Coun. Payne call for more accountability from WEEDC, again

City councillor Hilary Payne is stepping up his campaign for change at the Windsor Essex Economic Development Corporation calling for more accountability and council representation.

Payne said there needs to be a full-time CEO, more council representation on the board and more oversight.

"They apparently are not producing any concrete results for the $2.2 million that is spent on them," said Payne. "Secondly, there is no particular accountability. Yes, the mayor and the warden do sit on WEEDC, but I think that's quite not enough."

Payne would like to see three councillors sit on the board, and three county councillors as well.

He will present a motion at the city council meeting on March 23.

Payne has criticized the organization earlier this year stating it needs a new structure that would provide more accountability.

WEEDC has a budget of $2.2 million, funded by Windsor and Essex County.

Windsor's January unemployment rate of 9.4 per cent led the country, though the rate did improve from 9.7 per cent in December.

Payne wants to know how many jobs WEEDC has created, along with how many businesses and industries WEEDC has attracted to the region.

The organization's CEO, Sandra Pupatello, was not able to answer those question at a previous council meeting. She will appear before council in March with the answers.