The community can look forward to a new economic agenda for Seymour that will not include any data from or connections to the Brookings Institution, but it will take time to put together.

During Tuesday night’s city council meeting, Councilman Drew Storey said he was not inclined to approve either of the resolutions that were drafted after the discussion during a special committee meeting to review the Burkart Opportunity Zone Agenda.

“Mainly because they still talk about Brookings Institution,” he said. “In all honesty, I would love to get rid of that word and connection.”

Storey then asked Mayor Matt Nicholson and his staff to put together an alternative economic agenda that does not have any connection to the Brookings Institution.

Councilman Brian Terrell agreed with Storey’s suggestion.

“The feedback that I got is there are some good things in it, but I think the separation is necessary,” he said. “We need to make a plan that is our plan and going in that direction would be in our best interest.”

The Indiana Economic Development Corp., which is led by the Indiana Secretary of Commerce David Rosenberg and governed by a 15-member board chaired by Gov. Eric J. Holcomb, is charged with growing the state economy, driving economic development, helping business launch, grow and locate in the state.

According to iedc.in.gov, the IEDC is organized as a public private partnership and manages many initiatives including performance-based tax credits, workforce training grants, innovation and entrepreneurship resources, public infrastructure assistance and talent attraction and retention efforts. IEDC is funded through state tax dollars.

At the invitation of the IEDC, Seymour joined Warsaw and Michigan city to develop strategies to fill the gaps in health, wealth and opportunity in their respective communities.

LISC, a local initiative support corporation, funded the process through a grant from the IEDC, and the Brookings Institution led the data analysis portion of the agenda, which helped the advisory coalition, made up of city and regional collaborators, and directly impacted communities create projects in the agenda.

“It was Seymour residents that said these things during the different focus groups or one-on-ones,” Nicholson said. “Brookings sat in the room and took notes.”

Brookings Institution is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts nonpartisan research for the purpose of improving policy and governance at local, national and global levels, according to their website.

It is often described as a “think-tank,” which is a research organization that studies a specific topic and provides data, ideas and advice for policy recommendations.

Nicholson said he would be happy to provide an alternative economic agenda and bring another focus group back to the table but did share a concern.

Nicholson said if a group of 100 citizens were formed, just like the first study, that focus group could potentially come up with similar ideas that were mentioned in the Burkart Agenda. He questioned if the public would still oppose the new agenda, even if some of the projects were similar, but still had no connections to Brookings Institution.

“Most of what came from this study (mentioning some parks department items) was already out there and being worked on,” he said. “It was already in existence through their master plan.”

It is likely the state of Indiana invested between $50,000 to $100,000 into this economic development plan, Nicholson said.

He said when the time comes to develop a new agenda without the involvement of Brookings Institution, taxpayer dollars will be spent again.

Nicholson said he will need to identify funding sources to develop a new study and will see what agencies or organizations come up with regarding ideas.

“The last one took 10 to 12 months from the time the advisory coalition was formed to the finished product,” he said.

As this new agenda begins to develop, the public could have the opportunity to provide their feedback throughout the process through public input sessions.

Nicholson said bringing in identified groups such as the Mayor’s Youth Council to provide a voice for the younger generation and “floor-workers” of manufacturing companies could be beneficial as well. He also said he would like to see some ideas for substance-use recovery resources in the new agenda.

“You got to make sure to include the whole city,” he said. “We will have to try to do that on this next round and make sure everyone has their moment to be a part of it.”

In other business, Seymour resident Paula Hercamp and other audience members submitted petitions calling for the resignation of Nicholson as Mayor of Seymour during the council meeting.

Some of the allegations that residents believe Nicholson has committed include conflict of interest as a board member of the Jackson County Industrial Development Corp.; illegal appointment of committee members; and pre-meditated implementation of the Burkart Opportunity Zone Agenda to name a few.

What is known as a “recall,” which is a special election that is held to decide if an elected official should be removed from office before the date that the official’s term is scheduled to end, is not permitted by the Indiana Constitution.

“The petition presented to council by a citizen calling for the mayor’s resignation has no legal effect,” city attorney Chris Engleking said. “There are limited circumstances in which a city executive could be removed.”

The state constitution permits state and local officials to be removed only “in the manner provided by law” (Article 6, Section 8).

State Code IC 36-4-6-6 only applies to the removal of a council member by the council itself and the council cannot vote to remove the mayor from office.

Mayors in Indiana could be impeached for misdemeanors in office, but that process is initiated by the Indiana House of Representatives. That body would draft articles of impeachments and the state senate would preside over the impeachment trial should the House vote to impeach (IC 5-8-1-1).

Engleking said it is possible for the president of a city council to file a lawsuit for a court to determine an executive’s ability to carry out their duties (IC 36-4-5-8). A mayor could be removed from office if they are found unable to execute their duties.

Indiana Code 36-4-5-9 covers vacancies in the mayor’s office and lists the scenarios in which a vacancy is recognized under the law.