Walton passed its budget for the upcoming fiscal year and voted on several pieces of legislation during Tuesday’s council meeting.
The budget for fiscal year 2025 was approved in a 5-1 vote. Councilmember Dan Martin voted in opposition to the ordinance following questions about the lack of funding for hiring a city administrator.
The decision of whether or not to hire a city administrator in Walton has been a prevalent topic in recent council meetings. Former Mayor Mark Carnahan has repeatedly asked the council to make room in the upcoming budget to hire a city administrator to assist the mayor and city council in carrying out the daily operations of city business.
Typically, city administrators are responsible for assisting in creating budgets, managing personnel, enforcing policy and ensuring the city is meeting its goals, as well as working with officials to develop new laws and policies.
Following the investigation into former Mayor Gabe Brown’s behavior and the allegations of misuse of city money, the sentiment has been echoed at subsequent meetings as residents look for a solution to keep such a situation from happening again.
According to Mayor Terri Courtney, the decision not to plan to hire a city administrator in the budget was made in the interest of saving money.
“Over the last two years, we’ve went $1 million into our reserves, so we’ve overspent as a city,” she said. “As we reevaluate our finances and where we are, where we need to be … things had to be taken into consideration as far as savings … just fighting through the high weeds right now, I’m not sure that was a top [priority] of mine.”
While the budget does not set aside any money to hire a city administrator, Courtney said that that does not mean it cannot be amended in the future to do so.
“If that’s what’s most important to the people [council] represents, that’s absolutely something that we can do,” she said.
Both councilmembers Martin and Amy Long voiced interest in pursuing funding for the hire, and Long said she voted in favor of the budget under the assurance that an amendment could be made.
“The amendment is the reason that I said ‘yes’ to [the budget] because we are pushing it at the end, because we gotta get our budget passed,” said Long. “There’s no refusal … obviously we’re going to discuss [a city administrator.]”
Council also approved an ordinance to create a franchise “for the installation, construction, erection, laying and the operation and maintenance of cable television and related facilities” along public ways and places.
Council then approved a resolution authorizing Walton’s participation in the Kentucky League of Cities (KLC) Investment Pool Plus, a resolution approving entrance into the Kentucky Department of Transportation’s Municipal Road Aid Cooperative Program Agreement, and a resolution executing an amendment to an interlocal agreement with the Boone County Fiscal Court for its public works department to provide inspection services to enforce city street construction.
Finally, council approved two resolutions authorizing city clerk Gevana Hicks to close city accounts with Forcht Bank and Heritage Bank and to deposit the funds held at both with U.S. Bank instead.
According to Hicks, the decision to move the money to U.S. Bank was made because the Forcht Bank account was being fed for inactivity. The funds held at the Forcht Bank account are unused money from the water/sewer fund, while Heritage Bank holds the city’s general fund.
Courtney said that Walton will only hold money at two banks from now on – U.S. Bank and Truist Bank.