Walker Says Changes Coming To WEDC

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The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation board of directors met in Eau Claire Tuesday to discuss an audit that found a number of issues in the year-old public-private agency.

Governor Scott Walker chairs the WEDC board and is meeting with other members to figure out how to improve the agency. A private audit firm found that inconsistent bookkeeping and employment gaps led to uncollected loans and financial insecurity.

A subsidiary of the Wisconsin Bankers Association will presented WEDC’s board with an agency review Tuesday. It suggests that issues come from WEDC’s creation last year and that work needs to be done to fix overall operations.

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At an event in La Crosse, Gov. Walker said the agency’s problems began under former WEDC leadership, “Some of these administrative issues that were under responsibility of the Chief Operating Officer and previous Chief Financial Officer are things that dramatically need to be improved. Both those individuals are gone. Today, we’ll be talking about the detailed steps we’re proposing to take to make those corrections going forward so we can stay focused on helping people create jobs.”

Gov. Walker declined to elaborate on the specific plans, but said they would be released after WEDC’s board meeting Tuesday. He says the recommendations will correct the former problems.

House Minority Leader Democrat Peter Barca is also on the WEDC board. He said that if problems with the agency continue through next year, lawmakers may need to rethink the agency’s structure.