Clinton Fiscal Court now has a 2017-18 year budget in place, adopting the just under $4.7 million document during an “emergency provision” special meeting held last Friday morning, June 23–one week prior to the current year’s budget expiring.

After getting a late start on approving first reading and forwarding the budget to the Department of Local government for initial approval, the county began playing catch-up the prior week by holding first reading and sending it to the DLG just days before the required deadline.

State officials approved the budget earlier last week, prompting the special meeting on Friday in which the court narrowly approved second and final reading on a 3-2 vote. Magistrate Patty Guinn was absent from the meeting.

Second reading had originally been scheduled for June 29, however, assistant County Attorney Gary Little presented the ordinance related to the passage of the budget via the KRS 67.078 Emergency Provision, spelling out the reasons why the county needed to act prior to that date.

That ordinance states, for the most part, “Kentucky Consitution…require(s) the county to operate under a balanced budget, and, Fiscal Court did not receive the approved first reading of said budget from the Department of Local Government until June 20, and the budget is required to be adopted no later than June 30, and the qualifying newspaper publishes one edition per week…the Fiscal Court is unable to meet statute…not less than seven days nor more than 21 days advertising requirement prior to the second reading…as the second reading could not occur before the end of the current fiscal year as the advertisement in the Clinton County News could not be published prior to June 26…the requirement to end all “non-essential” county services in the event the budget is not adopted by June 30 will clearly create undue harm to the residents of Clinton County who pay for and depend on these service…KRS 67.078 provides the adoption of the ordinance to address emergency situations…allows for a majority of Fiscal Court to declare an emergency to exist by naming and describing the emergency.”

Attorney Little told the court that after adoption of the budget, a copy would be provided to the state.

Following Little’s review of the emergency provision ordinance, magistrate Hershell Key made the motion to approve second reading, thus adopting the budget. Magistrate Terry Buster made a second to the motion with magistrate Johnny Russell also voting yes.

Magistrates Mickey Riddle and Ricky Craig voted no, each citing the same reason for their opposition.

The opposing magistrates presented a list of departments where they felt in some cases showed higher incomes in the 2018 budget than last year and inferred there were no increases for ambulance service personnel at all.

Judge Richard Armstrong and County Treasurer Tuesday Davis disagreed with that assumption, with Davis saying the budget was a projection for the upcoming year and noted that no one individual or group of individuals could get a raise without a vote by the court.

Judge Armstrong also said “I guarantee no one will get more than a quarter (raise).” But the magistrates asserted that if the numbers were in the budget that is probably how it would be.

The budget ordinance second reading passed on the 3-2 vote and with no other business on the agenda for the call session, the meeting was adjourned.

The total budget amount is some $4,689,858.30, just over $200,000 more than the 2016-17 year budget.

Fund allocations included: General Fund, $1,238,040.42; Road Fund, $1,144,203.88; Jail Fund, $597,252; LGEA (Local Government Economic Assistance), $162,050; DES (Disaster and Emergency Services), $28,994; Ambulance Fund, $1,155,311; Forest Fire Protection Fund, $1,502; Occupational Tax Fund, $42,090; and 911 Fund, $320,415.00.