Local activists press Fremont County commissioners for audit of 'MOVE' sales-tax grants

Residents and outside researchers urged the Fremont County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday to commission a formal review of past awards from the county’s half‑percent sales tax economic development program, saying grant files and follow‑up reports are not publicly searchable and that some awards appear to have been misused or duplicated. Marston Moffberg, a research fellow with the Mountain States Policy Center, and Chris Radke, a Fremont County resident, said the county has the funds to pay an auditor and that taxpayers deserve clear answers on whether promised jobs and investments materialized.

Moffberg and Radke described an audit scope they asked the board to authorize immediately: review all past awards and application materials, contact awardees, recommend who should perform the reviews, and produce a status report within 10 business days solely reporting findings (no outreach to awardees until the committee reviews). "Fremont County taxpayers deserve a thorough and accurate accounting of what happened with their money," Moffberg said.

The speakers cited a list of specific concerns, including grants that appeared to reimburse past expenses, awards to entities that later closed, and alleged "double‑dipping" — businesses receiving money from county grants and other city or regional programs. Moffberg and Radke identified examples from county files they reviewed, including multiple awards to the same recipients and grants for projects that later dissolved or changed use. They said most grant applications and follow‑up reports were not available online and required public‑records requests.

Commissioner Richard Jones said staff and the MOVE (economic development) committee have already begun reviewing files and that about 90 percent of awardees had supplied the requested reports so far. "We have been going through our files and starting the audit process ourselves," Jones said. He described the MOVE committee as volunteer business leaders who used a scoring system and said county staff are compiling statistics and follow‑up items. Jones said some files lacked receipts and will require follow‑up, and he asked the public speakers for copies of their findings so staff and the MOVE committee can compare notes.

Radke asked the commissioners to add an outside volunteer (and Bartlett Bean was mentioned by the speakers) to the MOVE committee to help with the review and to recommend procedural transparency improvements for future awards, including posting applications, scoring, committee minutes and award reporting online. Commissioners said they would continue the dialogue, that staff are already working through reports, and that staff would provide status updates; they did not take a formal vote to expand the committee during the meeting.

The public discussion included cautions from commissioners about the legal and fiscal limits of pursuing repayment in every case and noted the county’s interest in balancing rigorous oversight with the cost of legal remedies. Several commissioners said the county needs more searchable online records so taxpayers can review award documents without a public‑records request.

Next steps identified during the meeting: county staff will continue their records review, commissioners and MOVE committee members will meet with the speakers to compare notes, and the county will consider publishing status information about the review. No formal motion to commission an external audit and no vote to add outside membership to the MOVE committee were made at the meeting.

Why it matters: The half‑percent sales tax fund finances local economic development initiatives using taxpayer dollars. The speakers said roughly $4.5 million in grants had been awarded and about $1 million remained in the program; they argued clearer records and an independent review are needed before the program is considered for renewal on a future ballot.