Fiscal Court closes out 2011-2012 fiscal year
The Estill County Fiscal Court met in special session last week to close out the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
The fiscal year ended June 30, meaning city and county government were required to approve balanced budgets and to close out the previous fiscal year.
The court held two public hearings for Local Government Economic Assistance (LGEA) funding and county road aid funding for the next fiscal year.
The budget included $37,550 in LGEA funding to be used for economic development, road utilities, drug enforcement education and various other areas of expense for the county.
The county road aid funding can also be used for a variety of expenses including licensing fees, paying employees, road repair, graveling, asphalt and maintenance or repairs made to vehicles.
The court allotted $1.45 million in county road aid funding for the 2012-2013 fiscal year.
“As I always say, everything in the budget is anticipated,” Estill County Judge-Executive Wallace Taylor said. “The road fund is more locked in and more secure than any other budget.”
The court voted to adopt the 2012-2013 budget.
Taylor told the court the budget, which had been approved at the state level and by the Department of Local Government, was $6,468,453.51.
The budget includes a 50-cent pay raise for county employees.
Taylor announced earlier this month the county had approved a health insurance policy with Bluegrass Family Health.
During previous readings of the budget, Taylor told the court the pay raises would be determined by the health insurance policy and whether he could find a company with a reasonable bid.
County Treasurer Ann Rogers presented the May bank reconciliation statement and told the court as of May 31 all bills had been paid, making the 2011-2012 books current.
She also told the court the fiscal year could officially close out once she received the June bank statements as of July 2.
The court also approved final appropriation transfers and inter-fund transfers to make all accounts balanced at the end of the fiscal year.
The court approved a transfer of $192,000 from the general fund to the jail and a transfer of $3,000 from the general fund to the road fund.
Rogers told the court as of May 31, $695,800 had been transferred from the general fund to the jail in the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
These fund transfers are in addition to approximately $70,000 in general allotments, Taylor said.
In other business the court approved permission for CSEPP to advertise for bids for tower construction and mobile and portable radios.
Estill County Emergency Management/ CSEPP Director Fred Rogers said there would be three separate bids advertised for different parts of the tower construction that would total approximately $350,000.
The bid advertised for the mobile and portable radios would be approximately $200,000, Rogers said.
The radios would be used for the fire department, rescue teams, police, sheriff’s office and constables.
The next regular meeting of the Estill County Fiscal Court is scheduled for July 16 at 6 p.m.