Madison County approves multiple 2026 budgets; magistrates press sheriff for data on 15% increase
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Summary
At its Jan. 13 meeting the Madison County Physical Court approved the county clerk and sheriff 2026 budgets and several other resolutions; magistrates pressed the sheriff on a roughly 15% budget increase and asked for metrics to justify pay and staffing changes.
Madison County's Fiscal Court on Jan. 13 approved several 2026 budgets and resolutions, including the Madison County Clerk's budget (Resolution 2026-002) and the Madison County Sheriff's budget (Resolution 2026-003). The sheriff's $6,987,773 budget was approved after debate about its size and personnel costs.
Clerk Kenny presented Resolution 2026-002 and summarized office operations and service expansions, noting the budget includes $10,000 for passport photos and $25,000 for passport processing fees to make walk-in passport services more available locally. The court approved the clerk's budget by roll call.
Major Terry (Madison County Sheriff's Office) presented 2025 enforcement statistics in support of the sheriff's 2026 budget. He reported 34,403 calls for service in 2025 (an increase of 793), 5,453 citations (up 626), 178 DUIs (up 65), and 753 collisions (up 86). He highlighted drug-enforcement seizures, including multiple pounds of fentanyl seized by local task forces and regional partners: "4.5 pounds that they seized here" was cited during the presentation; Major Terry also illustrated the danger of fentanyl by noting that "2 milligrams of fentanyl can be considered a lethal dose." He said overdose deaths in the county declined to 27 from higher counts in prior years and linked enforcement efforts to that reduction.
Several magistrates questioned the sheriff's 2026 request. One magistrate said, "it's a 15% increase over last year's budget... deputy salaries increase is 25%... that's an eyebrow raiser to me," and requested additional performance metrics (response times, crime clearance rates, and breakdowns of citations/DUIs inside city limits versus county). Major Terry and other staff answered that part of the increase reflected extra payroll and retention measures; they offered to provide the requested breakdowns and further financial detail.
On the floor, the sheriff's budget was recorded as $6,987,773 and approved by roll call. One magistrate voted No on the sheriff's budget citing concerns about the size of the increase; other budgets and resolutions on the agenda (including the Bluegrass Army Depot liaison MOA and an updated Emergency Operations Plan) were approved during the same meeting.
The court asked staff to follow up with requested data so magistrates can evaluate the budget increases in more detail. The sheriff and Major Terry indicated they would supply city/county breakdowns of citations and additional payroll detail after the meeting.
