It is budget season for Christian County Government, and Judge-Executive Jerry Gilliam presented his proposed spending plan in an address Thursday morning, which includes raises for county employees and plan to own Commerce Park II.
There were some technical difficulties that kept the budget address from being live streamed, but Judge Gilliam says this budget will go up on their website following its approval for anyone to go over for themselves. If they do, they’ll see that this is a proposed $60.8 million budget, which is a jump from last year’s $52.7 million budget, and Judge Gilliam says a good chunk of that comes from a loan of $17 million from the State of Kentucky that will allow Christian Fiscal Court to purchase Commerce Park II.
He says there’s a list of reasons for why they would like to be in control of that industrial park, with the main one being it would allow them to have bigger say on what industries might locate there.
Gilliam says they are projecting a four percent increase in revenue during the 2026-2027 budget cycle, and employees will receive three percent cost of living adjustments.
In recent fiscal years, the Fiscal Court has been able to lower the property tax, and Gilliam says he has high hopes that will continue trending downward in the coming year, though it will ultimately be up to magistrates to decide.
The county will have a carry forward in the amount of $4.1 million, and Gilliam says they’ll be able to invest in numerous one time capital investments in this coming budget cycle, thanks to a surplus from the current fiscal year. That surplus comes from conservative spending, so Gilliam says they wanted to focus on projects that wouldn’t need recurring dollars.
Some of those proposed projects including updating county building, a large renovation project at the Christian County Regional Animal to improve to overall health of the animals housed there, updating the HVAC systems at the Christian County Jail, updates to the bathroom and storage at Western Hills Golf Course, investments at the Alhambra Theatre and Ruff Park and continuing to upgrade the country-wide two-way radio system. Altogether, the projects would total roughly $1.7 million, if approved.
Judge Gilliam also invited the public to a meeting on Monday at the Christian County Sheriff’s Office to discuss the recent report on Christian Fiscal Court from the State Auditor’s Office.
The cash balances for the end of the fiscal year are looking pretty healthy for the county—not counting funds from the American Rescue Plan, the county has an available cash balance of $16.5 million. Judge Gilliam says they consider that they’re rainy day fund, and he’s grateful to have it, in case the county ever faces an economic hardship.
The first reading of this budget is set to take place at next Tuesday’s meeting of the Fiscal Court, and if it’s approved, it will then head to the Department of Local Government for review.