County Roads, Insurance, and the Budget
At left is County Attorney Sharon B. Howard advising Timmy Thompson on the correct process needed to add a road to the county maintenance road list. Photo | Screen Capture of Facebook Metcalfe County Fiscal Court
By PJ Martin
Editor
The Herald-News
The Metcalfe County fiscal court held its regular meeting on April 24, with all the magistrates in attendance.
The agenda was adopted and the minutes from the special called meeting on April 15th were approved as written.
Timmy Thompson addressed the court asking for a road in his new subdivision to be added to the county roads list. He explained, “I’ve got some land that got already got it surveyed off. There’s about 10 different lots restricted to housing or some type of it’s got to have a concrete foundation.”
“There’s a road, existing road that Mr. Billy Jeffreys on one side, I’ve got the other side. And then Mr. Jones owns a little, maybe an acre lot or something in there. But when I had it surveyed, I had Mr. Nance survey at least a 30-foot right way all the way to back. Already had a 20-foot right of way, so I’ll see him more on my side, to get a 30-foot right of way that will go all the way around and attach to all these different lines.”
Thompson was advised that a process must be followed before a road can be added to the county list. All affected owners need to agree to add the road, the road conditions must be met, and if no opposition, the court can vote to add the road to the county-maintained list.
The next item on the agenda was choosing an insurance plan. At the prior meeting, Marla Knight-Dutille had presented insurance options to the court. She has since given Edwards a printout of 3 different plans to choose from, consisting of 1) current insurance with reductions, 2) the same insurance with a higher HRA amount, and 3) a new plan with lower deductibles and out-of-pocket amounts.
After discussing the three options, a motion was made by Magistrate Ronnie Miller to adopt the new plan. This was seconded by Magistrate Kevin Crain and the vote was unanimous.
Next was the Interlocal Agreement with the City of Edmonton for the 911 dispatch. The only small change requested was on page 3 under Article 1. A motion was made by Magistrate Daniel Bragg to accept the Interlocal Agreement with the wording change under Article I. A second was made by Crain and approved by vote.
A Resolution adopting the county road aid cooperative program agreement with the Transportation Cabinet was discussed. The revenue for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, totals $1,185,866.65; however, the amount is allotted in three distributions, the first being 60%, equaling $690,174. The second will be 30%, and the third allotment will be the remaining balance minus 3% set aside for emergencies.
A motion to approve the resolution was made by Miller, seconded by Bragg, and in a roll call vote approved.
Edwards requested that the date and time be scheduled for the first reading of the FY 25-26 budget. After a brief discussion, the date of April 29th at 8 a.m. was agreed upon.
The budget transfer and claims were all approved.
With no other business, the meeting adjourned.
The special called meeting was moved from April 29th to the 30th, and the Metcalfe County fiscal court members gathered to review the FY 25-25 budget. Everyone was present.
After the meeting was called to order by Judge/Executive Larry Wilson, he turned it over to Page Edwards, Treasurer and Fiscal Court Clerk.
Edwards explained that the magistrate’s packets had summaries of the revenues and expenditures and the breakdown by fund. Edwards added, “Just went with what you all advised…So shouldn’t be any major surprises.”
There were 3 or 4 funds due for deletion due to non-use. Edwards explained, “The only thing that I may go back and add before we have the final reading is the clerks, their document storage fee fund.”
Per the Department for Local Government (DLG), the proposed budget and an estimate of revenue must be presented to the fiscal court by May 1st. This proposed budget can be amended or approved in a first reading. (KRS 68.240) The proposed budget must be presented to the state local finance officer for approval and then returned to the county for the second reading to be held.
“After the first reading, we can still make changes,” stated Edwards, adding that once the second reading is held, it’s much harder to change anything.
Magistrate Daniel Bragg made the motion to accept the FY 25-26 Budget. That was seconded by Magistrate Ronnie Miller and the approval vote was unanimous.
With no other business listed on the agenda, the meeting adjourned.
