The Woodford County Fiscal Court’s budget and finance committee on Monday recommended approval of the 2026 operating budgets for the sheriff’s office and the county clerk’s office.

The sheriff presented a 2026 budget of $1,532,569.71, an increase of $32,845.13 from the current year, and described the proposal as a continuation budget with roughly 10 line-item changes tied to updated pay rates. "Our 2026 budget is $1,532,569.71," the sheriff said. Committee members asked no substantive questions and moved to recommend the proposal to the full court.

Motion to recommend the sheriff’s budget came from Squire Kelly Carl and was seconded by Squire Daryl Varner; the committee voted unanimously to forward the budget. The committee also voted unanimously to recommend approval of the sheriff’s annual order allowance.

County Clerk presented a proposed 2026 budget totaling $1,202,705.59, citing higher employee insurance costs (about $23,000), a $2,000 increase for software/hardware contract management, and a $5,000 postage increase tied to two county elections next year. "The largest increases had to do with medical," the clerk said, adding that much of the remainder of the clerk’s budget is carry-forward operational expense. The committee moved and unanimously recommended the clerk’s budget and the clerk’s annual order allowance.

All motions were carried by voice vote during the committee meeting and will proceed to the full fiscal court for final approval.