Christian Fiscal Court passes budget on first-reading

Christian Fiscal Court approved a $29.1 million spending plan at Tuesday’s meeting that includes cuts to some departments and cost of living increases for county employees.

The budget does not include any tax increases to property tax revenue and includes a 2.3 percent cost of living adjustment for county employees.  Christian County Judge-Executive Steve Tribble presented the plan, saying it does reflect decreases to some departments, including to the road fund and the jail fund.

He says they’ve carefully considered these decreases and they don’t intend to increase or impose any new taxes on the citizens.

The budget also includes some funding for projects, including some renovations to the historic Christian County Courthouse.

The budget, which has roughly $659,809 less than last year’s budget, was approved on first-reading and now heads to the Department of Local Government for approval—Judge Tribble hopes to have it ready for second-reading by the next fiscal court meeting.

In other action, magistrates approved the 2020 waste tire agreement, which is similar to the one in previous years with a $4,000 tire disposal fee. Christian County is on the list for the statewide tire collection event for 2021.