Fiscal Court Passes Second Reading of $12M County Budget: Totals Increase by $1M, All $2.3M in ARPA Funds Allocated

Darren Doyle, story:
Last week, the Edmonson County Fiscal Court passed the second reading of their annual budget numbers for the fiscal year from July 2025 to June 2026 in the amount of $12,191,215.00, which is up by about a million dollars from last year's budget.

The following increases were included in the county budget, according to Edmonson County Treasurer Tammi Willhite:

Fiscal Year 25/26                    Current Fiscal Year 24/25

GENERAL  - $5,057,765                $3,792,538
ROAD - $ 4,980,090                   $3,686,288
JAIL - $ 608,860                      $564,900
LGEA- $ 25,000                       $19,000
ROOM - $ 175,000                     $166,000   
OPIOID - $ 343,000                    $320,000
PARKS & REC - $ 452,500               $417,850
E911 - $ 76,000                       $131,500
E911 WIRELESS - $ 366,000            $295,000
CLERK SPECIAL FUND - $ 108,000         $90,000
ARPA  $ 0                            $1,660,000

TOTAL $12,191,215.00                $ 11,143,076.00

The new fiscal year also shows no more ARPA appropriations, as the remaining funding will be transferred to the county's general account.

According to Treasurer Willhite, all of the county's $2.3M in Federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds have either been appropriated or spent, with no outstanding payments to be made to any entity.  

Approximate ARPA appropriations include:

• $130K for voting equipment
• $650K for Edmonson Water improvements
• up to $210K for local fire department equipment ($30K ea)
• $245K for new ambulance/equipment
• $130K for new dispatch equipment
• $150K premium pay for county employees during the COVID shutdown
• $67K for road department skid steer
• $430K for PEP Beautification project
• $30K for architectural design for animal shelter
• 1.5% transaction fee to an account management/protection firm

"Last year, we were eligible to do a loss revenue based on the calculations performed by Compass (the contracted fund management company); we were able to transfer the remaining ARPA funds to our general fund and utilize them towards regular government expenses."

In June of 2023, the Fiscal Court voted to allocate $430K to Preserving Edmonson Pride for a Courthouse/Community Center beautification project, but the project has been on hold ever since the county found out it would be responsible for relocating utility poles with their own funding. Without the poles being moved, the proposed work cannot be done. So far, Willhite said only $17K of that allocated money has been used on the beautification project, with the recent painting of the Community Center. 

The court also voted for cost of living increases for county employees of 2% with elected officials receiving a 2.9% raise.