The Walton County Board of County Commissioners voted to advance a first-reading ordinance establishing a Walton Forever pilot program — designed to facilitate conservation easements for agricultural properties — to a second reading after an extended debate over funding and safeguards.

County staff described the draft as a pared‑back pilot that would not authorize county land purchases or establish a standing committee to manage county‑held conservation land. Instead, the ordinance would create a framework and a dedicated account that the board could fund on an annual basis if it chose to do so; staff emphasized the ordinance does not itself impose any tax or obligate funds. County Attorney and staff told commissioners that funding decisions would be made annually and could include grants, donations, or matching funds used to leverage state and federal programs.

Commissioners and members of the public tested that funding framework at length. Some commissioners said they were reluctant to proceed without a defined revenue source given potential budget pressures and pending local revenue uncertainty; others said creating the program now would allow Walton County to compete for state and federal matching grants and private contributions. Farmers, agricultural advocates and conservation groups during public comment urged the county to move forward to preserve working farmland and to design strict contractual safeguards so conservation easement rights cannot be later re‑transferred in a way that defeats the conservation purpose.

A motion to move the ordinance forward to second reading was amended on the floor to replace a proposed "super‑majority" requirement with a simple majority for future county actions and then carried 4–1 (Commissioner Anderson opposed/recorded as abstention in the minutes). Staff will reissue an amended advertisement and return the ordinance for second reading and possible adoption in January, and they said they will prepare procurement language to competitively select nonprofit easement managers and to tighten contractual protections.