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Madison County supervisors debate raising E&S bond to $2,000; decide to advertise other fee updates but keep bond at $1,000
Summary
County building-and-zoning staff suggested increasing the erosion-and-sediment (E&S) bond from $1,000 to $2,000 to cover remediation risk on some earth-disturbance projects; supervisors expressed concern about burdening small homeowners and by consensus left the bond at $1,000 while agreeing to advertise other redlined fee changes.
Mister Nichols, the county’s building-and-zoning presenter, told supervisors the county’s E&S bond — intended to guarantee remediation of erosion and sediment issues on development sites — has been $1,000 for many years and may not be sufficient for some projects. "If we end up with one of these projects with earth disturbance and we have to go and finish grading and do grass seed, there's no way we're getting this done for $1,000," he said.
Nichols said neighboring jurisdictions set higher minimum bonds, and the proposed $2,000 minimum was intended to put the county in a stronger position if a project were abandoned and county crews were required to complete site stabilization. Board members raised concerns that a $2,000 requirement could be onerous for a homeowner putting up a small utility building or shed and asked whether the county would be able to place a lien or otherwise recover remediation costs if they had to use the bond.
Nichols said the bond is refundable once inspections confirm the site stabilizes. He acknowledged the county has not yet had to execute that bond in recent years but argued the higher level is prudent to avoid potential shortfalls should remediation exceed the bond amount. One supervisor recalled a previous large subdivision remediation episode but the group also noted the county has been busier with construction in recent years.
After discussion, the board reached consensus to keep the E&S bond at the existing $1,000 for now while moving other redlined fee changes in the building-and-zoning schedule forward to advertisement and public hearing. The board asked staff to advertise all proposed language changes (except for the E&S bond, which will remain at $1,000) and to supply comparative fee and bond data from neighboring counties for future consideration.
Administration said the advertised changes will allow public hearings to vet these adjustments before any final action. If the county later faces an incident demonstrating $1,000 is insufficient, supervisors indicated they could revisit the bond amount mid‑year with a public hearing.
