Franklin County fiscal court approves amended humane‑society contract, presses for broadband plan as grants advance

Frankfort — The Franklin County Fiscal Court on Sept. 25 approved an amended agreement with the county humane society, debated options to address growing senior‑meal and other social‑service shortfalls, and pushed for faster broadband planning as several grant and investment decisions moved forward.

The court voted to adopt the revised humane‑society contract after a staff and agency review corrected math errors in the organization’s earlier submission. Gary Lowry, who identified himself at the meeting as the executive director who refiled the corrected contract, told magistrates the annual contract fee is $92,000 retroactive to July 1 and that the county had already paid $18,500. "The balance of $73,500 divided by three yields $24,500," Lowry said, explaining the revised quarterly payment schedule the court approved. The judge was asked to sign and deliver the amended agreement the same day to meet looming certification deadlines.

The approval followed an extended discussion in which several magistrates stressed the need to protect other locally funded services while responding to the humane society’s request. Magistrate Sebastian said he could not support last‑minute requests that were not shared earlier in budget deliberations; others said the…