Pam Kaiser of Middlebury urged the Elkhart County Board of Commissioners on the public-comment portion of the meeting not to reappoint John Hunsberger to the County Redevelopment Commission.

Kaiser told commissioners "I am here today to talk about a potential reappointment of John Hunsberger to the County Redevelopment Commission," and said the county council had chosen not to reappoint him at its December meeting. She noted Hunsberger "is also the executive director of Elkhart County Convention and Visitors Bureau," and expressed concern about overlapping influence on tourism funding and tax policy.

Kaiser said the visitors bureau hired lobbyists in 2024 to press legislators for an increase in the innkeepers tax "from 5% to 8%" and that although the bill passed at the state level, the county council did not approve it. She told the board she had provided a chart showing "unelected boards and organizations that are tourism partners with the visitors bureau" and said those partners benefit from tax increment financing (TIF) dollars controlled by the redevelopment commission. "This network extends to the state level and highlights potential conflicts," Kaiser said.

Kaiser cited a broader context of concern about state economic-development work, saying an October forensic audit of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation identified conflicts of interest, no-bid contracts and potential favoritism. She also referenced ongoing lawsuits related to intellectual property and past contracts that, she said, had damaged the corporation's reputation. Kaiser named Representative Joanna King as the sponsor of the innkeepers tax increase bill and said Joanna King's husband, Levi King, served as president of the visitors bureau board.

Kaiser concluded by asking the commissioners to follow the county council's earlier decision and not to reappoint Hunsberger. The board did not take a vote or make a public decision on Hunsberger's reappointment during the meeting; no board action on the Redevelopment Commission appointment was recorded before the session adjourned.

Next steps: Commissioners adjourned the meeting; the transcript does not show a formal vote or staff report on any reappointment at this session.