Madison County opens application process for Bill Buick settlement funds, sets review steps

Madison County supervisors moved forward with an application to seek the county’s allocation from the Bill Buick settlement fund and outlined how the county will accept and review applications.

At the meeting, Speaker 2 introduced a resolution to approve the county’s application for the settlement funds. Speaker 3 moved to approve the application with minor typographical corrections; a second was recorded and the motion advanced for discussion. Supervisors discussed administrative uncertainty about how the region will ultimately administer pools of money and said the county will publish the application on the county website and in local newspapers to solicit applicants.

Speakers reported an available funding pool of about $147,000 and discussed one illustrative allocation figure of $20,081.20 as an example for planning. Supervisors agreed on a review process: applications will be posted online, applicants will submit to Michelle (not fully identified in the transcript), and eligible applicants will present to a review committee before supervisors act. An RFP/timeline was described as forthcoming; one speaker said typical timelines include a 90-day submission window once the RFP is issued.

The board emphasized fairness: applicants should present so the review committee and supervisors can compare requests. Outreach will include posting the application link on the county website and placing notices in the Madisonian; supervisors also discussed placing notices in additional local papers (the Shopper or other widely distributed papers) so residents across the county are reached.

Next steps: county staff will finalize the corrected application, post it online, accept submissions to Michelle for initial screening, and bring eligible applications to the committee for review. Exact award amounts and recipients will be determined after applications are received and evaluated.