State legislators meet with citizens for third cracker barrel - KOTA Territory News
Member Center:
It was a busy week in the legislature; everything from guns in schools to healthcare was debated. At Saturday's third cracker barrel of the year, locals got the chance to weigh-in on the issues that matter most to them.
State representatives and senators updated the audience on their progress in Pierre. One of the issues brought to light at the meeting focused on economic development and the appropriation of funds to hire of out of state workers to fill local jobs. Senator Stan Adelstein says the state isn't getting its monies worth for the specialized skills it hopes to recruit.
"In the last year somehow 55 people have been identified to come into the state but only 35 have actually come," said the District 32 senator. "That means that under the guise of economic development we spent $9,000 per person to help a company recruit someone."
"It's one and a half million dollars," challenged District 35 Representative Don Kopp. "It's just what we spent according to my figures. We kind of broke even on that and I think it's a good program."
Manpower, Inc., was hired last year to recruit 1,000 qualified workers to the state. The state currently has more jobs than people to fill them.
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