The area's new proposed Economic Development Council needs to be financially and publicly transparent. That's the message from officials at the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission.
The commission hired an economic development consultant last year who recommended the EDC reorganize for more efficient. Now the new group is set to launch this fall with a new board and staff. Tri County Commission chair Larry Whitaker says he wants the new EDC's bylaws to require the group to comply with the Open Meetings Act:
“If you take a look at the bylaws as they are proposed, that’s not mentioned in there anywhere. In fact, it’s possible for there to be meetings by consent, written consent, decisions made that way, and that’s just not good. The public’s business is meant to be done in public,” Whitaker says.
Whitaker says he also wants the annual EDC financial audit to be made public. The Tri-County Board and the regional economic development steering committee are also expected to sign-off on the proposed bylaws changes. The new EDC Board will be established this summer with the goal to have the group fully staffed and running by October.