Gallatin County fiscal court approves emergency budget amendment, tables park slide purchase

Gallatin County’s fiscal court approved an emergency budget amendment and several routine fiscal motions at Thursday’s meeting, and it postponed a final decision on replacing a park playground slide to allow further review.

Staff described an emergency amendment (amendment number 9) to increase general fund receipts to reflect a donation from Newport Fair Board and wire transfers associated with a capital purchase. The presentation listed amounts in the packet (staff cited increases in the range of roughly $561,000 for miscellaneous revenues and a capital transfer figure near $549,000); court members approved the amendment on a single emergency reading.

Earlier the court approved monthly bills, the treasurer’s May fund statements and several interfund and budget transfers, including a close‑out transfer of $152,508.07 into the general fund. The court also completed a second reading of the proposed 02/2526 budget and approved it by roll call.

On a separate parks item, the court reviewed two vendor quotes to replace a slide at a county park (quotes cited: about $14,000 and $8,009.58; staff reported negotiating to approximately $8,900). Members discussed removing the old unit, looking for used equipment on marketplaces, or issuing a purchase order now so the expense falls in the current fiscal year. The court voted to table the slide purchase for 30 days and asked staff to form a small committee to continue the search.

Court members said they would rebid certain roofing projects after discovering bid specification inconsistencies and authorized staff to proceed with the appropriate procurement steps.