Kenton County passed its annual budget for the upcoming 2023-2024 Fiscal Year at the Fiscal Court meeting on June 13. The current fiscal year ends on June 30.
The budget includes an increased amount of money in the overall General Fund, as well as increases to jail and dispatch funds. Kenton County’s All Funds Budget Total increased by over $7 million from this year to last. This year’s All Funds Budget Total sits around $179 million, up from $172 million last year.
When looking deeper into the General Fund increases, Kenton County is increasing funding for capital projects, contingent appropriations and general government operations by millions of dollars.
Kenton County’s budget also includes nearly $1.8 million in opioid settlement funds. In 2017, Kenton County sued Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen — three of the United States’ largest pharmaceutical distributors. Last February, the three companies officially settled, resolving over 4,000 claims between state and local government. The net settlement payout was approximately $26 billion.
“We have a budget but everything comes back to us anyway to drill down as we do every month,” Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann said during the first reading of the budget at the May 13 Fiscal Court meeting.
One of the most notable budgetary decreases is to the county’s American Rescue Plan Act Fund, or ARPA, from over $30 million last year to around $11 million for this upcoming year.
This can be attributed to the amount of ARPA money the county has spent on a variety projects over the past year such as giving the Enzweiler Building Institute $3.5 million for jobs training, $1.4 million to the Northern Kentucky Water District to expand Substation 0 in Crescent Springs and $1.9 million to nine different social service organizations.
ARPA recipients are required to obligate the funds by Dec. 31, 2024, and spend them by Dec. 31, 2026, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Additionally, the COLT Fund, which the county uses to account for the collection of occupational licenses and payroll taxes, decreased by approximately $10 million from this year to last.
Budget Total All Funds
2023-2024: $179,189,870
2022-2023: $172,736,998
General Fund
2023-2024: $95,217,860
2022-2023: $61,964,720
Road Fund
2023-2024: $18,816,590
2022-2023: $22,151,384
Jail Fund
2023-2024: $23,736,220
2022-2023: $21,422,377
Local Government Assistance Fund
2023-2024: $16,740
2022-2023: $16,740
Community Development Block Grant
2023-2024: $546,300
2022-2023: $810,000
Golf Fund
2023-2024: $603,970
2022-2023: $583,326
COLT Fund
2023-2024: $14,024,710
2022-2023: $24,524,624
Dispatch Fund
2023-2024: $11,402,770
2022-2023: $10,575,125
Opioid Settlement Funds
2023-2024: $1,788,010
ARPA Fund
2023-2024: $11,570,820
2022-2023: $30,238,702
Clerk Record Storage Fund
2023-2024: $1,465,880
2022-2023: $450,000
