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By ZACHARY SEIFTER/ Staff Writer

The Chilton County Commission met once again on Aug. 31 to discuss the budget for this upcoming fiscal year.

This week, it was the Industrial Development Authority’s turn to speak with the commission about its financial needs in the upcoming year.

Whitney Barlow, executive director of the IDA, requested $750,000 to be set aside for the IDA in the upcoming budget, a $250,000 increase from what was given to the IDA a year ago.

“We went on up again to try to finish out the big project (exit 212) while adding in the project at (exit) 200 and additionally supporting Thorsby, Maplesville and Jemison in their efforts,” Barlow said.

Barlow said another reason for the increase is because the IDA is expecting a Request for Proposal from the state for a project that could be brought to Chilton County.

This project would require 100 acres of land or more, and Barlow said the IDA would need money for environmental work on the land should Chilton County be chosen for the project.

“If we end up in the same situation we were in by (exit) 212, we’re looking at $170,000,” Barlow said.

The commission concluded that it would not be able to give the IDA the full $250,000 increase that it was looking for, but may be able to give half, giving the IDA a budget of $625,000 this upcoming fiscal year.

Following the IDA’s budget presentation, the commission discussed the overall budget for the county. They discussed possibly using the money they received from the American Rescue Plan Act to give one-time payments to employees for the next two years instead of giving a 3% pay increase.

They also discussed using that money to fix the current problem with the P25 radio system across the county.