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Alexandria resident presses Campbell County fiscal court on budget transparency and school transport
Summary
At the fiscal court meeting, resident Mike Mason questioned large budget line items — including a $7.55 million pass-through that never arrived — and raised concerns about road funding and perceived inefficiencies in school bus routing; county staff explained accounting distinctions and referred school questions to the Board of Education.
Mike Mason, an Alexandria resident, used the public-comment portion of the Campbell County fiscal court meeting to press officials for clearer explanations of several budget line items and for answers about school transportation patterns.
"I would like as an individual taxpayer in this county to know what is being spent for," Mason said after identifying himself and his address. He asked the court to explain a roads appropriation of $2,847,691 that in the online budget appeared to allocate less than 12% to materials and raised why large resurfacing work did not show up in the same materials line.
County staff replied that the budget separates contract-based capital projects (large resurfacing work) from the in-house 'materials' line (used for pothole repair and small patching). As staff explained, resurfacing is typically contracted out and paid from the capital line, while the materials line funds crew-led, minor repairs; that accounting difference explains much of the apparent disparity.
Mason also asked about a $7,550,000 contract entry he found online for a "private agency." Officials said that item reflected a prior-year pass-through grant the legislature had awarded for a Newport park project; the state ultimately paid Newport directly and the county never received or expensed the funds. "We never received the revenue, so we never expensed the funds," a county official said.
On school transport, Mason said he had counted five school buses on his street in a day and worried about inefficiency. County staff told him the fiscal court only reimburses the school district for transporting nonpublic students under state rules; the district sets routes and operates buses, and the fiscal court does not control school bus routing. Staff directed Mason to the Campbell County Board of Education for detailed questions about bus routing and pupil loads.
Mason also asked about other department reporting lines and why some functions, such as the county golf course superintendent versus director, are listed separately; county officials confirmed those staff report to the judge/executive and clarified job distinctions.
The judge offered to meet with Mason and county staff for a deeper review of his budget questions and noted the county posts explanatory material online and is willing to review entries in more detail with residents.
The fiscal court did not take action on Mason’s comments; officials described the points and identified which agencies (the school board or the state) would be the appropriate contacts for certain questions.
