There is a chance the Utah state auditor’s office will get more oversight of the relatively mysterious economic development agency that has backed a hyperscale data center and energy complex in Box Elder County.

Utah State Auditor Tina Cannon’s office reviews financial statements for the Military Installation Development Authority, or MIDA, as it does for many state agencies.

But it doesn’t actually audit MIDA annually. That financial and compliance work is instead contracted out to Provo-based firm Gilbert and Stewart each fiscal year.

Now, there are discussions about changing that, Cannon said Thursday after her office launched a new dashboard focused on MIDA.

In the weeks since MIDA greenlit the multibillion-dollar data center project backed by celebrity investor and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, Cannon’s office has received an influx of calls to its whistleblower hotline and other phone lines.

“We would call it a blowing up of phones,” she said, with the overarching question asking for transparency about what MIDA is and what it does.

MIDA was established as an economic development entity to focus on supporting military missions, strengthening Utah’s defense-related infrastructure and serving veterans and active-duty members.

Before the O’Leary project, MIDA provided funding for the new Inn at Sundance. It also is helping develop the 6,000-acre East Village at Deer Valley Ski Resort.

Until the Box Elder County plan, though, Cannon said, most people likely were not...

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