Marshall Accepts FY 2026 Rural Business Development Grant

Marshall City Council | August 24, 2026

Article Summary: The Marshall City Council voted unanimously on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, to accept a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Business Development Grant for fiscal year 2026, four days after USDA Rural Development emailed the city that the grant had been approved. Neither the dollar amount nor the purpose of the grant appears anywhere in the meeting materials.

Rural Business Development Grant Key Points:

The council accepted the FY 2026 grant on a motion by Alderman Jarod Green, seconded by Alderman Michael Smitley, with all council members voting in favor.

The only supporting document is a Sept. 10, 2026 email from USDA Rural Development announcing approval and proposing to set up a time to review the city’s Letter of Conditions.

The email’s attachment list includes the Letter of Conditions, multiple USDA and standard federal forms, a semiannual project performance report form, grant certifications, a Notice of Federal Interest and a preliminary title opinion.

No grant amount, project description, match requirement or performance period appears in the agenda, the email or any exhibit.

MARSHALL — The Marshall City Council on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, voted unanimously to accept a federal Rural Business Development Grant for fiscal year 2026, acting on a one-line agenda item and a single page of supporting material.

Alderman Jarod Green moved to accept the grant; Alderman Michael Smitley seconded. Upon roll call, all council members voted in favor and the motion carried. The minutes record no discussion.

The supporting exhibit is a printed email sent Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, at 4:01 p.m. from USDA Rural Development’s Illinois Rural Business Development Grant account to two city addresses, including the mayor’s. The subject line reads “City of Marshall Letter of Conditions.” The message is two sentences: “We are pleased to announce your Rural Business Development Grant for FY 2026 was approved. We would like to set up a time to go through your Letter of Conditions and attached forms.”

The Terms Are in Documents the Council Did Not Receive

The attachment list printed with the email names the documents that would establish what the city has accepted. They include “1. LOC RBDG FY26- Marshall.pdf” — the Letter of Conditions itself — along with City of Marshall Form RD 1942-46, City of Marshall 4280-2, a new version of Form 1940-1, Form 400-4, Standard Forms 3881, 271 and 425, a Semi Annual Project Performance Report, RBDG Certifications, a Notice of Federal Interest and an RD-IL 1927-09 Preliminary Title Opinion.

None of those attachments is reproduced in the packet. As a result, the public record of the Sept. 14 meeting does not show the grant amount, what the money will be spent on, whether any local match or cost share is required, what the performance period is, or what conditions the city must satisfy before funds are released.

The email proposes scheduling a review of the Letter of Conditions rather than reporting that one has occurred; whether that review took place in the four days before the vote is not established by the materials.

The acceptance was the last substantive item before committee reports and the monthly bills. It is the only grant the council acted on at the meeting other than its support for the separate state ITEP application for bicycle and pedestrian improvements on IL Route 1.