Magistrates review proposed budgets    

Published 10:14 am Friday, April 21, 2017

Clark County Judge-Executive Henry Branham says that following a round of budget cuts made by the fiscal court Wednesday and increased revenue projections through the month of April, the county will be able to avoid a budget shortfall in the 2018 fiscal year.

“We will still have to use a portion of the carryover funds from this year, but not nearly as much,” Branham said.

Fiscal court magistrates reviewed the proposed 2018 budget Wednesday, making cuts wherever they could to make reductions totaling about $70,000, Branham said.

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Additionally, county staff has identified $375,000 in additional revenues, he said.

Money for new technology was removed from the budget for the Clark County Detention Center, with an additional $1,500 cut from the jail’s fuel and maintenance line item.

Fuel allocations were also cut from the Clark County Fire Department’s budget, reducing that line item from $40,000 to $25,000, with the latter being a 2.5 percent increase from what the department is projected to spend this year.

Funding was also cut from the fire department’s budget for a rescue boat.

The requested budget from Winchester-Clark County Parks and Recreation was reduced from $300,000 to $257,000, and the $2,000 requested by Lower Howard’s Creek Nature Preserve was cut in half to $1,000.

The county is still going through the budgeting process, and the document has not yet been finalized. The county must vote on and approve a budget by July 1 each year.