Fiscal Court Approves $46.5 Million Budget For 2027 Fiscal Year
Mercer County Fiscal Court (file image).
Robert Moore
Herald Staff
[email protected]
The Mercer County Fiscal Court gave second reading to their $46.5 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which starts July 1. The fiscal court also gave second reading to an ordinance giving the Harrodsburg-Mercer County Tourist Commission authority to run Anderson-Dean Community Park and approved appointments to local boards.
At their regular meeting on Tuesday, June 9, the magistrates approved the budget for the 2027 Fiscal Year, which includes $15 million in grants for the Bluegrass Innovation Gateway as well as another $1 million in grants, including deceased animal removal grants and opioid abatement funds. The budget is $17 million lower than last year’s budget.
Officials say the budget includes $16 million in reserve. It also includes a 2.7 percent cost of living allowance for county employees, which the fiscal court also approved Tuesday. It also contains an allocation to fund a code enforcement board.
The budget also includes $400,000 in local funding for road improvements. While assembling the budget, Steele said they learned state road funding was being cut $200,000 this year as well as $200,000 next year. State funding for roads come from the gas tax.
Unlike the City of Harrodsburg’s budget, the county budget is balanced. According to Treasurer Christy Wheeler, the county’s biggest liability is $11.2 million for the Bluegrass Innovation Gateway, formerly known as Wilkinson Farm industrial megasite.
