Campbell comments on IEDC purchase of additional acreage for LEAP district

Yesterday, the State Budget Committee approved nearly $100 million for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) to purchase acreage in Boone County. State Rep. Chris Campbell (D-West Lafayette) issued the following statement:

“Yesterday's hearing proved once again that the IEDC is a runaway agency with a blank check. We handed nearly $100 million to them after the IEDC struggled to produce basic facts about the LEAP project. After several rounds of questions, they finally disclosed the average price they’re paying per acre of land is $80,000 – five to ten times the normal price. This is an irresponsible use of taxpayer money. What happens to local governments once they lose those property tax dollars? Our state already forces local governments to depend on property taxes as funding for basic services like public schools. 

“Additionally, they were reluctant to share information about the IFA water study. For the first time, the IEDC themselves disclosed the amount of water they believe the LEAP district will need: a whopping 55 to 60 million gallons per day. Earlier that day, the City of Lebanon shared that it needed an additional water source before any development occurs. 

“Just six months ago, the IEDC sat in front of the same committee and expressed ‘great confidence’ in Project Nora the same way they expressed ‘great confidence’ in the LEAP project today. Now, Project Nora is being gutted to fund the LEAP project. We still don't know details about project Nora or why it’s now defunct. 

“IEDC representatives said they are ‘closing in on clarity’ for many of the critical details, it appears that the only confirmed portion of this project is Eli Lilly. We need to be working with partners who are familiar with the legislature and who are known to lawmakers and the public as having their affairs in order. The way the IEDC uses taxpayer dollars is like a shell game. They use ‘confidential material’ and layers of complexity to shift around hundreds of millions of dollars from one fund with a fancy name to another. The agency operates in a way that makes it impossible for the legislature to monitor. It is unfathomable to me that the total cost of this project is still unknown, and that they were unable to tell us what the additional 1,400 acres in Boone County are being used for.

“The State Budget Committee is not set up to monitor this billion-dollar agency that acts in secret. As a legislator, I view myself as a trustee for the public. The current system does not allow lawmakers to do our duty of monitoring how taxpayer dollars are being spent. It has been suggested that the IEDC present the details of the LEAP project during a full hearing before the Ways and Means Committee this budget session. This agency should not get a single penny more of state money before they are subject to proper oversight.”