that approximately 18,000 workers are employed at CVG.
“Boone County is one of the major recipients of the federal funds and a lot of the work, because that’s where a majority of the jobs are,” Moore said. “In the eight counties, the number of employers in Boone County – they utilize these services on a regular basis.”
