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Special meeting planned after commissioners find sheriff's operating fund over budget

Bourbon County Commission · December 16, 2025

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Summary

Commissioners scheduled a special meeting to publish and act on a budget amendment after finance reports showed the sheriff's public‑safety fund exceeded adopted budget levels; a finance consultant on the phone said revenue reimbursements for inmate housing have offset some costs but formal action is needed.

Bourbon County commissioners confronted a multi‑hundred‑thousand‑dollar discrepancy Dec. 15 between adopted budgets and actual spending for the sheriff/corrections fund and moved to schedule a published special meeting to consider a budget amendment.

Finance staff presented the proposed amendments for the law enforcement and county sales tax funds and noted the law enforcement budget was being increased from roughly $2.2 million to about $2.6 million. Commissioners questioned how the sheriff's operations could be so far over budget in 2025; Ben Hart (on the phone) explained the sheriff's office has historically under‑budgeted certain contractual jail costs and that the sheriff's office also brought in substantial inmate‑housing revenues that are recorded in the same fund. Hart said reimbursements for housing inmates have generated revenue above budgetary expectations and can be used to cover the overage within the sheriff/corrections fund rather than drawing on the general fund.

Commissioners discussed scheduling constraints over the holidays and the need to publish the amendment before a formal hearing. The chair proposed three possible dates for a short call/meeting; some commissioners said they could not call in on specified weekdays and asked for a weekend option. The board agreed to hold a special meeting (to be published) to finalize and adopt the budget amendment and asked finance staff to prepare a detailed breakdown (statement of expenditures and revenue sources) for review ahead of that meeting.

Next steps: finance staff to publish the proposed budget amendment; commissioners to meet at the published special meeting to vote on adjustments; staff to provide line‑by‑line details of the sheriff/corrections fund to explain the overages and revenue offsets.