Grant County Economic Growth Council not required to tell officials how it spends money

Though the ordinance identified the Growth Council as a not for profit corporation “whose primary purpose is to assist government in economic development,” it did not include any stipulations for reporting how it spends the tax money.

The Growth Council received $270,000 in EDIT money last year.

Executive Director Tim Eckerle and other Growth Council staff have made presentations to local elected councils and boards. However, there seems to be no requirement to do so in the original 2009 EDIT ordinance.

County attorney Phil Stephenson said he did not believe the county council could legally require the Growth Council to give regular public reports.

“They can certainly ask for it,” he said. “If they fail to so they can withdraw the funding.”

Stephenson said in practice making any change could be difficult because it would require a 51 percent vote from the county tax council, which consists of all local cities and towns, as well as county government.

Last week, the Indiana Public Access Counselor found that the Growth Council likely falls under the state’s public access laws, which would make its meetings and financial records open to the public. The Chronicle-Tribune editorial board made the informal complaint.

Eckerle did not return calls for comment on this story. He has told Chronicle-Tribune that the Growth Council provides more information on a regular basis to elected officials than many similar neighboring organizations.

As previously reported, many officials have expressed satisfaction with how the Growth Council answers their questions. Indeed, many sit on the Growth Council’s board and executive committee.

However, some have also expressed support for the idea of the organization providing more financial information or access to the public.

“I believe any time tax money is given to a non-governmental entity it should be transparent and should give an accounting of how it’s used. That’s my view,” said commissioner Mike Burton, echoing sentiments previously made by his colleague David Glickfield.

Grant County Council President Jim McWhirt said balance ought to be sought in regards to the public access question.

“As a councilman and a citizen I feel whatever the Growth Council can make public they should be willing to do so,” he said. “On the other side, the media and the public need to understand there are some things (the Growth Council) can’t disclose because of confidentiality.”

McWhirt said the Growth Council should provide whatever financial reports and minutes it can, but added that the state public access counselor answered the question about open meetings and records in the Growth Council’s favor. He said if the transparency issue persists then it is best to take it up with the state legislature.

John Lawson, who serves at-large on the Grant County Council and is unopposed in the Nov. 6 election for Glickfield’s District 1 seat, said the Growth Council and its staff have always been helpful and forthcoming for information on its activities, but he has never seen specific financial information.

“I (wouldn’t) know without guessing what their financial record would look like,” he said, though he pointed out he has never sat on the Growth Council’s board.

Lawson said he was also surprised that the Chronicle-Tribune has been denied requests for Growth Council financial information.

“In our business, the more you put out on the table the better it is,” he said.