The Madras City Council has approved $145,000 in community grant allocations for the 2025–26 fiscal year — down from $178,450 last year — following a competitive application cycle that drew nearly $388,000 in total requests from 29 applicants.

“We have a limited amount,” Councilor Mike Siebold said during deliberations. “We wish we could give more, but we’re going to be, unfortunately, studious in the way we do this.”

Citing the city’s goal to support local economic development, Siebold noted that funding decisions were guided by whether a project would bring measurable economic impact to Madras. The process, a four-hour council meeting with presentations and deliberations, left many applicants and community programs without city support this year.

One of the biggest funding discussions centered on the Madras-Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, which received $69,500, smaller than their request of $76,500. While some councilors questioned whether the city’s investment in the Chamber was proportionate to the return, others defended the allocation.

“I don’t know how we measure success with the Chamber,” Siebold said. “But if you’re asking me if we get seventy-six thousand five hundred dollars’ worth of economic development from it, my answer honestly is no.”

Councilor Whitney Bell questioned the disparity in funding for the Chamber between the city and county. The city, with a smaller overall budget, contributes more to the Chamber than the county. “How can you justify spending the exact same amount on one entity when our budget is way less than the county’s?,” asked Bell.

Others emphasized the Chamber’s role in organizing major city events, “We have people that are coming in the door. It is the cornerstone of your community, it is who takes the load off of everyone else we’re doing for the biggest events,” said Chamber Executive Director Debbie Taylor. She cited events like the July 4th celebration, the Community Awards Banquet, and holiday parades. “If these events don’t have the manpower to do it, it gets offloaded back to you.”

Councilor Pamela Thomas summed up the challenge: “We’re giving a lot of money to people who are new or asking for the first time, and some of these aren’t completely economic. I think the Chamber does help our community quite a bit, and that’s why I feel we should stick with what we’ve done there.”

Despite the constrained budget, some new and returning applicants did receive support. Among them community event staples like the Airshow ($22,500), The Madras Rock and Gem Show ($5,000), and the High Desert Community Theater Guild ($2,000), as well as new events to the area like the Gambler 500 ($3,750).

The Jefferson County Events Complex received a total of $15,000 to support events, including $5,000 for the Cowdeo and $10,000 for a new addition to the Jefferson County Fair this year, a Bounce N Battles building that will transform the Keeney building into a free hall of interactive games during the fair.

Other community groups received support for sustaining funds, like the Madras Downtown Association ($10,000), Operation Rudolph ($2,500), LINC Madras ($2,000), Madras Sparklers ($2,000) Madras Community Food Pantry ($2,000), Veterans programming ($1,500 total), WAK-9 Training ($1,000) and Furnish Hope ($1,000).

One project that was city denied funding was a request from the Jefferson County Historical Society for $8,000. The JCHS recently purchased the old Methodist Church on Eighth and D streets with the intent to turn it into a Jefferson County Museum and were seeking funds to help upgrade the electrical system.

Other projects rejected include: funding a community garden project; a Latino Community Association workforce program, which multiple councilors decided not to fund because of the cancellation of Latino Fest this year; the Jefferson County Community Center, which requested personnel funding; some fairground programs; Neighborimpact’s mobile food pantry; Heart of Oregon Corps; Kids Club of Jefferson County; Jefferson County Sheriff’s Shop With a Cop; and Madras Saddle and Game Club.

Council members also discussed a long-term goal of aligning the city’s community grant process with Jefferson County’s system, potentially easing of certain recurring commitments in future years, and changing the system to a rolling basis.