Town Council decides on grant funding changes

Many of the issues Hope Town Council members have had with the distribution of economic development grants have been resolved -- with new scholarships and guaranteed amounts for some annual events. 

The council has been wrangling with issues over the distribution of the funds, which come from local income tax revenues, including concerns over the makeup of the committee overseeing the applications and what groups receive the funds.

For about a decade, the town has set aside money from the income tax revenue it gets each year for local events and community improvement efforts. The money originally was designated by the state as Economic Development Income Tax or EDIT money and town officials still generally refer to the fund and its oversight committee by that name. However state changes have widened what that income tax revenue can go toward.

The Town Council has been working on revisions to the makeup of the oversight committee which had previously had long-time members who do not live in the town borders. Under recent changes the council agreed to appoint a single council member and then to have the rest of the committee be made up of community members drawn from each of the town's wards, as chosen by members of the Town Council.

Councilman Clyde Compton has been the council's representative on the committee and last week, he announced that going forward, the other committee members would be: 

• Andrea Wallace -- Ward One
• Joyce Henderson -- Ward Two
• Pam May -- Ward Three
• John Walstad -- At-large

The Council has also decided to adopt guaranteed funding for several community events. Previously, organizers had to return each year to apply to the committee, which then made recommendations to the council for approval. But Compton suggested new, automatic spending levels for several events including:>

• $20,000 for Hope Heritage Days
• $5,000 for the Old-Fashioned Independence Day
• $1,300 for Goodies, Goblins and Ghost Stories
• $750 for the Christmas of Yesteryear
• $2,100 for the Hope farmers market and cruise-in

He said that the amounts were based on an average of the last three years of requests with small increases for several organizations.

Other organizations that would like to request funding can still apply but the council will be limiting funding approval to not-for-profit groups and those that can show a direct benefit to the town. The town would continue to set aside up to $70,000 for other grant requests.

Compton also outlined a plan to fund two $1,500 scholarships for a male and female Hauser senior to attend a local college or trade school. The scholarships would take financial need into account and winners would be chosen by the high school guidance department.

Council voted 5-0 to adopt those suggestions at its meeting last week.