Mayor offers EDIT funds to Muncie Mission Ministries; public questions use of economic-development dollars

MUNCIE, Ind. — The mayor presented a memorandum of understanding on Jan. 7 proposing annual payments of $125,000 from EDIT funds to Muncie Mission Ministries and partner agencies housed in a single building, and asked the board to enter the agreement into the record.

In remarks recorded in the transcript, Speaker 4 described the arrangement as intended to make the Mission’s services sustainable over a multi-year period and said the funding could be used for staffing, building maintenance or other needs. "It's a $125,000 a year. I'm not putting any restrictions on what it's how it is to be used," Speaker 4 said.

The mayor characterized the term as a multi-year commitment intended to span future administrations; the transcript contains inconsistent references to the length and dates (the mayor stated a four-year period in remarks, while a later line in the record lists MOU dates as "01/01/1926 through 12/31/2030," which appears to be a typographical error). The board did not take a vote on the MOU; Speaker 1 said the document would be entered into the record.

During the public-comment period, a commenter identified in the transcript as Rick (the record shows name variants "Rick Yentzer" and "Rick Yance") questioned the use of EDIT funds for charities and services instead of the traditional economic-development uses of EDIT. The commenter said, "As I recall back in the day, edit, economic was used to bring in jobs, business, industry, and the infrastructure utilities," and urged that government prioritize job creation.

Speaker 1 responded that attracting jobs involves providing "quality of place," and thanked the mayor for the transparency and commitment. No formal board action or roll-call vote on the MOU was recorded in the transcript.

Next steps: the MOU was entered into the meeting record; the transcript does not show any follow-up action assigned or a date for further consideration.