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Bourbon County budget review: officials warn reserves are restricted and levy choices are imminent
Summary
County finance staff told commissioners the county's headline cash balance includes many restricted funds and CDs, leaving far less discretionary cash than it appears; commissioners asked departments to present line-by-line reductions at an early Monday session before certifying levy intent.
Susan (identified in the transcript by name) and other speakers spent the session walking commissioners through Bourbon County's cash report and the draft 2025 budget, stressing that large headline totals include statutorily restricted agency funds and certificates of deposit and therefore overstate what the county can spend. "We really don't have that full $10,000,000 at our discretion to use," Speaker 4 said, noting that CD amounts are already counted in the cash total.
The presenter identified several reserve accounts — general equipment, appraiser, road and bridge, special machinery, EMS equipment reserve, computer equipment reserve and a noxious-weeds reserve — and said many dollars are "kinda spoken for," including ARPA dollars earmarked for a tower installation in the county's northwest. She said special improvement funds have been drawn down on FEMA-eligible repairs and are close to zero while the county waits for FEMA reimbursement.
Commissioners pressed for clearer department-level detail and questioned the location and status of a previously reported commission contingency (about $260,000 on a prior summary). The presenter said transfers were already made — for example, to EMS and the sheriff — and that some public summaries lag internal transfers. One commissioner called the reported 2.9 mill illustration misleading in places, saying the figure did not directly address low reserves.
Because the commission must certify a revenue-neutral (RNR) levy intention at the next meeting, members asked for fuller department breakout sheets so they can examine potential cuts. The presenter calculated that holding a three-month operating reserve target for key funds would imply roughly $2.7 million in protected cash; the draft budget as presented showed about $430,000 in "protected" reserves. Commissioners agreed to convene early next Monday for department-by-department presentations and follow-up questions.
The meeting recorded no formal motions or votes on the budget at this work session. The next procedural step is the commissioners' early meeting to review departmental requests and to certify the levy intent by the legally required deadline.
