Madison County development group seeks 10% increase to fund new director and chase grants

The Madison County Development Group told county supervisors it needs more funding to sustain a paid executive director and expand local economic development efforts. Jeff, speaking for the group, said the county’s prior director, Tom Leonard, is out and the board expects to appoint a replacement at a noon meeting; the new hire, he said, would be able to pursue state and federal grants and business‑attraction work that the volunteer era did not support.

Jeff described several recent and ongoing initiatives the development group helped advance, including regional broadband projects and the group’s revolving loan fund for small businesses. He said the organization identified a state homeowner assistance program with roughly $1,000,000 available and urged the county to back a professional director who could move quickly to apply within a short window.

On compensation, Jeff said the organization recently began offering employee benefits by contracting with a city payroll arrangement; the added benefit costs are about $19,040 annually. He asked the board to consider roughly a 10% increase to the county allocation to bring the group’s county support to the requested level and allow the group to recruit and retain a director.

Board members pressed for clarity on current funding levels, membership revenues and how the county share would be used. Supervisors reiterated the budget process steps: staff will outline county revenues and then supervisors will reconcile requests during the next round of meetings. The chair asked Jeff to provide any additional documentation and to coordinate with county staff on timing and budget lines.

The county did not make a funding decision at the meeting; supervisors said they will consider the request as part of the next budget session.