{"id":929,"date":"2026-04-23T15:02:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T15:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/starvalleychamber.com\/?p=929"},"modified":"2026-04-23T15:02:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T15:02:14","slug":"wyoming-business-council-meets-to-set-strategy-for-uncertain-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starvalleychamber.com\/?p=929","title":{"rendered":"Wyoming Business Council meets to set strategy for uncertain future"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Noah Zahn<\/strong>
\nWyoming Tribune Eagle<\/em>
\nVia- Wyoming News Exchange<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

CHEYENNE \u2014 As the future of the Wyoming Business Council remains uncertain after it came under fire during the recent legislative session, its board members met Tuesday to discuss how it will approach the coming year.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the meeting resulted in a move by the board to review its own composition and its relationship with other state entities, specifically targeting the final approval authority held by the State Loan and Investment Board. That board is comprised of the state\u2019s top five elected officials.<\/p>\n

The meeting was called primarily to establish goals for CEO Josh Dorrell, to discuss the board\u2019s role in the upcoming legislative interim and to address the agency\u2019s strategic direction.<\/p>\n

While a compromise eventually secured $15 million for the agency \u2014 far below the $112 million originally requested \u2014 the board signaled that \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d for the WBC will not be familiar to the council in the coming year.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

No supplemental budget<\/b><\/p>\n

During Tuesday\u2019s meeting, the WBC board decided to drop its planned supplemental budget request for 2027, with co-chair Derek Smith saying the item had \u201cmorphed into something else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead of seeking more funds immediately, Smith emphasized a return to core missions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe primary goal is to continue doing the work of creating that economic vision and direction for the state of Wyoming and to continue efforts with our communities to help them to succeed,\u201d Smith said. He acknowledged that while legislative and gubernatorial efforts are important, the \u201cprimary role of the Business Council still remains the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

Board members expressed concern with their lack of final authority over the grants and loans it vets. Board member Ryan Lance pointed to a recent SLIB meeting during which the five elected officials denied a housing grant for the city of Cheyenne that the WBC had previously recommended.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt best, we\u2019re an advisory board to them, and at worst, we\u2019re seen as either a blank check written to them or a stumbling stone along their way to deny a project,\u201d Lance said.<\/p>\n

He argued that if the WBC is going to \u201ctake heat\u201d from the Legislature, it should possess the authority to match that responsibility.<\/p>\n

Joe Schaffer, another board member, echoed these frustrations, describing a \u201chabit of pulling together knowledgeable groups of experts\u201d who dedicate months to recommendations, only to have that work \u201cdismantled in minutes by singular political statements, whims and processes.\u201d Schaffer criticized the state structure that allows the elected officials to discard the work of local communities and economic development agencies.<\/p>\n

To critics who often say the WBC gets to pick winners and losers in the private market as a government-funded agency, Schaffer said that the current structure \u201cembeds government into the decision\u201d because final authority rests with SLIB.<\/p>\n

Board member Bruce Pivic was blunt regarding the SLIB decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened in Cheyenne here a couple weeks ago was tragic,\u201d Pivic said, adding that the infrastructure project was \u201ckiboshed because of a political rhetoric,\u201d despite being one of the best grant applications he said he has ever seen.<\/p>\n

Mandate for internal reform<\/b><\/p>\n

In response to these challenges from the Legislature, the board passed a motion to conduct a formal review of the WBC\u2019s structure. The review will evaluate whether the current board is \u201cappropriately structured to lead on strategy, not solely provide oversight,\u201d and if it possesses the \u201ccollective capabilities\u201d necessary for Wyoming\u2019s changing economy.<\/p>\n

The motion includes an evaluation of \u201cthe continued involvement of the State Loan and Investment Board as a final approving entity\u201d and the role of the governor as co-chair of the WBC board.<\/p>\n

Board member Dave Kinsky supported the need for speed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking from quarter to quarter, from meeting to meeting \u2026 to be effective, we\u2019ve got to speed things up,\u201d Kinsky said, noting that competitors in states like Texas make decisions in weeks, while Wyoming can take years.<\/p>\n

Board member Mark Christensen had a different perspective, suggesting the problem is partly a \u201cstructural problem created by the Legislature.\u201d<\/p>\n

He argued that because local governments cannot sustain themselves without being a \u201cmineral producing economy,\u201d they have become dependent on the Legislature or the WBC for basic community enhancements.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Looking toward the interim<\/b><\/p>\n

This interim, the Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development and Joint Appropriations committees will focus heavily on the WBC. Smith said board members would be active with Dorrell during these meetings to represent the Business Council\u2019s interests directly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an agency, and we have a role to help shape that vision and to work with our partners and the Legislature to shape it,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

Additionally, a new task force comprised of five board members will work with the Governor\u2019s Office to refine the WBC\u2019s mission and seek feedback from external stakeholders like mayors and business owners.<\/p>\n

The board set a deadline of June for the results of the internal structural review to be presented.<\/p>\n

As the meeting adjourned, Dorrell expressed optimism, despite the hurdles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at some of the things that are causing stumbling points within our system, we\u2019re the board and we\u2019re the team that needs to look at that and push for solutions to fix the problems,\u201d Dorrell said. He urged the board to be \u201cbold\u201d because \u201cWyoming deserves it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The WBC board will next meet in person in Rock Springs May 19-20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Noah Zahn Wyoming Tribune Eagle Via- Wyoming News Exchange CHEYENNE \u2014 As the future of the Wyoming Business Council remains uncertain after it came under fire during the recent legislative session, its board members met Tuesday to discuss how it will approach the coming year. Ultimately, the meeting resulted in a move by the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wyoming-business-council"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starvalleychamber.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starvalleychamber.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starvalleychamber.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starvalleychamber.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starvalleychamber.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=929"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/starvalleychamber.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":930,"href":"https:\/\/starvalleychamber.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929\/revisions\/930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starvalleychamber.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starvalleychamber.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starvalleychamber.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}