WEDC Audit, Public Hearing Déjà Vu to Wisconsin Taxpayers |
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News - Articles for State & Local |
Written by Wisconsin Assembly Democrats |
Thursday, 26 October 2017 08:01 |
MADISON – The Joint Legislative Audit Committee (“Audit Committee”) held a public hearing Tuesday on the results of the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB)’s audit of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (report 17-9). State Representatives Melissa Sargent (D-Madison) and Terese Berceau (D-Madison), members of the Audit Committee, expressed concern about the audit results and the WEDC’s continued trouble executing contracts, verifying job numbers, and complying with state statutes.
The LAB’s 2017 WEDC audit reviewed Tuesday was the third audit since WEDC’s inception in 2011. The 17-9 report highlighted the WEDC’s inability to substantiate job creation and retention claims or effectively execute contracts pursuant to Wisconsin law, and failure to comply with statutory requirements for tax credit recipients to verify job creation and retention numbers.
Tuesday’s public hearing also comes less than a week after the WEDC board postponed a vote on the Foxconn package with board members citing contractual concerns. “How can the Legislature, as stewards of Wisconsin taxpayer dollars, honestly entrust executing a $3 billion contract like Foxconn with tax credits hinging upon—of all things—verified job creation, when WEDC has demonstrated not once, not twice, but three times that they are not capable of adequately executing contracts, verifying job creation, and even simply complying with state statutes?” asked Sargent. The WEDC is expected to provide another status report to the Audit Committee by February of 2018. Among the items on the agenda for Committee consideration was the proposed forestry account audit included in the 2017-19 biennial budget, and legislation to remove required LAB audits (LRB-4557 and LRB-4586) and repeal the Department of Workforce Development’s supervised business initiatives program (LRB-3593 and LRB-4211). |
Last Updated on Thursday, 26 October 2017 16:02 |
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