Brunswick County is a step closer to creating a new county economic development department after all of the board members for the county Economic Development Commission resigned their posts Tuesday.

The change comes after questions surfaced in the past several months about how the Economic Development Commission, and the county's Economic Development Corp., have used county funds from 2009 to 2014. In that time, the corporation spent more than $82,000 on staff bonuses, director fees, Christmas gifts and meetings, according to a county review of the corporation's records.

The former board members on Tuesday recommended the establishment of a new county department "to more efficiently promote economic development," according to a news release from the county. Previously, the Economic Development commission and corporation had operated as separate legal entities, with financing and support from Brunswick County.

County manager Ann Hardy was scheduled to present the information to the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners at an agenda meeting Tuesday afternoon and request that the commissioners support the economic development board members' recommendations, the news release said. 

County commissioner Frank Williams weighed in on the situation in an emailed statement not long after the news release was sent to media outlets on Tuesday morning. 

"As I stated last week, I was in agreement that some things need to change regarding our county’s approach to economic development, but that it was prudent to give the economic development commission an opportunity to make necessary changes.  Today, they took definitive action," Williams said in the statement. "I commend the members of the economic development commission and their chairman for making this tough decision.  I also thank their chairman, Tom Adams for his leadership during this time.  Now, we must move forward and determine the best way to ensure that Brunswick County is at the forefront of industry leaders' minds when they are looking for a home and that the world knows Brunswick County is open for business."

If approved by the Board of Commissioners, an economic development department could be created and become effective by July 1, according to the release.

“I have enjoyed working with the Economic Development Commission over the past years and months and wish the very best to you and the Commissioners as we all continue to work to make Brunswick County a better place,” said Tom Adams, former chairman of the Economic Development Commission and Corporation boards, in his resignation letter.

Prior to Tuesday's board member resignations, Jim Bradshaw, executive director of the Brunswick County Economic Development Commission, had already announced that he's retiring Oct. 1.

“The Brunswick County Economic Development Commission and Corporation have provided valuable assistance to industries considering relocating in Brunswick County for decades,” Hardy said in the county's news release. “We look forward to continuing to provide quality support and efforts to recruit jobs and industries to our county, and appreciate the efforts of all involved to find the most efficient ways to do so.”