SAN BERNARDINO, C.A.; July 23, 2015 – After 40 years of excellent service to the City of San Bernardino, community residents, job seekers, and local businesses, the San Bernardino Employment and Training Agency (SBETA) may be forced to close its doors come July 31, 2015.

Since the City filed for bankruptcy, they have struggled to meet their financial reporting responsibilities. The City is delinquent on both the 2012-13 and 2013-14 single audits. Due to the City’s failure to submit its annual audits on time, the Employment Development Department (EDD) has applied sanctions to the City’s local workforce agency.  A “cash hold” was placed on SBETA, In October 2014, suspending reimbursement for Workforce Investment Act (WIA) expenditures, pending the City’s completion of the delinquent 2012-13 audit.

As a result of the delayed single audits, the California State Board and the Governor denied SBETA’s application for re-designation as a local workforce investment area. The only chance SBETA has to continue to operate as San Bernardino’s job center is to appeal the decision.  However, because of the cash hold, SBETA requires financial assistance from the City to carry them through the appeals process.  Despite these actions, SBETA has continued to provide employment services to its customers, hosting job fairs and serving as a resource to job seekers.

Therefore, SBETA is requesting all individuals who have benefited from the agency’s services to come tell their story at the meeting and encourage the Council to continue to fund SBETA for the duration of the appeals process. For an agency that has been a great asset to the City, it is imperative that the San Bernardino residents support them now.

Please come support SBETA on July 29th at 5:00pm in the Council Chambers located at 300 N. “D” Street in San Bernardino.

Contact: Annette Kelly, (909) 888-7881, ext. 1725