The City Council voted Tuesday night 5-4 to set up a new process for naming members to the Industrial Development Board (IDB), which currently has four vacancies.
The process includes three City Council panels: A (Districts 1, 2, 3), B (Districts 4, 5, 6), and C (Districts 7, 8, 9).
Group A will fill two of the vacancies and Groups B and C one each.
Agreement on the choices will be by at least two of the three members of a group.
The full council will vote on whether to approve the selections of the groups.
In favor of the process were council members Chris Anderson, Carol Berz, Ken Smith, Yusuf Hakeem and Russell Gilbert. Opposed were Jerry Mitchell, Larry Grohn, Chip Henderson and Moses Freeman.
Councilman Freeman said, "We're inviting a fiasco here. It will bring more applicants; we will be throwing out people and it will become a political process."
He said the current process "is working well."
Councilwoman Berz said, "I can't imagine we will get a boatload of people after all that's been going on at the IDB."
She said the new process gives "two levels of approval."
Council members said there will be a check to make sure the applicants are registered city voters.