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Wyoming Business Council outlines CEO goals and internal review as lawmakers press for metrics and local control
Summary
Business Council leaders told lawmakers they have launched an internal review, set seven CEO goals and are convening a stakeholder advisory group; legislators pressed the Council for measurable outcomes, clearer statutory purpose and changes to the Business Ready Communities grant process.
Derek Smith, co-chair of the Wyoming Business Council board, and Council staff presented to the Minerals interim committee a two-part message: the board is undertaking internal reviews and wants to work closely with local communities to improve outcomes, and the Council will provide program-by-program narratives that the committee requested.
Smith said the board has launched an internal review of operations and board structure and has set seven CEO performance areas including building trust, defining an economic development philosophy, establishing measures of success, launching regional economic frameworks and aligning budget and funding strategy. "First and foremost, we're here to listen," Smith said, adding the Council plans a stakeholder advisory group of internal board members and external partners to guide recommendations.
Council staffer Josh used slides and examples to illustrate how Council programs are intended to unlock private investment. He cited Mesa Solutions — where Council-funded infrastructure (roads, water and sewer) unlocked an industrial park and allowed a large local expansion — and DISA, a University of Wyoming spinoff that used Kickstart grants, trade show incentives and innovation funding. Josh also summarized the YBC venture capital program, which invested roughly $20 million and, he said, attracted about $162 million in private follow-on capital across 11 companies.
Lawmakers pressed the Council on local impacts and the distribution of economic benefit. Representative Campbell said the Council's current model "is flawed" and pressed for solutions that keep more dollars and jobs in host communities; others raised concerns about construction-related workforce leakage and asked whether Council programs were too "top-down". "I would love to see an application from the town of Glenrock for infrastructure to open up a new area where a motel could be built," Derek Smith responded, urging local applications where capacity exists.
Senator Rothfuss and other members focused attention on the Business Ready Communities (BRC) grant/loan program, calling it the most politically fraught and highest-dollar program the Council administers. Legislators asked the Council to propose statutory changes to reduce the political layer at the end of the BRC process and to provide clearer, consistent rules so communities and private partners know the requirements up front.
Local associations joined the meeting. Ashley Harp Street of the Wyoming Association of Municipalities and Brad Enzi of the Laramie Chamber Business Alliance called for regionally informed strategies, stable funding for infrastructure and housing, and performance-based transparency. Enzi used Cheyenne's long-running LEADS program as an example of local, sustained capacity building and warned that changing rules midstream undermines local partnerships.
Committee members asked the Council to supply detailed program narratives, case studies and data tying specific Council programs to outcomes between meetings; Council leaders agreed. The committee recessed for lunch and scheduled an afternoon public comment period.
