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Henderson commissioners accept clean audit, approve ordinances and public-safety purchases
Summary
On Jan. 13, 2026 the Henderson Board of Commissioners accepted an unqualified FY2025 audit, adopted several ordinances updating parks governance, emergency succession and the electrical code, approved infrastructure change orders and public-safety purchases, and discussed storm-siren upgrades.
The Board of Commissioners of the City of Henderson on Jan. 13, 2026 accepted an Unqualified ('Clean') opinion on the City's fiscal year 2025 financial statements and approved a package of ordinances, municipal orders and resolutions covering parks governance, emergency-succession rules, building-code updates and several procurement actions.
Auditor Malcolm E. “Mac” Neel III presented the independent auditor's report for the year ended June 30, 2025, describing the audit process and risk assessments that covered cybersecurity, regulatory and workforce risks. Neel reported the City received an Unqualified opinion and the government received the GFOA 2024 Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting; the commission discussed that heavy use of General Obligation bond funds helped avoid a roughly $2 million rate increase for municipally owned utilities.
The commission voted unanimously to adopt Ordinance No. 01-26, which renames the Parks and Recreation Board the "Board of Park Commissioners," expands the advisory board from five to seven members and increases meeting frequency to support implementation of the Parks Master Plan. Commissioners also adopted Ordinance No. 02-26, which updates continuity-of-government succession for a state of emergency, and Ordinance No. 03-26, an update to Chapter 7's Electrical Code to align local regulations with state guidance. An amendment to the city budget for fiscal 2025-26 (Ordinance No. 04-26) also passed unanimously.
On infrastructure and procurement matters the board approved Municipal Order No. 03-26, authorizing Change Order Request #2 to the Wathen Lane roadway upgrade contract with Hinkle Contracting LLC for up to $314,437.74, with the City responsible for 20% of the amount; Assistant City Manager William L. "Buzzy" Newman said poor soil conditions near Braxton Park and The Bridges Golf Course prompted the work but the project remains within budget. The board rescinded an earlier municipal order for extrication-tool procurement after identifying a potential conflict of interest with the local dealer; it then authorized Municipal Order No. 06-26 to purchase battery-operated extrication tools for the Fire Department from Howell Rescue Systems (Dayton, Ohio) for $49,275.00. The commission also awarded a bid for four 2026 Ford Interceptors for the police department to Vogler Motor Company for $186,262.88.
The board approved Resolution No. 02-26 to terminate an interlocal cooperation agreement that had established the Tri-County Recycling Alliance, Inc., saying the change excludes counties no longer using the facility and will not affect current services. Resolution No. 03-26 authorized the City to accept quitclaim deeds from Kane Bentley for properties at 1400 Helm Street and 1604 Washington Street; Mayor Staton suggested the 1400 Helm Street parcel could support the H.E.R.O. project, and the city attorney said one deed remains pending.
Public-safety operations consumed discussion after Emergency Management Director Kenny Garrett described a late-December transmitter failure that briefly disabled storm sirens. Garrett said technicians rerouted the warning signal within about 40 minutes, separated emergency equipment from the hospital feed and added battery backup; he proposed changing siren-activation thresholds to trigger only at the third (highest) severe-thunderstorm level—described at the meeting as 80 mph winds and 2.75-inch hail—and deploying new geofencing/management software and a lightning-detection capability. Commissioners discussed cross-training 911 staff to allow rapid channel switching during failures and considered reinstating weekly noon siren tests so residents can report problems; no formal policy change was adopted at the meeting.
City Manager Dylan Ward announced the Planning Commission's rezoning action for 1500 Madison Street (about 0.296 acres) from General Business to Agricultural; the zoning amendment will become final Jan. 28 unless an appeal is filed. Ward also proposed naming the former HMP&L building at 100 Fifth Street "The Annex," and commissioners indicated support without formal action.
The meeting included appointment of Chris Hopgood to the City-County Airport Board, a motion to enter executive session for property and business discussions under KRS 61.810(1)(b) and (g), and adjourned at approximately 5:26 p.m. All recorded motions and ordinance adoptions passed on unanimous roll-call votes.
