Keep light on economic development

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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Gov. Terry Branstad turned the spotlight this week on his promised push to remake the state's economic development programs. And though we're hopeful that his new Iowa Partnership for Economic Progress will be an improvement, some important details remained in the dark.

Branstad's hybrid IPEP, already a visual improvement over the snicker-inducing IDED, would create both a state development authority operating under public disclosure rules and a private, non-profit corporation fueled largely by private donations. Those donations and the non-profit's operations would apparently not be subject to open records and open meetings laws. And it's still unclear exactly how much information Iowans would get about the non-profit's work. The Iowa Attorney General's Office is reviewing the proposal.

Branstad, and development Director Debi Durham, argue that a public-private approach will make the development agency more agile. The non-profit, with donated dollars that can be used to pay for recruiting trips and other costs of luring new firms and jobs, can react to potential projects at the speed of business. Backers argue it would provide the sort of flexibility that a government-only approach can't match. And business leaders will be given a bigger role.

We see merit in those arguments, and we agree that a shake-up in the state's development efforts is in order. Getting business leaders involved is also a positive step.

But we still haven't heard an adequate explanation as to why the public can't see who is bankrolling these efforts and how recruiting is being conducted in Iowa's name. We think there are ways to assure flexibility, and the need for confidentiality at sensitive moments in the recruiting process, without sacrificing the need for Iowans to know what their government is up to. We simply don't want the private arm of the agency to become a transparency escape hatch, where activities that officials would rather keep quiet are hidden from view.

It's really a matter of public confidence. The notion of a business-recruiting operation being bankrolled by business interests raises questions. Transparency is the best way to answer them.

After all, no matter how the agency is configured, its mission is to pursue economic development initiatives that advance the common good.

Business leaders selected to sit on the agency's board of directors and donors who make private, tax-exempt gifts to the non-profit should not lose sight of that broader mission. And the best way to make sure that happens is to allow public scrutiny.

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