Fiscal Court Recap: January 28, 2019

Budgets Discussed, ECHS Youth Leadership Attends

Senator Steven Meredith speaks at fiscal court.

Moriah Peterson, story and photos:
Edmonson County Fiscal Court was held on Monday, January 28, 2019 in the upstairs courtroom of the county courthouse.

No major discussions were shared; however, various county offices gave reports and general business and budgets were discussed.
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Road Report- Assistant County Road Foreman Greg Carroll said the road crew poured 75 tons of salt on the roadways last week and they still have 300 tons to use for the rest of the winter. Both the part time and full job positions for the road crew have been filled. Mowing will be moving into district 5 and the road department gate will be complete in 3-4 weeks.

EM Director Report- EM Director Terry "Moose" Massey reported 11 emergency runs since the first of the year.

Sheriff Report- Sheriff Shane Doyle reported an eventful last few weeks which included a burglary in the 5th district. He discussed how a woman found a man in her house when she came home and there was a physical altercation-- but the woman stood her ground. The burglar was found with a hand gun and drugs, while wearing a large knife. The sheriff said the man was located with a woman inside a vehicle and both were arrested.

He also reported that his office assisted Grayson County Sheriff deputies in a missing person case. After further investigation the missing person was confirmed deceased. Sheriff Doyle also reported on a shooting that happened at the Moutardier Marina cabins on January 25th. The victim was shot twice with a shotgun and air lifted to Louisville, and is still in critical condition. According to Doyle the suspect was located and arrested within 3-4  hours. We'd like to thank everyone that helped with this case," said Sheriff Doyle. In addition to Edmonson County Deputies, the Grayson County Sheriff's Office, Brownsville Police Chief Jeff Jewell, Mammoth Cave National Park Rangers, Leitchfield Police, Edmonson County Dispatch, Kentucky State Police, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers all worked together.

Jailer Report- There are currently 15 inmates at the Hart County jail and one on the home incarceration program. There has not been any medical issues and all vehicles are in working order.

County Attorney Report- Greg Vincent will be attending the Kentucky County Attorney Conference from February 13th through the 15th. The lawsuit between the county and the former clerk has been resolved and should receive a payment of around $6000 within a month.

Parks and Rec Report- Parks director A.B Webb reported vandalism on the doors of the Brownsville park main bathroom. Webb also said they plan to lay new tile in the bathroom along with putting in new toilets.

Tourism Report- Rhonda Clemmons stated that Mammoth Cave has reopened the cave tours. The park is currently reviewing applicants for a new park manager. It was reported that over 97 applications were turned in for the position. Tourism is stilling working with the SOKY Film Commission.

Corner Report- 24 term deaths over the last year were reported to the court.

State Senator Steve Meredith also attended Fiscal Court this morning. Meredith spoke about passing of the TVA bill which benefits rural counties in Kentucky. Edmonson County is one of 39 counties of which allocated funds of $2 million will be evenly divided to in Fiscal Year ’18-’19, then $4 million to be evenly divided between the counties in Fiscal Year ’19-’20. He said the purpose of these funds is to continually ready sites and upgrade infrastructure to attract business and create jobs within these rural counties. The senator also spoke about his commitment to eliminate waste in Frankfort. One of the ways Meredith said he plans to do this is by pushing for doing away with the office of Lieutenant Governor. Meredith believes there is no need for this position and doing away with it has the potential to save 1 million dollars a year.
 
The Edmonson County High School Youth Leadership group also attended Fiscal Court this morning. The group met with county officials after court. The Youth Leadership program is made up of high school students and the purpose of the program is to engage in local community efforts. Next month the group will be visiting Frankfort to learn more about state government.   

Edmonson County Youth Leadership members with Fiscal Court.

The Court acknowledged Edmonson County Ambulance Service Rate Revision.

The court approved the KY Board of Emergency Medical Services Ambulance grant application. This is an annual $10,000 grant that allows the purchase of specific equipment.

The court also approved the Resolution EC19-02, affiliation agreement between Barren River District Health Department and EC Emergency management.

Sheriff Shane Doyle shared budget comparisons of Todd and Butler County after budget concerns were expressed by magistrate Clark Wood, who had earlier stated that each of those counties had similar populations as Edmonson but were able to run their respective offices at a much lower budget amount. In the comparisons, Doyle noted what those county’s deputies are paid along with how many deputies the counties have, which was significantly higher than Edmonson County.

Doyle also stated the following line items are not included in the Todd County sheriff budget: the court security officer’s salary and benefits, along with workman’s comp, unemployment insurance and phone bills, all of which are in his budget. The fiscal court portion of the Todd County sheriffs budget is $158,575. He noted that $399,975 is from fees collected, and $315,545 from the general fund, which bring the total budget to $715,520--which is nearly $100k more than Doyle's budget of $616,600.

​Butler County has the following line items not in sheriff’s budget is retirement: social security/Medicaid, unemployment, workman’s comp, health insurance and phone bill. The fiscal court portion of the Butler County sheriffs budget is $235,222, $445,022 is from fees collected, and $411,210 from the general fund, which brings their total budget to $856,232, which is nearly $240K more than Doyle's.

Doyle stated that he is currently having to pay for expenses out of the drug fund. The sheriff concluded by asking the magistrates to talk with magistrates from other to counties get insight for how they fund their sheriff departments.

Judge Executive Wil Cannon brought up the discussion of non-essential vs essential employees. During bad weather if Judge Cannon declares an emergency essential employees (road crew, dispatch, deputies etc.) are required to come to work while non-essential employees (clerks, office staff etc.) do not have to come in but still receive pay. Canon expressed his recommendation to keep this system as is. His second recommendation would be to allow time and half if the employee’s hours surpassed 40 hours. The court will have further discussion next meeting. 

​Next fiscal court meeting is scheduled for February 11, 2019 at 9:00 am.