Warren County Fiscal Court approved on first reading Thursday a fiscal year 2018-19 budget that may mean some belt-tightening for county departments but should keep all essential services intact.

The $42,886,190 budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 includes a 12 percent hike in pension costs as the county pays its portion in helping shore up the state’s ailing retirement system. It also includes a 2 percent cost-of-living raise for employees.

The extra $332,000 going to the pension system took a bite out of the budgets of several departments, but the magistrates voted 6-0 to approve a budget that is similar to that of the current fiscal year.

“It is lean, but it’s better than it could have been,” said Sixth District Magistrate Darrell Traughber. “I’m grateful we didn’t have to consider raising taxes. The department heads did a great job keeping their budgets where they need to be.”

The total budget is down from the current fiscal year’s $49,270,811 budget that included nearly $7 million in spending for the new gymnasiums at Buchanon and Ephram White parks. Thanks to the county’s growth and the resulting increase in property values, the coming year’s tax revenue is projected to be nearly $500,000 more than the current year.

The budget put together by Warren County Treasurer Greg Burrell includes $24,173,619 in the general fund, $7,689,746 in the jail fund, $3,528,675 in the road fund and $1,920,380 in the stormwater management fund as the largest items.

The county’s tax rate on real property will remain at 14.5 cents per $100 of assessed value, the same level that was established in 2008, when the county’s budget was only $30 million.

With employment and residential growth continuing, Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon doesn’t anticipate a rate increase anytime soon.

The budget will need to be approved on second reading at the June 22 fiscal court meeting before becoming official.

In addition to acting on the budget, the magistrates approved Thursday a renewal of the contract with Ice Rink Events of The Woodlands, Texas. The $118,100 contract calls for Ice Rink Events to install and remove the SOKY Ice Rink, which will operate from Nov. 15, 2018, through Jan. 6, 2019.

The 6,000-square-foot ice rink in the SOKY Marketplace on Center Street will operate for a third straight year and will begin before Thanksgiving for a second consecutive season.

Nikki Koller, Warren County Public Works assistant director, said the contract with Ice Rink Events is “essentially the same as last year.”

Although participation at the ice rink was down slightly this past season from the inaugural season, Koller said interest in the facility remains high.

“We get a lot of inquiries about it,” she said. “Everybody seems to have positive things to say about it.”

Koller said the public works department is continuing to work on sponsorships for the upcoming ice skating season.

Before that season comes, though, Koller’s department is addressing a different issue: spraying for mosquitoes. Fiscal court approved two $3,772.50 expenditures Thursday to purchase 55-gallon drums of mosquito spray, one using stormwater management funds and the other coming from road department funds.

Koller explained that the road department and stormwater management each has a truck that is used for spraying that is done on request. The two trucks cover the entire county, including the city of Bowling Green.

She said the trucks will spray rights-of-way in front of county residences, with the spraying taking place during the evening hours when the adult mosquitoes are active.

County residents can request mosquito spraying at warrencountyky.gov/mosquito.

In other action Thursday, the magistrates approved:

• spending $9,500 to EZ Rent for a Polaris utility vehicle for the maintenance department.
• spending $5,975 to Data Equipment Inc. for a new ID printer, laminator, camera and software for emergency management.
• an emergency determination of $3,162.70 to the Barren River District Health Department for vaccinations of Warren County Regional Jail inmates who were possibly exposed to hepatits A while incarcerated.

Warren County Jailer Stephen Harmon explained: “When we got the notice about the potential exposure, we followed Centers for Disease Control guidelines. We treated 91 inmates, which was anyone who could have had contact with the infected person. We probably over-responded, but it was the best course for us.”