COEUR d'ALENE - The state Legislature is poised to take a hard look at how urban renewal agencies operate.

In August, Sen. Mary Souza, R-Coeur d'Alene; and Rep. Kathy Sims, R-Coeur d'Alene, will serve on a 10-member interim committee tasked with examining urban renewal law. For Souza, the appointment is an opportunity to start a conversation that she hopes will lead to transforming the statute regulating the agencies throughout the state.

"There's no direct accountability," Souza said. "If we could get accountability worked in, then we can work on the details of some of these things. But we have to build in some sort of accountability."

Souza cited a 2009 Idaho Supreme Court ruling in Urban Renewal Agency of the city of Rexburg v. Kenneth Hart to highlight her claim. The court, she said, ruled that after the creation of an urban renewal agency by a municipality, and a board being appointed by a city council, the agency becomes an independent entity.

"Most people don't understand that," Souza said. "And the state doesn't have any direct influence over what urban renewal agencies do either, except through the statutes."

Those statutes were created in 1965 and received their last major overhaul in 1986. Souza said changes to the statute, such as making spots on the boards' elected positions, could inject accountability into urban renewal agencies.

"It's time for us to sit down as a committee and look at the whole picture," she added.

Tony Berns, executive director of ignite cda, told The Press Wednesday that he disagrees with Souza's claims agencies such as his are not held accountable. State statute governs everything they do, he said, and the city controls who is appointed to the board.

"There are plenty of guidelines to help these agencies do the right thing," Berns said.

He added that making spots on the board elected positions is not needed, and that there wouldn't be enough interest from people to run for the volunteer positions if there was an election.

"That's why appointed boards work so well," he said, adding that boards without the ability to levy a tax are traditionally appointed.

Berns did agree with Souza on the need to update the urban renewal statute. Several years ago, the urban renewal agency in Boise paid to have the statutes rewritten, he said, but the changes didn't get traction in the Legislature.

"We'd be very willing to introduce that once again and look at a proactive way to maybe update the statutes," Berns said.

On Tuesday, Sims and Souza spoke to the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee about the basics of urban renewal in Idaho. Souza said at the end of the meeting she was asked about the legality of last week's announcement that Coeur d'Alene's urban renewal agency was rebranding itself, and embarking on a $54,269 "public education campaign."

Souza, who said she has studied urban renewal for the last decade, responded to the question by stating she had not read anything in the statutes that would lead her to believe the move was illegal.

"I think the law is silent on this and typically that means they can go ahead and do that," she said.

But she added that she doesn't believe the decision was an appropriate way to spend public money.

"It's a heck of a lot of money going to improve their image rather than actually doing their job for the public," Souza said.

In response to Souza's claims, Berns said ignite cda is attempting to connect with a community where the majority of residents are unaware the urban renewal agency exists.

"We're not marketing ourselves, we're not doing PR," he said. "We're trying to connect to the community."

When asked by The Press if it was necessary for the public to be aware of the work his agency was doing, Berns responded that it was. He added that his board is committed to making sure people understand ignite cda's purpose.

"People want accountability," Berns said. "We're trying to be as transparent as we can and we're still getting beaten up."