By Keith Colville

For purposes of economic development, the Valley City-Barnes County Economic Development Corp. has contributed a lot of money, including $322,750 in direct funds, to Eagle Creek Software Services in Valley City. Eagle Creek is a private company, and as such is not required to provide information on its finances to the public.
Apparently the company now wants a new building in Valley City. How is Eagle Creek doing?
Since we can’t really know, let’s speculate anyway from information freely available on the Web, without any guarantee that the speculation is correct.
Is it possible that by advertising nationally for jobs in various states, having sales representatives and consultants living throughout the United States, and with talk of growing the company to more than 300 employees in Valley City and additional hundreds in South Dakota, that Eagle Creek caught the attention of various state tax departments trying to find new tax sources?
The allocation of third-party consultant tax liabilities could be an administrative nightmare and might explain some of the following. Of course, there could be other reasons and perhaps we will be told.
In checking through the various secretary of state Web sites, one can generally find corporate registration information about Eagle Creek Software Services. Most states have some kind of business called Eagle Creek, but most don’t have an Eagle Creek Software Services.
In North Carolina, the company’s business status is “suspended.” In Florida, it is “inactive.” It is “revoked” in Illinois and in Indiana. The listing in Massachusetts is “Involuntary Revocation.” The status in North Dakota is “involuntarily dissolved.”
Eagle Creek appears to be in good standing in Minnesota and possibly a few other states, but nowhere else in the United States. This is kind of odd for a national company with sales representatives living in several different states.
That Eagle Creek’s business status is described as “suspended,” “inactive,” “revoked” and “involuntarily dissolved” is a matter of concern. An explanation of these apparently negative assessments seems required.
And, since Eagle Creek is the recipient of public money, a public accounting of its use in furthering the goals of the company and the city should be expected.

Colville is spokesperson for the Committee for Community Involvement. CCI’s Web site is www.valleycitycci.com.

Response to this article by Jennifer Feist
Director of the Barnes County-Valley City Economic Development Corp
Click Here

CCI's Response to Feist's article
(Click Here)

By Dennis Stillings
Columnist

“You can have a Lord, you can have a King, but the man to fear is the tax assessor.”
– Anonymous citizen of Lasgash (region of the ancient Middle East)

It isn’t something I have been tracking for very long, but it seems that recently, Lloyd Omdahl, North Dakota’s own resident grey eminence, has had an anti-anger thing going. (Click here to read)


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