Nov 27, 2023. This post at Brown County Matters. (Received copies of the slides).
Background Info – READI Grant Funding- Round 1.0 – 2021/22
Nov 9, 2023. An information session on Round 2 of a Regional Opportunity Initiative (ROI) referred to as READI, was hosted by the Community Foundation on Nov 9, 2023, from 9-11.
“Eligible project activities are limited to capital projects or infrastructure improvements. Matching Requirements: Attracting private investment is a major goal of the READI 2.0 program. ” Regions should attract a minimum 4:1 match at a regional level across their portfolio of projects. • This includes a required 1:1 match from local public funding and 3:1 match from private and philanthropic sources. • At least 60% of the match should be from private sources.”
The fact that the Brown County Community Foundation (BCCF) is serving as a coordinator/facilitator of this process is interesting and problematic.
The county commissioners (elected officials) are responsible for the County Comprehensive Plan (CCP). The CCP (should) represent the voice of the citizens as to what they want and do not want in terms of quality of life and economic development.Brown County’s CCP is only 11 pages and deliberately vague. This allows just about any individual or special interest group with the right connections, to determine what they think is best for the county in terms of state and county funding. A solution is to present a proposed change as an addendum to the CCP. Approved changes would require public meetings and a vote by commissioners.
On the first round of projects, Brown County received funding for areas that included childcare, workforce development, and wastewater (WW) strategic planning. The WW strategic plan was developed at the request of the Brown County Regional Sewer District (BCRSD) and approved without any input from citizens. Further, the “county” WW strategic plan was “not” presented at any public meetings. It was used to justify funding for the expansion of sewers with “phase one” including an area ranging from Lake Lemon to Helmsburg, Bean Blossom, to Woodland Lake. The Indiana Finance Authority (IFA) has/will approve one or more projects based on this strategy. See
Clean Water (CW) Project Priority List – Small Systems.
Background information:
Independent Voters of Brown County IN 