How transparent and accountable should Economic Development Authorities be to the public?
That’s the fundamental issue raised by Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, who submitted a bill that would require local government approval for all EDA grants and budgets. That bill was defeated by one vote in the Senate’s local government committee, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch, but Chase said she hopes to resurrect it in the near future.
“Bureaucrats who are not elected by the people should not be allowed to dole out taxpayer money,” said Chase. “I’m tired of elected officials abdicating their responsibility so bureaucrats can do their dirty work.”
The bill arises from a controversy in Chesterfield County over county plans to build an industrial megasite in the Bermuda district. The EDA wants to rezone and buy about 1,700 acres of land as a site for potential large, industrial users. The paucity of so-called megasites in Virginia has been identified as a bottleneck to economic development, ruling out the state for consideration by automobile companies, aerospace firms and other large-scale manufacturers. Success in attracting a major manufacturing concern could create $1 billion in investment and create up to 5,000 jobs.
Chesterfield economic developers contend that EDAs are accountable indirectly because authority members are appointed by boards of supervisors, and EDA expenditures of tax dollars are approved in counties’ budgetary process in open meetings. Additionally, all EDA expenditures are recorded by Chesterfield’s accounting department, and the EDA does an annual audit.
But members of a Chesterfield citizens group, the Bermuda Advocates for Responsible Development (BARD), say they have many unanswered questions about EDA expenditures and the proposed megasite.
EDAs have many powers, including the ability to acquire land and borrow money, said Patrick McSweeney, an attorney speaking on behalf of Chase’s bill. “This creates a shadow government potentially in every locality in Virginia. Once a decision is made by these authorities there is little that can be done about it unless they have done something blatantly illegal.”
“There’s no reason that local governments can’t do what they do,” he said. “There’s no reason not to have (EDAs) as an advisory body.”
Bacon’s bottom line: EDAs do spend millions of local dollars, they do issue tens of millions of dollars in municipal bonds, and their decisions do impact local communities. Virginians should insist upon total transparency in decision making regarding the assembly of land and building of infrastructure in industrial parks, and they should insist that elected officials be accountable for multimillion-dollar grants and expenditures. I don’t see how Chase’s bill does EDAs any harm, and I can’t understand why anyone would object to it.
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