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A recent meeting of the Clark County Fiscal Court was – as many are – notable for different reasons. 

As is often the case, two early agenda items called for the approval of budget transfers and cash transfers. 

Magistrate Robert Blanton spoke. 

“We absolutely have to do a better job of budgeting. Transfers are completely out of control,” said Magistrate Robert Blanton, with three budget transfers being approved. “Individual agencies need to make sure that when we do this next budget, that they can live within it.” 

The second of three budget transfers in particular drew discussion from the Magistrates, with Magistrate Chris Davis expressing concern over inflating appropriations in the general fund account. 

“We have money in the general fund. The cash [is] in the general fund. It’s just we’re increasing our appropriations,” said Davis. 

Although the second budget transfer was voted in favor unanimously, Davis added concern. 

“When you have unexpected expenses somewhere, you [have] got to trim them from somewhere else, or we get into the cash flow problems that we have,” he said. 

Regarding the third budget transfer, Magistrate Dan Konstantopoulos also spoke. 

“We’ve got the salaries that we have to pay…we’ve got to cut from somewhere [or] we’re going to continue to overspend…[where] I feel like I’m being held hostage is [if] I don’t approve this, then we’ve got our good fire department employees that aren’t going to be getting paid,” he said. “Yet, we don’t know if there’s additional funds that we can cut in our general fund or appropriations that we could use [in] our general fund, so we don’t actually increase our expenditures over our revenue.” 

Blanton concurred. 

“That’s basically the same thing I [have] said the last twenty meetings,” he said. “It’s not getting any better. It’s getting worse, and wait [until] the budget comes.”