By ALLYSON DIX
For GlasgowNews1
A roll call vote garnered full support from all county magistrates in a second reading of an ordinance that finalized the county’s next fiscal year budget.
A special-called meeting was held on Friday evening ahead of July 1, the start of the new fiscal year. The first budget reading was held on May 21.
Barren County Judge/Executive Jamie Bewley Byrd said no changes were made between readings, and it had to pass through Frankfort and meet the requirements for legal publication before the second reading could take place. The second reading was originally expected earlier this month.
Byrd said the budget has been reviewed “over and over again” to ensure everything possible was removed to keep it balanced, despite increased gas prices, vehicle costs, and other routine operating costs.
“We are constantly trying to do everything we can to keep the budget down as much as we can, and we did just that in this budget,” Byrd said before the vote.
Magistrate Marty Kinslow, who also chairs the county’s administrative and budget committee, said on Friday evening that he endorses the upcoming budget for the next fiscal year. (Photo by Allyson Dix for GlasgiowNews1)
Magistrate Marty Kinslow, who also chairs the administrative and budget committee, spoke about his experience with budgets and shared the difference between the budget at hand and the 2022 budget.
“What I want to let you know is the budget for this year is less than what Barren County spent in the budget year ending 2022…they spent 10.8 million dollars,” Kinslow said. “The budget that we are submitting today in the State of Kentucky that is under review of the Department for Local Government, the budget we are submitting is 10.7 million dollars.”
Kinslow said that when factoring in rising costs and inflation over the last four years, it’s 13.6 percent less than it was in 2022, before stating his endorsement for the upcoming fiscal year budget.
Some of the expenses budgeted in the general fund have decreased compared to the fiscal year 2026-27 budget from fiscal year 2025-26.
Recreation and culture will see a decrease of nearly $42,000, dropping from $627,090 to 585,183; debt service will decrease by $194,000; social services will decrease from $80,173 to $68,719; and administration costs are also decreasing from $2,713,592 to $2,570,647, a decrease of nearly $143,000.
The county’s road budget will also lose around $909,000 due to the state giving Barren County less money than it did last fiscal year.
The county’s jail fund has dropped from $4,130,550 to $4,050,613 while the federal grants fund will see around $268,000 less than last year.
However, general government is expected to increase from $5,314,784 to $5,420,706.
Despite requests, a copy of the budget was not provided for further reporting details at the time of publication.
On Friday, the fiscal court also unanimously approved the second reading of an ordinance amending the county’s administrative code, a road cost allocation for 2026-27, and two invoices ($3,899.35 for BG Uniforms and $61 for Galls).
Barren County Judge/Executive Jamie Bewley Byrd shares remarks about the budget that magistrates approved unanimously on June 26, 2026. (Photo by Allyson Dix for GlasgowNews1)
Byrd shared closing remarks noting that each year the county’s administration continues learning about the budgeting process.
“Every year we’ve learned with the budget, every year we’ve tried to, you know, fix things, and of course there’s things out of our control, but we’ve done everything we can financially to watch for the taxpayer,” Byrd said. “So, I will say that I feel very confident in that.”
The next fiscal court meeting will be held on July 7, 2026.
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