Amarillo City Council discuss possible amendments to the AEDC Articles of Incorporation

AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — Weeks after the Amarillo City Council told the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation that their outside council would draft articles of incorporation, we got a look at five amendments.

Most of the city council meeting regarded the proposed amendments from the council’s outside attorney George Hyde. He noted they weren’t changing all of their articles of incorporation, just proposing five amendments.

Focusing on proposed Article Two defines the AEDC as a Type A corporation. Type A and B economic development corporations differ in the range of projects they can undertake.

Article Four defines specific purposes, powers, and restrictions, and Article Five deals with the regulation of the corporation’s internal affairs. The purpose of Article Five is, according to Hyde, to get the AEDC aligned with state law.

Most of the changes are proposed in Article Five. If passed, the Amarillo City Council would act as a “Parent” as Hyde called it to the AEDC. The proposed amendment would make the AEDC present all programs and expenditures of the corporation to the city council before any expenditure is made. The AEDC would also prepare its budget in a “Line-item format” and the amendment said no budget line item adjustments are permitted without first documenting proper approval from the AEDC board and the city council.

“Everyone of his recommendations is not there to hinder or harm our EDC in any way, to even to the point of Councilmember Simpson of, ‘You know this is a lot and is this going to hurt the way we compete?’ these articles are no way you compete for those businesses that you are trying to attract to Amarillo and so we are doing what we feel for the best interest of both bodies to ratify what was wrong,” said Amarillo Mayor Cole Stanley.

Now Hyde is expected to work with the AEDC board, staff, and attorney to go over these proposed amendments and answer any questions.

“Hopefully get a document that everybody can get, you know move forward with the AEDC. I think the collaboration, hopefully, will be important and the work the board and the council and then the two attorneys do can move us forward and get back to doing the business of the AEDC,” said Kevin Carter, Amarillo Economic Development Corporation president and CEO.

Amarillo City Council said they have three weeks until their next meeting and they can revisit the proposed amendments.

This all stems from the investigation into the $750,000 wire transfer that happened in 2023.

There will be a joint workshop for the Amarillo City Council, AEDC Board of Directors, and senior staff to discuss and develop policies related to economic development and that’s happening Wednesday at 8 a.m.

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