LVEDC CEO Don Cunningham says the goal is to be more transparent.
View full size
Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. CEO Don Cunningham speaks in this file photo from last year.
The board that oversees the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. will meet more frequently each year as part of an effort to increase transparency, according to LVEDC CEO Don Cunningham.
Instead of three annual meetings, there will now be six board of director meetings. The change is part of several bylaw changes approved last week.
Cunningham, who took over last year as head of the Bethlehem-based nonprofit with a mission of attracting and retaining jobs in the region, said the board felt the additional meetings would foster more dialogue on the actual governance of the organization.
Under the previous bylaws, an executive committee would meet regularly, often behind closed doors, and later present recommendations at the public meetings of the entire board.
“We kind of moved LVEDC clearly out of the shadows and into a broader, kind of public position that will allow for more people to have ownership of the direction we’re going,” said Cunningham, whose organization receives public money from hotel taxes levied in both Lehigh and Northampton counties.
Other changes to bylaws that the board approved include: reducing the maximum number of board members from 50 to 35; putting term limits on how long board members can serve and adopting new rules to prevent potential conflicts of interest involving board members, Cunningham said.
Another goal of the LVEDC in the coming year will be to get more of the rural municipalities in the two counties involved, he said. Previously, much of the organization’s work focused on Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton.
Cunningham said a new local government council approved last week will allow the LVEDC to hear from the sometimes-overlooked townships and boroughs.