Earlier this month, 21 News reported on JobOhio’s secretive decision-making process for allocating funds that were once part of the state budget. This includes cases like the West Warren industrial park, where people associated with the group received money for their own projects. Now the state’s board of control is being asked to extend this arrangement until 2053.

Members of the Ohio Controlling Board are demanding answers from JobsOhio, especially after discussions about a lack of transparency with the public.

“Now that you’ve been around for over 10 years, we should look back, open the books and show us the ethics of your organization and prove that we should continue to maintain them,” said Bride Rose Sweeney, a member of the Ohio Controlling Board and state representative.

JobsOhio is funded by profits from alcohol sales, money that was part of the state budget before JobsOhio took over operations in 2011. The contract runs through 2038, meaning a 14-year extension is being sought before revenue from alcohol sales stops. An extension would see the nonprofit retain revenue from alcohol sales through 2053.

Sweeney says her issue is not the work JobsOhio did for the state, but rather how the extension came about, which she estimates could cost around $10 billion.

“I would say that most legislators were aware of an amendment that was probably inserted in the middle of the night into a 6,000-page bill that deals with school funding, our prisons and very important issues,” Sweeney said.

HB 33 does not require the extension, but only allows it if requested. The bill states:

The State may, at any time and in consultation with JobsOhio, extend the initial Business Acquisition Project Transfer Agreement for an additional fifteen years from the end of the original term by entering into a new agreement pursuant to this chapter. To be effective, such extension must be approved by the Board of Supervisors.

“Should we make a 15-year decision that probably involves $10 billion of assets that could be government property and give them away without hearings and without public input?” Sweeney said.

Rep. Tom Patton, who also serves on the board, said he can’t wait to meet with JobsOhio and get more information from the nonprofit.

21 News asked JobsOhio why an extension was necessary so early, but they did not provide a direct answer. Instead, they issued a statement saying that “several business organizations” wanted it. Matt Englehart, press secretary for JobsOhio, said for every dollar JobsOhio spends, the state receives $17 in tax revenue.

However, because the investments are made privately, there is no way to know whether these investments would have been made without the JobsOhio money.