He declined to estimate how much the company's contribution to the state was worth, but said EDCU took on the extra work because of an "understanding" with state officials about a future contract.

"We also agreed that the state . . . would negotiate a contract with us to do that as a fee for service at some future time," Edwards said. "There was no agreement. There was an understanding. We felt it was in our best interest as an organization."

The EDCU has put in place a corporate recruitment advisory committee to make sure any leads on new businesses are distributed among the state in a way that's "fair and equitable," Edwards said.

That issue will be addressed in the contract, he said, although he declined to provide details of that or other changes made as a result of the questions raised by the board because the negotiations are ongoing.

"We want to make sure this is a fair and open process and the state is completely satisfied," Edwards said. "We don't want there to be any questions going forward."

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