OSHKOSH, Wis. (AP) — The state’s troubled job creation agency’s board has approved hiring a national consultant to review its operations. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s board voted unanimously during a meeting Monday at Fox Valley Technical College in Oshkosh to hire The Council for Regional Economic Competitiveness to review the agency’s mission, goals, structure and procedures. The vote authorized a $175,000 contract for the organization. According to WEDC, the council specializes in consulting on economic development planning. The vote comes as WEDC has been buffeted by criticism following reports it handed one of Gov. Scott Walker’s major donors’ companies an unsecured $500,000 loan that hasn’t been paid back and the agency handed out 28 awards to 24 companies without a staff review between mid-2011 and mid-2012.
