Development Department
Workforce
Delta Council continues to support the activities and structure of the Delta Workforce Investment Area. The programs administered in the Delta counties by DWIA are fundamental to the employers and employees in terms of workforce training and workforce readiness opportunities. The Delta WIA has wisely managed federal, state, and community workforce programs that have created a system that allow more businesses the opportunity to access workforce services and allow more training opportunities for their employees. Delta Council also supports the current method of fund allocation for the Workforce Investment Areas that relies on unemployment, income, economic hardship, and other indices so that those areas most in need of these workforce services will be targeted.
Delta Council also remains supportive of the training efforts that are carried out by the community colleges in the region. We appreciate the added support that Senator Thad Cochran has been able to give to our region’s businesses and employees in the past, through a special workforce allocation to the Capps Center (Mississippi Delta Community College). These funds have been used to enhance training opportunities across the region above and beyond standard state and federal programs. These funds allow the Delta to create special emphasis on specialized projects that have made a significant difference.
Delta Council specifically appreciates the efforts of the Office of the Governor, the Mississippi House of Representatives and the Mississippi Senate for the establishment of a pilot program in the Delta aimed at demonstrating methods for the creation of a “one stop” concept for workforce training and education programs. This concept was extended to employers and employees, both existing and prospective, in the Mississippi Delta region. The pilot project offered an opportunity for the Delta Workforce Investment Area, the Mississippi Development Authority, the Mississippi Department of Employment Services, the Community Colleges serving the region, and the business leadership of Delta Council to examine the most effective methods for delivering workforce training in a seamless manner, without disrupting existing individual funding sources. The mission should continue to be to create the most positive outcomes for job retention and job creation in the region, and we are pleased that these outcomes were being met through the Delta Workforce Training Project.
In early 2013, the Mississippi Development Authority completely funded and revamped the concept of the Delta Workforce Training Pilot Project, making it a one-shareholder entity (MDA) and expanding the counties that the newly branded "workforce specialists" will serve to beyond the Delta Council region. Delta Council appreciates MDA seeing the need for a heightened program of work in workforce development, which will only help this region, and utilizing the concept of the Pilot Project that was created and supported by Delta leaders and organizations. We continue to believe that the hallmarks of the initial Delta Workforce Pilot Project - an accountability report to a Cabinet comprised of business leaders and workforce stakeholders and the need to act with a sense of urgency on pressing workforce needs in the region with our employers and employees - should be strongly considered by MDA as they transition the former Delta Workforce Training Pilot Project into their new statewide workforce specialist model.
Delta Heritage Area
Delta Council is encouraged by the Congressional authorization of a National Heritage Area for the Mississippi Delta and the efforts since then by the Governing Board to establish this heritage and cultural branding. Although Delta Council does not have a tourism program of work, the organization continues to support local initiatives throughout Delta communities. Delta Council fully supports the establishment of the National Heritage Area in the Delta and pledges its full support for the efforts of the Governing Board of the National Heritage Area in the Delta.
Proposed Resolution
GRAMMY Museum
In order to fully realize the potential of the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area, it is imperative that local communities continue to actively interpret the cultural and heritage opportunities that make the Delta such a unique “brand”. Delta Council is pleased that there is so much activity in the region that has been done to date, with significant support from the local community, private donations, as well as State and federal grants.
Currently, the GRAMMY Museum Project in Cleveland has engendered that kind of support and Delta Council offers its support for the continued funding and construction of this center, which will be the only museum outside of Los Angeles telling the unique story of the evolution of American music and Mississippi and the Delta’s prominent role, from the perspective of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Delta Council would like to specifically thank Governor Phil Bryant, Lt. Governor Tate Reeves, and Speaker of the House Philip Gunn for their support for this project that has brought international acclaim to the State of Mississippi’s investment in heritage and cultural tourism.
Mississippi Delta Developers Association
Delta Council remains committed to the marketing and recruiting activities of the Mississippi Delta Developers Association, which is supervised by the Delta Council Development Department. The Mississippi Delta Developers Association represents a critical network of economic development officials, community leaders, and allied business who desire increased economic activity in the Mississippi Delta and understand that a “rising tide lifts all boats.” Regionalism has become the watchword in economic development, and we are pleased that the Delta region, through the efforts of Delta Council and MDDA, embraces that philosophy. The members of MDDA are professional economic developers in the region, and MDDA members encompass 20 counties --- the 18 counties served by the Delta Council region and two additional counties whose professional economic development organizations participate in the marketing and recruiting activities of the organization. This marketing and business recruiting alliance enables the Delta to compete with larger entities by collectively pooling our resources and contacts. We are also appreciative of our development allies such as Entergy, the Electric Power Associations of Mississippi, AT&T, C Spire, Atmos and Mississippi Development Authority among others, for playing a critical support role in MDDA and Delta development.
Resolution
Improved Broadband and Wireless Opportunities for the Delta
Like many rural areas, the introduction of broadband and wireless opportunities is critical to the future development of the Mississippi Delta region. Delta Council is appreciative of the investments that have been made by private companies.
We also support the initiative by the Office of the Governor to study the gaps in the State’s broadband and wireless infrastructure in a comprehensive manner. Better decisions can be made on allocating resources, especially as it relates to un-served and under-served areas, through such studies.
Proposed Resolution
Historic Tax Credit: In Appreciation
Delta Council expresses grateful appreciation to House Speaker Philip Gunn for leading efforts to sponsor the extension of existing tax credits for re-development of structures in Mississippi.
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