The Associated Press

RICHMOND, Ky. - Madison County is booming, but local government officials worry that the rapid growth may lead to budget problems because of the area's tax structure.

The Kentucky State Data Center projects that by 2030, nearly 118,000 people will live in Madison County, more than twice the 1990 population. Only Boone, Fayette and Jefferson counties are expected to add more people than Madison.

However, many of the new Madison residents work at Lexmark in Lexington, in state government or at Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Georgetown.

Those residents' payroll taxes go to the cities where they work, but Madison County must still provide education, law enforcement and other services.

"It's very clear to our leaders and residents: We do not want to become a bedroom community to Lexington," said Rob Rumpke, executive director of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce. "We have to be careful about citizens living here and working in Lexington."

Amid the concerns, the growth is likely to continue.

With tobacco, the main crop, having fallen on hard times and with no horse industry to rely on, some farmers are seeing the appeal of building houses on their property instead.

Most of Madison's growth so far has been to the south - in subdivisions across Interstate 75 from downtown Richmond, at the Gibson Bay office complex, or along U.S. 25 between downtown Richmond and downtown Berea.

The number of housing units in the county grew nearly 38 percent in the 1990s, adding more than 8,000 new units, according to the 2000 census. And the county has approved 45 to 50 major subdivision plats in the last five years, and now has at least 274 subdivisions, said Duane Curry, Madison County's zoning administrator.

Judge-executive Kent Clark said Madison County will still encourage growth.