http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060601/BUSINESS04/606010405&SearchID=73246352053430State Auditor David Vaudt said Wednesday he plans to audit the Grow Iowa Values Fund to determine whether the state's economic development program is creating the jobs leaders claim. Vaudt said he's pursuing the audit at the request of Rep. Ed Fallon, a Democratic candidate for governor. Among Fallon's primary opponents is Mike Blouin, the former director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development.
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Tina Hoffman, spokeswoman for the economic development agency, said the state auditor examines the department's programs annually as required by law, but is welcome to take a closer look the Iowa Values Fund. She said leaders have created a series of "checks and balances" to safeguard taxpayer dollars. All contracts include "clawbacks" that allow the state to recoup money from companies that fail to reach their goals.
Hoffman noted that many of the state contracts give companies three to five years to create the new jobs pledged. In October, companies told the state they had created 6,000 jobs and created $825 million in new buildings and equipment.
Those companies, the state reported, had met about 30 percent of the job and investment goals. Overall, the businesses had pledged to invest $3 billion in new buildings, equipment, research and training. They also have promised to create and retain about 18,300 jobs.
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