Wyoming Business Council (WBC) Chief Executive Officer Josh Durell told the Management Audit Committee the agency is shifting emphasis from ‘‘doing things faster’’ to doing the ‘‘right things’’ to reverse long-running economic decline in the state.

Durell described WBC’s economic-growth "flywheel" methodology: diagnose systemic workforce and income trends, back projects that can break the decline cycle, and build local capacity to sustain growth. He cited state-level indicators the WBC views as concerning: flat or declining real GDP per capita, stagnant employment, shrinking median wages, and persistent youth out‑migration. The presentation packet provided to the committee noted prior WBC investments — including roughly $416 million in Business Ready Communities (BRC) projects from 2004–2019 — and argued that BRC and other investments must be managed for measurable return and local fiscal sustainability.

On BRC specifically, Durell said the agency has tightened rules and is shifting the program toward projects that generate local recurring economic-development revenue and leverage additional private and local funds. He said staff have raised board scrutiny and will require stronger local contribution and evidence of private-sector commitments for projects. WBC staff illustrated a Mills-area example in which community-owned infrastructure serves private tenants and returns revenue to the local government; Durell said that kind of asset-based investment can unlock private-sector growth when local capacity exists.

Committee members pressed WBC about program performance, project outcomes and the agency’s role in direct economic development. Representative Locke asked whether individual high-dollar projects deliver measurable state benefit; Durell said some projects have strong payback via new jobs and taxable activity and that WBC targets projects with demonstrable ROI, but he acknowledged not every project will by itself reverse broader statewide trends. Representative Lee and others asked for detailed project-level data. WBC staff said the agency posts project lists and board minutes and that the BRC portfolio and outcomes are included in the materials provided to the committee; WBC staff also offered to supply more detailed, itemized project outcomes on request.

Several legislators and public commenters questioned the appropriateness of government intervening in market activity. Representative Lane asked why WBC or the state should function as a lender or investor rather than rely on private lending; Durell responded that many rural deals (example: succession loans for small businesses) cannot close without partial public participation because private lenders cannot collateralize intangible business value in small, thin markets. He said WBC’s participation is generally through bank partnerships (participation loans) and that loans are structured to require private-lender participation and prior denial before WBC enters.

Other public commenters raised separate concerns: a citizen testified the Business Ready Communities program has limited statewide impact relative to total state population and questioned whether tax dollars are producing sufficient jobs; another public commenter expressed concerns about a separate state agency (the Wyoming Community Development Authority) and local housing incentives — issues WBC does not administer but which were raised during the WBC discussion.

WBC promised to provide the committee additional data on project-level status, revenue recapture and defaults; committee members asked LSO staff to follow up with targeted questions about program outcomes, recapture rules and how often the agency’s loans are written off or become past due.

Ending note: WBC framed recent rule changes as an effort to increase the effectiveness of state investments rather than merely speed or volume of awards; the committee requested more project-level transparency so members can better judge program performance and the role of state intervention in rural markets.