Committee forwards $324,000 in Ho-Chunk funding requests to county finance committee

The Vernon County Economic Development Committee reviewed 2024 Ho-Chunk funding requests totaling $324,000 and voted Aug. 2 to forward the prioritized requests to the county Finance Committee for further consideration.

Community Development Director Amy Oliver and Economic Development staffer Larkin Breckel presented the package, which lists four prioritized items: a Community Development Grant Program request of $150,000, a Community Branding Project request of $50,000 (Vernon County applied for an external grant that would reduce the county contribution from $30,800 to $20,000 if awarded), a Level Up Vernon Grant Program request of $24,000, and a Grant Match Support Program request of $100,000. Amy Oliver described the priorities and the potential grant offset for the branding project.

Tom Weston moved to forward the requests in the order prioritized by staff; Kevin Larson seconded and the committee approved the motion unanimously. The committee did not take a final funding vote but directed staff to present the requests to the Finance Committee, which will review them alongside the county's 2025 budget work.

The action advances review of the Ho-Chunk requests but does not commit Vernon County to funding; final allocations will depend on the Finance Committee's recommendations and the county budget process. The Finance Committee meeting date and further staff recommendations were not specified at the Economic Development Committee meeting.