Few Madison County residents have had as dedicated and wide-ranging a career in public service as Madison County Commission Chairman Mac McCutcheon. Born and raised on a farm in Toney, McCutcheon is a United States Army veteran who has served as a law enforcement officer, Alabama State Representative for District 25, farmer, and associate pastor.

Also among his notable achievements are the eight years he served as the 66th Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives and his 25-year career with the Huntsville Police Department (HPD), where he worked in various roles. In January 2023, he was appointed chairman of the Madison County Commission by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey.

In late December of last year, McCutcheon publicly announced he would soon retire due to health issues. He was diagnosed with stage four kidney disease, which he said requires a life-changing dialysis treatment schedule.

The Huntsville Business Journal sat down with Chairman McCutcheon to discuss his decision to retire, reflect on his decades of service, and share his perspective on the future of Madison County.

In discussing the decision to retire, McCutcheon said the demands of his diagnosis ultimately reshaped his ability to continue in the role.

“I realized then that it was going to be a lifestyle change and my schedule was going to have to be adjusted,” McCutcheon said.

McCutcheon continued, “I take the vote of the people very seriously, and they voted for me to do a job. I felt like I was not able to fulfill that commitment. It was a difficult decision to make, but I realized at the end of the day that with my family, my health concerns, and being able to do the job the way it should be done, the best thing to do was to go ahead and retire.”

When asked what advice he would give to the next Madison County Commission chairman, McCutcheon said a thorough understanding of county departments, how they function, and how they operate is essential to serving local residents well.

Overall, he said the position should focus on helping local residents with the everyday issues that impact their daily lives.

“It’s about quality of life for the people we serve,” McCutcheon said.

Reflecting on his work in recent years as the Madison County Commission Chairman, he shared that his two proudest accomplishments have been the creation of a countywide 10-year transportation plan and increasing the involvement of each district’s commissioner in the budgeting process.

Referencing the budgeting process project that required input from the entire commission, McCutcheon said he and his team took a deep dive into the county’s budget and revenue streams.

“It was a big move forward for us. By doing that and working together as a commission, we were able to start looking at our budget and our revenues, and we became more efficient in the way we spent taxpayer dollars,” he said.

Photo credit: Huntsville/Madison County Chamber

Looking ahead, McCutcheon acknowledged the challenges following Madison County’s rapid growth. He called the commercial and residential growth a “very delicate balance.”

“There are some challenges there as to the fact that you want to protect the residential space for people who bought homes and are living in the county,” he said.

At the same time, he emphasized, residents need thoughtful commercial growth so they can easily access daily necessities like food and medical services.

McCutcheon also highlighted that growing traffic congestion and road maintenance are becoming the county’s most pressing issues, requiring a unified effort and significant funding to address in the future.

“When you look at that, in order for us to get state dollars up here and to get the revenue money that we need, it’s going to take everybody working together and pulling in the same direction to see it happen,” he said.

McCutcheon credited the cooperative relationship between city and county leaders as one of the driving forces behind Madison County’s continued success.

“We have a great collaborative spirit here in Madison County among our city leaders, councilmen, and county commissioners, and we have accomplished a lot because we work well together,” he said.

As he prepares to step away from office, McCutcheon said he is especially grateful for the relationships he built with fellow area leaders.

“I just want to say thank you to the leadership that I’ve had the opportunity to work with in our cities, as well as our county commissioners. We’ve had a good working relationship. I’m very thankful for each one and their willingness to step out and be involved in a leadership role in our local government,” McCutcheon noted.