Grant County economic group likely exempt from public access laws, counselor says

The Chronicle-Tribune editorial board made an informal filing in September with the public access counselor arguing that the Growth Council should be subject to Indiana’s public access laws.

This would give the public more oversight over how the Growth Council uses tax money. The nonprofit receives a substantial amount of public tax money — $270,000 last year in economic development tax alone — to help it fulfill its mission to attract and encourage economic growth in Grant County.

The Growth Council maintains it is exempt from public access laws because it is not audited by the State Board of Accounts and receives public money in a “fee for service” arrangement.

In his non-binding decision, Public Access Counselor Joe Hoage backed the Growth Council on its audit position but said he needed more information on the “fee for service” agreement it claims to have with Grant County.

However, he said whether the Growth Council is subject to audit is the primary factor in determining if the body falls under public access laws.

“You have to meet the hurdle with the audit before you reach the agreement,” he said.

Neal Ronquist, publisher of the Chronicle-Tribune, said the decision gave the newspaper some direction in how it will continue to “explore and press the matter.”

“The access counselor’s decision clearly demonstrates the need for our state legislators to address the matter of transparency in a more clear and concise manner,” he said.

Ronquist said he felt there were some “real issues” with how the State Board of Accounts determines when to audit organizations like the Growth Council.

This decision is not based on public money received but on how much of it is spent. Executive Director Tim Eckerle has said the Growth Council does not separate public and private money in different funds and relies on its accountants to track how each is spent.

Since 2007, the State Board of Accounts has waived an audit for the Growth Council because it has reported that less than 50 percent of its expenditures come from tax money.

Last year, the Growth Council reported it received $506,000 in government funds, but because this was 38 percent of its total expenses the state granted a tentative waiver for a public audit.

“Our determination is based on the State Board of Accounts,” Hoage said. “We don’t get involved in any of their determinations.”

As far as the “fee for service” agreement, the Growth Council has claimed the county last approved it five years ago. However, the Chronicle-Tribune has been unable to obtain a copy of any agreement from county records or from the Growth Council.

Hoage said the terms of any agreement the Growth Council might have with Grant County would affect whether it falls under public access laws in the years the state does audit the organization.

However, he said without a copy that he could not make any decision either way on that matter.

Scott Murphy, president of the Growth Council’s board, said Monday that he had not read the decision. He said there is “nothing that the Growth Council wants to hide” relating to taxpayer dollars.

“We would hope to come to an agreement with the Chronicle-Tribune that would be very transparent to both sides,” he said.

Ronquist said the issue of transparency over how economic development groups like the Growth Council spend public money needs to be addressed at the state level.

“As we’ve said all along, we are asking a question,” he said. “We’ve gotten an answer. It was an answer based on the technicalities of the public access (counselor’s) scope.

“We think it remains really important that this is a sizeable amount of money that the public deserves and has the right to know specifically how it’s being spent.”